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 XTAIL(1L)                                                         XTAIL(1L)
                                    LOCAL



 NAME
      xtail - Watch the growth of files.

 SYNTAX
      uxtail entry ...

 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
      tail(1)

 NOTES
      Xtail may be easily confused.  For example, if a file is renamed,
      xtail may or may not continue to monitor it.  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
      Chip Rosenthal <chip@vector.Dallas.TX.US>


















                                    - 1 -         Formatted:  March 29, 2024