Windows
Linux
PowerShell Equivalents
Text Processing
Windows PowerShell Get-Content -Wait equivalent in Linux
Prints new lines as they are appended to a log or other text file.
Windows
→
PowerShell Get-Content -Wait
Linux equivalents
tail -f FILE
tail -f FILE
tail -f FILE
Overview
What this command does
Prints new lines as they are appended to a log or other text file.
Migration tip: Use
tail -F for logs that may be rotated or recreated because it follows the filename rather than only the original file descriptor.Practical tasks
Common use cases
Follow a growing file
Prints new lines as they are appended to a log or other text file.
tail -f app.log
Follow a log file
tail -n 100 -f app.log
Show the last 100 lines, then follow
tail -F /var/log/nginx/access.log
Follow across log rotation
Ready to run
Copyable Linux commands
Review paths, device names, package names and permissions before running any command.
tail -f app.log
tail -n 100 -f app.log
tail -F /var/log/nginx/access.log
Walkthrough
Examples with explanations
tail -f app.log # watch new log lines
tail -n 100 -f app.log # show recent history and continue following
tail -F /var/log/nginx/access.log # survive log rotationReference
Common options and variations
| Command or option | Use |
|---|---|
tail -f app.log | Follow a log file |
tail -n 100 -f app.log | Show the last 100 lines, then follow |
tail -F /var/log/nginx/access.log | Follow across log rotation |
Distro differences
Debian/Ubuntu vs Fedora vs Arch
This command is the same on Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora and Arch Linux when the relevant tool is installed.
| Distribution | Package manager / base | Equivalent command | Difference to notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian/Ubuntu | same command | tail -f FILE |
Same command on this distribution. |
| Fedora | same command | tail -f FILE |
Same command on this distribution. |
| Arch | same command | tail -f FILE |
Same command on this distribution. |
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