Is there a way to open less and have it scroll to the end of the file? I'm always doing less app.log and then pressing G to go to the bottom.
I'm hoping there's something like less --end or less -exec 'G'.
- See also: How do I "cat and follow" a file?Gabriel Staples– Gabriel Staples2022-01-19 19:12:55 +00:00Commented Jan 19, 2022 at 19:12
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3 Answers
less +G app.log
+ will run an initial command when the file is opened
G jumps to the end
When multiple files are in play, ++ applies commands to every file being viewed. Not just the first one. For example, less ++G app1.log app2.log.
- 10Great, this also works for my use case: Go to the first line that says "abc":
less +/"abc"Torsten– Torsten2020-05-13 13:00:21 +00:00Commented May 13, 2020 at 13:00 - Works great for my ohmyz.sh
alias hist="omz_history -E | less -i +G". With this you get a command line history with human readable timestamps-Eandlessbeing scrolled to the bottom thanks to+Gwith the youngest entries, and can then scroll up with the arrow keys or search case insensitive right away thanks to-i.porg– porg2021-01-26 15:29:21 +00:00Commented Jan 26, 2021 at 15:29 - 2
Gis great, but I really thinkFis better, as the other answer states. PressingFwhilelessis open is identical to pressingCtrl+End. It will continually read and load the end of the file. This is very useful for a growing log file.Gabriel Staples– Gabriel Staples2022-01-19 18:41:57 +00:00Commented Jan 19, 2022 at 18:41 - @alper as default, less "scrolls" to topV. Bozz– V. Bozz2023-07-18 16:50:49 +00:00Commented Jul 18, 2023 at 16:50
less +F filename will go to the end and continually load the latest contents of the file.
From less man page:
FScroll forward, and keep trying to read when the end of file is reached. Normally this command would be used when already at the end of the file. It is a way to monitor the tail of a file which is growing while it is being viewed. (The behavior is similar to the "tail -f" command.)
- 7Note that pressing
Fwhilelessis open is identical to pressingCtrl+End. It will continually read and load the end of the file. This is very useful for a growing log file.Gabriel Staples– Gabriel Staples2022-01-19 18:34:50 +00:00Commented Jan 19, 2022 at 18:34
From the less man page:
If a command line option begins with +, the remainder of that option is taken to be an initial command to less. For example, +G tells less to start at the end of the file rather than the beginning, and +/xyz tells it to start at the first occurrence of "xyz" in the file. As a special case, + acts like +g; that is, it starts the display at the specified line number (however, see the caveat under the "g" command above). If the option starts with ++, the initial command applies to every file being viewed, not just the first one. The + command described previously may also be used to set (or change) an initial command for every file.
