File and Command Monitoring

tail

  • monitor files as they’re being written
  • sudo tail -f /var/log/apache2/access.log
  • -f continuously updates the output
  • -n<Number of lines to output>

watch

  • run a command at a specific interval (default 2 sec)
  • watch -n 5 w
  • -n <Number of interval in seconds>

Relevant Note(s): Linux Basics