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LOGTAIL(8)			 logtail2 manual		      LOGTAIL(8)

NAME
     logtail2 - print log file lines that have not been read

SYNOPSIS
     logtail2 [-t] -flogfile [-ooffsetfile]

DESCRIPTION
     logtail2  reads  a  specified  file  (usually a log file) and writes to the
     standard output that part of it which has not been read by previous runs of
     logtail2.	It prints the appropriate number of bytes from the end	of  log-
     file,  assuming that all changes that are made to it are to add new charac-
     ters to it.

     logfile must be a plain file.  A symlink is not allowed.

     logtail2 stores the information about how much of it has already been  read
     in a separate file called offsetfile.  offsetfile can be omitted.	If omit-
     ted,  the	file  named  logfile.offset in the same directory which contains
     logfile is used by default.

     If offsetfile is not empty, the inode of logfile is checked.  If the  inode
     is   changed,   logtail2	uses   the   heuristics   stored   in	/usr/lo-
     cal/share/logcheck/detectrotate/ to find a file that might be  the  rotated
     logfile  and prints it starting with the stored offset. It then proceeds to
     simply print the entire new file and generates a new  offsetfile.	 If  the
     inode  is not changed but logfile is shorter than it was at the last run of
     logtail2, it writes a warning message to the standard output.

OPTIONS
     -f     logfile to be read after offset

     -o     offsetfile stores offset of previous run

     -t     test mode - do not change offset in offsetfile

RETURN VALUES
     0	    successful

     65     cannot get the size of logfile

     66     general file or directory access issue

     73     cannot write offsetfile

AUTHOR
     The  original  logtail  was  written  in  C  by  Craig  H.  Rowland  <crow-
     land@psionic.com>.   This	version  of  logtail  is  a modification of Paul
     Slootman's re-implementation in perl.  enhanced by the Debian Logcheck Team
     <logcheck@packages.debian.org>.

     This manual was written by Oohara Yuuma <oohara@libra.interq.or.jp> and en-
     hanced by the Debian Logcheck Team <logcheck@packages.debian.org>..

SEE ALSO
     logcheck(8)

Debian				   28 Jul 2007			      LOGTAIL(8)

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