Tail F of Linux: Exploring the Hidden Capabilities(tailflinux)
Tail F of Linux is a commonly used and highly popular command line tool in the Linux operating system. It has immense potential to perform a range of diverse tasks related to file and directory manipulation, which may seem difficult to explore just by looking at the available options. In this article, we will study some of the hidden capabilities of this powerful Linux command.
The most common way of using the tail F command is to display the last 10 lines of a file that are not available by default, or to follow a file as it grows. It can also be used to skip over a range of lines and just display the tailing lines. It’s usually used to monitor system log files or make sure that a certain task done by another command has completed before carrying out another instruction. For example, the tail -F command could be used to ensure that all the lines in a file have been printed before continuing with other subsequent actions.
The tail F command also has some more advanced features available. These include the ability to monitor a file from the start of the current session, ignoring any lines that have already been written. It is possible to follow multiple files at once, allowing for the monitoring of multiple files without having to issue several separate commands. It is also possible to limit the total number of followed lines returned in order to avoid overloading the server.
Additionally, there are some hidden parameters of the tail F command that can come in handy when working with more complex files. These parameters allow specific lines from the file to be returned, such as only returning lines that contain a specific text string. This can be useful when you want to monitor a file for specific keywords or keywords that are nested within a certain file structure.
The tail F command provides an incredibly robust set of capabilities that can be used by Linux users to manipulate and monitor files quickly and easily. Its hidden capabilities even make it more functional, providing features that can be applied in more complex situations. It is no wonder that it is frequently used as a command line tool and has become an essential part of Linux operating system.
tail -f filename.txt
tail -f --lines=25 log.txt tail -f --follow=name filename.txt
tail -f --pid=pid filename.txt