How can I view live logs on a Linux server (Ubuntu)

Question

How can I view a live log on a Linux server, so that I can see new log entries instantly as they are being added?

Solution 1

Over the Terminal

In the most simple case:

tail -f /var/log/name-of-logfile-you-want-to-watch

The -f option "follows" the file and will automatically update the view as the file is being updated. For a list of possible log files, you can see this article or just explore them yourself.

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Using a GUI log viewer

If you have GNOME as a graphical environment installed, it comes with a log viewer called gnome-system-log. Open it with:

gnome-system-log &

You will find a manual here.

Solution 2

You can also use less if you're interested in that interface rather than tail.

less /var/log/syslog

and then press Shift-F to scroll to the bottom. Less will watch for more text.

Comments

[slhck]

If there are any other requirements (your question wasn't that specific), just report back.

[Beniamin]

tail not trail. tail prints the "tail" of given file :). By default last 10 lines.

[Gaurav Kumar]

Press / to search for words