TAIL(1) TAIL(1)
NAME
tail - deliver the last part of a file
SYNOPSIS
tail [ +-number[lbc][rf] ] [ file ]
tail [ -fr ] [ -n nlines ] [ -c ncharacters ] [ file ]
DESCRIPTION
Tail copies the named file to the standard output beginning
at a designated place. If no file is named, the standard
input is copied.
Copying begins at position +number measured from the begin-
ning, or -number from the end of the input. Number is
counted in lines, 1K blocks or characters, according to the
appended flag `l', `b', or `c'. Default is -10l (ten ell).
The further flag `r' causes tail to print lines from the end
of the file in reverse order; `f' (follow) causes tail,
after printing to the end, to keep watch and print further
data as it appears.
The second syntax is that promulgated by POSIX, where the
numbers rather than the options are signed.
EXAMPLES
tail file
Print the last 10 lines of a file.
tail +0f file
Print a file, and continue to watch data accumulate as
it grows.
sed 10q file
Print the first 10 lines of a file.
SOURCE
/sys/src/cmd/tail.c
BUGS
Tails relative to the end of the file are treasured up in a
buffer, and thus are limited in length.
According to custom, option +number counts lines from 1, and
counts blocks and characters from 0.
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