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57

8

Is there an easy way to do something like tail -f mylogfile but to have the changes of more than one file displayed (maybe with the file name added as prefix to each line)? Or maybe a GUI tool? I am running Debian.

logs tail

share|improve this question

edited Dec 4 '12 at 23:35

Gilles

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asked Dec 4 '12 at 11:13

stoflstofl

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• 
  
  
  

  
  2
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  multitail is the king there. See Combine input from multiple files/pipes without clobbering lines or blocking?
  
  – Gilles
  Dec 4 '12 at 23:35
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Thank you for that tip. This is a really helpful tool. It can also truncate files, clear the screen with one shortcut and so on.
  
  – stofl
  Dec 9 '12 at 10:36
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

57

8

Is there an easy way to do something like tail -f mylogfile but to have the changes of more than one file displayed (maybe with the file name added as prefix to each line)? Or maybe a GUI tool? I am running Debian.

logs tail

share|improve this question

edited Dec 4 '12 at 23:35

Gilles

571k138138 gold badges11801180 silver badges16921692 bronze badges

asked Dec 4 '12 at 11:13

stoflstofl

38811 gold badge33 silver badges55 bronze badges

• 
  
  
  

  
  2
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  multitail is the king there. See Combine input from multiple files/pipes without clobbering lines or blocking?
  
  – Gilles
  Dec 4 '12 at 23:35
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Thank you for that tip. This is a really helpful tool. It can also truncate files, clear the screen with one shortcut and so on.
  
  – stofl
  Dec 9 '12 at 10:36
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

Is there an easy way to do something like tail -f mylogfile but to have the changes of more than one file displayed (maybe with the file name added as prefix to each line)? Or maybe a GUI tool? I am running Debian.

logs tail

share|improve this question

edited Dec 4 '12 at 23:35

Gilles

571k138138 gold badges11801180 silver badges16921692 bronze badges

asked Dec 4 '12 at 11:13

stoflstofl

38811 gold badge33 silver badges55 bronze badges

share|improve this question

edited Dec 4 '12 at 23:35

Gilles

571k138138 gold badges11801180 silver badges16921692 bronze badges

asked Dec 4 '12 at 11:13

stoflstofl

38811 gold badge33 silver badges55 bronze badges

share|improve this question

edited Dec 4 '12 at 23:35

Gilles

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asked Dec 4 '12 at 11:13

stoflstofl

38811 gold badge33 silver badges55 bronze badges

edited Dec 4 '12 at 23:35

Gilles

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edited Dec 4 '12 at 23:35

Gilles

571k138138 gold badges11801180 silver badges16921692 bronze badges

asked Dec 4 '12 at 11:13

stoflstofl

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asked Dec 4 '12 at 11:13

stoflstofl

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3 Answers
3

active

oldest

votes

90

Have you tried tail -f file1 file2? It appears to do exactly what you want, at least on my FreeBSD machine. Perhaps the tail that comes with a Debian system can do it too?

share|improve this answer

answered Dec 4 '12 at 11:21

D_ByeD_Bye

11.1k11 gold badge3333 silver badges2727 bronze badges

• 
  
  
  

  
  2
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Yes. It works! Thank you. I'd never expected that it would be SO easy.
  
  – stofl
  Dec 4 '12 at 11:37
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  11
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  I usually use -F instead since a number of files may get truncated as I'm restarting server programs.
  
  – Arcege
  Dec 4 '12 at 23:37
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  9
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  My new favorite parameter combo is tail -qF *.log: -q to hide the file names and -F, as Arcege pointed out, to let tail follow the name rather than the descriptor because my log files are being rotated.
  
  – Denis Drescher
  Oct 4 '16 at 10:26
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Validated also on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
  
  – Ricardo
  May 12 '17 at 2:03
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  There is a limit to this. I have a folder with log files by PID for a worker that gets started for every new job in a queue (So lots of PIDs). If I tail -f /var/log/folder/* it returns the error "unable to execute /usr/bin/tail: Argument list too long"
  
  – flickerfly
  May 18 '18 at 16:20
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

3

For some reason, answers along the lines of tail -f file1 file2 wasn't quite what I had in mind.

I want to know what happened in several logs sort of most recently 'locally', regardless of the global chronological order.

