Windows PowerShell Get-Content -Wait equivalent in Linux
Prints new lines as they are appended to a log or other text file.
PowerShell Get-Content -Wait
tail -f FILE
tail -f FILE
tail -f FILE
Overview
What this command does
On Windows, "PowerShell Get-Content -Wait" is used to follow a growing file. On Linux, the closest practical mapping shown here is "tail -f FILE". Prints new lines as they are appended to a log or other text file. This reference is grouped under PowerShell Equivalents → Text Processing.
Windows → Linux context
What changes when you use this on Linux?
Equivalent task, different tool
Windows PowerShell Get-Content -Wait maps to tail -f FILE for this task. Treat this as a workflow mapping rather than a character-for-character syntax translation.
Portable across the compared distros
The Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora and Arch rows use the same command in this mapping. Package availability or defaults can still vary, so check the installed tool version when an option behaves differently.
For the broader concept behind this mapping, read PowerShell vs Bash.
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
Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora and Arch all use "tail -f FILE" for this mapping. The command syntax shown here is portable across the three rows, although installed versions and system defaults can still vary.
| 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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