Super User is a question and answer site for computer enthusiasts and power users. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
I use tail -f in my Linux shell, to view log files, as I like how it auto-updates with the incoming text: I like to see the new stuff come scrolling in.
However, I also like the search functionality of less, which isn't available in tail (or is it?). Is there a "best of both worlds" solution?
If there was a mode I could switch on in less which would make it auto-update with incoming text, then that might be ideal.
You can run less +F filename in order to view file in tail -f fashion.
You can press Shift+F while viewing file in less to switch to forwarding mode, and Ctrl+C to leave this mode.
From less -help:
F Forward forever; like "tail -f".
so presumably less +F /var/log/messages
shift&f is perfect, thanks! If you want to make that an answer i'll mark it as correct. (btw, in case anyone else is reading, to get out of forwarding mode, it's ctrl&c, or whatever your regular cancel/interrupt keycode is.
Apr 16, 2015 at 12:55
Nicolai's answer is probably closest to what you asked for, but have you thought about using tmux?
In my tmux sessions, I like to tail -f logs, then simply enter tmux's copy mode to search up and down exactly like searching in less, then exit copy mode to find my tail -f still going.
Create a tmux session:
tmux
Tail the log file and the last 1000 lines to start:
tail -f -n1000 /var/log/syslog
Enter copy mode using the leader key and a left bracket:
[ctrl+leader] + [
the default tmux leader key is the letter b, so for example:
[ctrl+b] [
Now you can scroll and search up and down just like in less.
Exit copy mode to return to your tail -f with:
[crtl+c]
Bonus material: Open a second terminal prompt:
[ctrl+leader] + c
Switch between the two terminal prompts:
[ctrl+leader] + l
You could just do
tailf logname.log | grep "query-here"
