Monitor logfiles in multiple windows with MultiTail
Supercharged
MultiTail is not only more powerful than Tail, it's also easier to use.
If you have ever done any system administration, chances are you have used tail [1] to watch the changes to the end of a file. MultiTail [2] is a supercharged version of Tail that uses ncurses to create multiple windows in a single console so you can view more the one file at a time. It includes options for starting a command with a new window or searching through its windows, as well as extensive options for customizing and manipulating the windows. The result is a command that is not only vastly more powerful than Tail, but easier to read and quicker to use as well.
MultiTail is packaged in many distributions and is also available as source code from the project website. It includes an extensive configuration file, /etc/multitail.conf for the system or ~/.multitailrc in the current account's home directory. How to edit either file would be an article in itself [3], but many of the choices are separate color schemes to indicate the various applications you are likely to use with MultiTail, ranging from the kernel or Apache to Squid and Sendmail.
The basic command is the name, followed by a space-separated list of files to open (Figure 1). Strictly speaking, the list of files should be prefaced by -i, but the option is only necessary if a command begins with a hyphen (-). Notice that each MultiTail window has a number that is used to manipulate it, as well as the file name on the title bar at its bottom.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
TuxCare Announces Support for AlmaLinux 9.2
Thanks to TuxCare, AlmaLinux 9.2 (and soon version 9.6) now enjoys years of ongoing patching and compliance.
-
Go-Based Botnet Attacking IoT Devices
Using an SSH credential brute-force attack, the Go-based PumaBot is exploiting IoT devices everywhere.
-
Plasma 6.5 Promises Better Memory Optimization
With the stable Plasma 6.4 on the horizon, KDE has a few new tricks up its sleeve for Plasma 6.5.
-
KaOS 2025.05 Officially Qt5 Free
If you're a fan of independent Linux distributions, the team behind KaOS is proud to announce the latest iteration that includes kernel 6.14 and KDE's Plasma 6.3.5.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 Now Available
The latest Linux kernel is now available with several new features/improvements and the usual bug fixes.
-
Microsoft Makes Surprising WSL Announcement
In a move that might surprise some users, Microsoft has made Windows Subsystem for Linux open source.
-
Red Hat Releases RHEL 10 Early
Red Hat quietly rolled out the official release of RHEL 10.0 a bit early.
-
openSUSE Joins End of 10
openSUSE has decided to not only join the End of 10 movement but it also will no longer support the Deepin Desktop Environment.
-
New Version of Flatpak Released
Flatpak 1.16.1 is now available as the latest, stable version with various improvements.
-
IBM Announces Powerhouse Linux Server
IBM has unleashed a seriously powerful Linux server with the LinuxONE Emperor 5.