Linux in a Nutshell, Third Edition

Name

tail

Synopsis

tail [options] [file]

Description

Print the last 10 lines of the named file (or standard input if - is specified) on standard output.

Options

-n[k]

Begin printing at nth item from end-of-file. k specifies the item to count: l (lines, the default), b (blocks), or c (characters).

-k

Same as -n, but use the default count of 10.

+n[k]

Like - n, but start at nth item from beginning of file.

+k

Like - k, but count from beginning of file.

-c num {bkm}, --bytes num {bkm}

Print last num bytes. An alternate blocksize may be specified:

b

512 bytes

k

1 kilobyte

m

1 megabyte

-f

Don’t quit at the end of file; “follow” file as it grows. End when user presses Ctrl-C.

-n num, --lines num

Print last num lines.

-q, --quiet, --silent

Suppress filename headers.

--version

Print version information and then exit.

Examples

Show the last 20 lines containing instances of .Ah:

                     grep '\.Ah' file | tail -20

Show the last 10 characters of variable name:

                     echo "$name" | tail -c

Print the last two blocks of bigfile:

                     tail -2b bigfile