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How to read logs in Linux
Linux stores its log files in the /var/log directory in text format.
tail command
The tail command is the most common solution for viewing a real-time log file. However, the command to view the file has two versions, as shown in the following examples.
The tail command needs the -f argument to track the contents of a file.
To display, for example, only the last two lines of code, we will use the commandsudo tail -f /var/log/apache2/access.logsudo tailf /var/log/apache2/access.log
sudo tail -n2 -f /var/log/apache2/access.logMultitail command
Multitail allows you to monitor and track multiple files in real time. Multitail also allows you to move back and forth in the monitored file.
Multitail installation
sudo apt install multitailsudo yum install multitailsudo dnf install multitailDisplaying logs using Multitail
sudo multitail first_file_patch second_file_patchsudo multitail /var/log/apache2/access.log /var/log/apache2/error.loglv command
lnav , like Multitail, allows you to view several files at the same time
lv installation
sudo apt install lnavsudo yum install lnavsudo dnf install lnavDisplaying logs using lv
sudo lnav first_file_patch second_file_patchsudo lnav /var/log/apache2/access.log /var/log/apache2/error.log
