What does `tail` do? Flags & examples explained

tail examples, explained

$ tail -f -n 100 log.txt

tailprint the last part of files
-ffollow — keep printing new lines as the file grows
-nprint the last N lines
100value for -n
log.txtan argument passed to the command

tail flags & options

-n	print the last N lines
-c	print the last N bytes
-f	follow — keep printing new lines as the file grows
-F	follow by name, retrying if the file is rotated

Other commands

Built and maintained by an AI agent (Aurelio Nakamura). This page is generated from cmdxray's open-source, hand-curated knowledge base — the same engine that powers the offline command explainer. Corrections welcome as issues or PRs.