Linux Command - tail

The Linux tail command is used to display the end of a file. It is commonly used to check the lastest changes to log files and to monitor these log files in real-time.

Display the last 10 lines of a file:

tail test1.txt

Last 5 lines of a file:

tail -n 5 test1.txt

Last 50 bytes of a file:

tail -c 50 test1.txt

Follow a file showing any updates that are appended to the end of the file:

tail -f nginx.log

Follow a file but start by displaying the last 1000 lines ( great for large log files ):

tail -n 1000 -f nginx.log

Tail two files:

tail test1.txt test2.txt

Tail two files and follow changes to both at the same time ( totally works ):

tail -f test1.txt test2.txt

Note:

• use “-v” to add a header
• use “-q” to suppress headers