Tail Last Modified File in a Directory

tyoungblood · 08-09-2005, 09:41 AM

How would one tail the last modified log file within a directory with a single command that does not change? 'ls -t1 | head -1 | tail -f' just gives me an error.

There are new log files being created for each job I have running. It would be nice to have a single command to tail the last log file without typing the tedious name every time.

Thanks,
Tim

lyle_s · 08-09-2005, 11:23 AM

Try:

tail -f $(ls -t1 | head -n 1)

Lyle

schneidz · 08-09-2005, 11:33 AM

i didn't test it out but i think you meant 'back-tick' instead of 'single-quote':

`ls -t1 | head -1 | tail -f`

~schneidz

tyoungblood · 08-12-2005, 09:42 AM

Thanks! Y'all just made my life much easier.