To do that, I used something more like watch -n1 tail -n10 file1 file2

share|improve this answer

edited Oct 25 '18 at 16:27

Jeff Schaller♦

49.3k1111 gold badges7272 silver badges163163 bronze badges

answered Oct 25 '18 at 15:41

sg_mansg_man

3111 bronze badge

add a comment | 

0

For the exercise i wrote small node utility that does the same thing as tail -f f1 f2 f3

Splex:

https://www.npmjs.com/package/splex

The main "upgrade" is that lines are color coded per file name, and that you can have table-like interface.

Another improvemtn, actually main reason I wrote this, is the ability to have .splexrc.json files in different folders, so instead having to type tail -f f1 f2 f3in one folder, then different files in other, you can write .splexrc.json file in root of your project and just type splex without file list arguments and it automatically stream relevant logs you enumerated in config file.

share|improve this answer

answered 2 hours ago

kodishakodisha

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90

Have you tried tail -f file1 file2? It appears to do exactly what you want, at least on my FreeBSD machine. Perhaps the tail that comes with a Debian system can do it too?

share|improve this answer

answered Dec 4 '12 at 11:21

D_ByeD_Bye

11.1k11 gold badge3333 silver badges2727 bronze badges

• 
  
  
  

  
  2
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Yes. It works! Thank you. I'd never expected that it would be SO easy.
  
  – stofl
  Dec 4 '12 at 11:37
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  11
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  I usually use -F instead since a number of files may get truncated as I'm restarting server programs.
  
  – Arcege
  Dec 4 '12 at 23:37
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  9
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  My new favorite parameter combo is tail -qF *.log: -q to hide the file names and -F, as Arcege pointed out, to let tail follow the name rather than the descriptor because my log files are being rotated.
  
  – Denis Drescher
  Oct 4 '16 at 10:26
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Validated also on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
  
  – Ricardo
  May 12 '17 at 2:03
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  There is a limit to this. I have a folder with log files by PID for a worker that gets started for every new job in a queue (So lots of PIDs). If I tail -f /var/log/folder/* it returns the error "unable to execute /usr/bin/tail: Argument list too long"
  
  – flickerfly
  May 18 '18 at 16:20
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

90

Have you tried tail -f file1 file2? It appears to do exactly what you want, at least on my FreeBSD machine. Perhaps the tail that comes with a Debian system can do it too?

share|improve this answer

answered Dec 4 '12 at 11:21

D_ByeD_Bye

11.1k11 gold badge3333 silver badges2727 bronze badges

• 
  
  
  

  
  2
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Yes. It works! Thank you. I'd never expected that it would be SO easy.
  
  – stofl
  Dec 4 '12 at 11:37
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  11
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  I usually use -F instead since a number of files may get truncated as I'm restarting server programs.
  
  – Arcege
  Dec 4 '12 at 23:37
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  9
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  My new favorite parameter combo is tail -qF *.log: -q to hide the file names and -F, as Arcege pointed out, to let tail follow the name rather than the descriptor because my log files are being rotated.
  
  – Denis Drescher
  Oct 4 '16 at 10:26
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Validated also on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
  
  – Ricardo
  May 12 '17 at 2:03
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  There is a limit to this. I have a folder with log files by PID for a worker that gets started for every new job in a queue (So lots of PIDs). If I tail -f /var/log/folder/* it returns the error "unable to execute /usr/bin/tail: Argument list too long"
  
  – flickerfly
  May 18 '18 at 16:20
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

Have you tried tail -f file1 file2? It appears to do exactly what you want, at least on my FreeBSD machine. Perhaps the tail that comes with a Debian system can do it too?

share|improve this answer

answered Dec 4 '12 at 11:21

D_ByeD_Bye

11.1k11 gold badge3333 silver badges2727 bronze badges

share|improve this answer

answered Dec 4 '12 at 11:21

D_ByeD_Bye

11.1k11 gold badge3333 silver badges2727 bronze badges

answered Dec 4 '12 at 11:21

D_ByeD_Bye

11.1k11 gold badge3333 silver badges2727 bronze badges

answered Dec 4 '12 at 11:21

D_ByeD_Bye

11.1k11 gold badge3333 silver badges2727 bronze badges

3

For some reason, answers along the lines of tail -f file1 file2 wasn't quite what I had in mind.

