XTAIL(1) General Commands Manual XTAIL(1)

# [NAME](#NAME)

xtail - Watch the growth of files.

# [SYNTAX](#SYNTAX)

**xtail** entry ...

# [DESCRIPTION](#DESCRIPTION)

*Xtail* monitors one or more files, and displays all data written to a file since command invocation. It is very useful for monitoring multiple logfiles simultaneously.

If an *entry* given on the command line is a directory, all files in that directory will be monitored, including those created after the *xtail* invocation. If an *entry* given on the command line doesn't exist, *xtail* will watch for it and monitor it once created. When switching files in the display, a banner showing the pathname of the file is printed.

An interrupt character (usually CTRL/C or DEL) will display a list of the most recently modified files being watched. Send a quit signal (usually CTRL/backslash) to stop *xtail*.

# [SEE ALSO](#SEE_ALSO)

[tail(1)](/man/os/xtail/tail.1)

# [NOTES](#NOTES)

*Xtail* may be easily confused. For example, if you ask it to monitor a file multiple times, it probably will. If you misspell a filename, *xtail* will treat it as a nonexistent entry and happily wait for its creation.

My favorite use is "xtail /usr/spool/uucp/.Log/\*".

# [AUTHOR](#AUTHOR)

Chip Rosenthal <chip@unicom.com>

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Document: xtail(1) from xtail 2.1.12-r4 (Chainguard OS)
Source: https://salsa.debian.org/debian/xtail.git