xtail

like "tail -f", but works on truncated files, directories, more

Install

All systems
curl cmd.cat/xtail.sh
Debian Debian
apt-get install xtail
Ubuntu
apt-get install xtail
image/svg+xml Kali Linux
apt-get install xtail
Windows (WSL2)
sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install xtail
OS X
brew install xtail
Raspbian
apt-get install xtail

xtail

like "tail -f", but works on truncated files, directories, more

xtail watches the growth of files. It's like running a "tail -f" on a bunch of files at once. It notices if a file is truncated and starts from the beginning. You can specify both filenames and directories on the command line. If you specify a directory, it watches all the files in that directory. It will notice when new files are created (and start watching them) or when old files are deleted (and stop watching them). Note that xtail isn't a graphical (X11) program, it runs on a plain tty. The name likely comes from "eXtended tail" or such.