I want to know what happened in several logs sort of most recently 'locally', regardless of the global chronological order.

To do that, I used something more like watch -n1 tail -n10 file1 file2

share|improve this answer

edited Oct 25 '18 at 16:27

Jeff Schaller♦

49.3k1111 gold badges7272 silver badges163163 bronze badges

answered Oct 25 '18 at 15:41

sg_mansg_man

3111 bronze badge

add a comment | 

3

For some reason, answers along the lines of tail -f file1 file2 wasn't quite what I had in mind.

I want to know what happened in several logs sort of most recently 'locally', regardless of the global chronological order.

To do that, I used something more like watch -n1 tail -n10 file1 file2

share|improve this answer

edited Oct 25 '18 at 16:27

Jeff Schaller♦

49.3k1111 gold badges7272 silver badges163163 bronze badges

answered Oct 25 '18 at 15:41

sg_mansg_man

3111 bronze badge

add a comment | 

For some reason, answers along the lines of tail -f file1 file2 wasn't quite what I had in mind.

I want to know what happened in several logs sort of most recently 'locally', regardless of the global chronological order.

To do that, I used something more like watch -n1 tail -n10 file1 file2

share|improve this answer

edited Oct 25 '18 at 16:27

Jeff Schaller♦

49.3k1111 gold badges7272 silver badges163163 bronze badges

answered Oct 25 '18 at 15:41

sg_mansg_man

3111 bronze badge

share|improve this answer

edited Oct 25 '18 at 16:27

Jeff Schaller♦

49.3k1111 gold badges7272 silver badges163163 bronze badges

answered Oct 25 '18 at 15:41

sg_mansg_man

3111 bronze badge

edited Oct 25 '18 at 16:27

Jeff Schaller♦

49.3k1111 gold badges7272 silver badges163163 bronze badges

edited Oct 25 '18 at 16:27

Jeff Schaller♦

49.3k1111 gold badges7272 silver badges163163 bronze badges

answered Oct 25 '18 at 15:41

sg_mansg_man

3111 bronze badge

answered Oct 25 '18 at 15:41

sg_mansg_man

3111 bronze badge

0

For the exercise i wrote small node utility that does the same thing as tail -f f1 f2 f3

Splex:

https://www.npmjs.com/package/splex

The main "upgrade" is that lines are color coded per file name, and that you can have table-like interface.

Another improvemtn, actually main reason I wrote this, is the ability to have .splexrc.json files in different folders, so instead having to type tail -f f1 f2 f3in one folder, then different files in other, you can write .splexrc.json file in root of your project and just type splex without file list arguments and it automatically stream relevant logs you enumerated in config file.

share|improve this answer

answered 2 hours ago

kodishakodisha

10111 bronze badge

New contributor

kodisha is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

add a comment | 

0

For the exercise i wrote small node utility that does the same thing as tail -f f1 f2 f3

Splex:

https://www.npmjs.com/package/splex

The main "upgrade" is that lines are color coded per file name, and that you can have table-like interface.

Another improvemtn, actually main reason I wrote this, is the ability to have .splexrc.json files in different folders, so instead having to type tail -f f1 f2 f3in one folder, then different files in other, you can write .splexrc.json file in root of your project and just type splex without file list arguments and it automatically stream relevant logs you enumerated in config file.

share|improve this answer

answered 2 hours ago

kodishakodisha

10111 bronze badge

New contributor

kodisha is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

add a comment | 

For the exercise i wrote small node utility that does the same thing as tail -f f1 f2 f3

Splex:

https://www.npmjs.com/package/splex

The main "upgrade" is that lines are color coded per file name, and that you can have table-like interface.

Another improvemtn, actually main reason I wrote this, is the ability to have .splexrc.json files in different folders, so instead having to type tail -f f1 f2 f3in one folder, then different files in other, you can write .splexrc.json file in root of your project and just type splex without file list arguments and it automatically stream relevant logs you enumerated in config file.

share|improve this answer

answered 2 hours ago

kodishakodisha

10111 bronze badge

New contributor

kodisha is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

share|improve this answer

answered 2 hours ago

kodishakodisha

10111 bronze badge

New contributor

kodisha is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

answered 2 hours ago

kodishakodisha

10111 bronze badge

New contributor

kodisha is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

answered 2 hours ago

kodishakodisha

10111 bronze badge