PYGTAIL(1)

💖 NAME 💖

ok so bestie, meet pygtail — she reads log file lines that have not been read. that's it, that's the whole job, and she does it flawlessly 💅

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

pygtail [options] logfile

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

She prints the log file lines that have not been read yet. Like a lil bookmark for your logs — you look away, stuff gets logged, you come back and she hands you only the new bits. no re-reading the whole thing, no scrolling through ancient drama. obsessed. 🦋

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🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

• -h, --help — shows this help message and dips. the classic "wait what does this do again" button 🙈
• -o OFFSET_FILE, --offset-file=OFFSET_FILE — the file where offset data gets written. the default is <logfile>.offset, so like, your logfile but with .offset tacked on the end. that's her lil memory keeper 💖
• -p, --paranoid — updates the offset file every single time she reads a line. yes, every one. as opposed to only when we reach the end of the file. she's anxious but she's thorough, and honestly? respect 🫶
• -n EVERY_N, --every-n=EVERY_N — updates the offset file every n'th time we read a line, instead of only when we reach the end of the file. so you pick your own level of commitment. not too paranoid, not too chill. balance ✨
• --no-copytruncate — don't support copytruncate-style log rotation. instead, if the log file shrinks, she'll print a warning at you. so like, heads up: this is the "no, I don't do that rotation trick" flag, and the fallback is a warning, not a fix. lowkey important, don't skip it 💀
• --version — prints the version and exits. bye 👋

no cap: --paranoid and --every-n are both about when the offset file gets saved. default vibe = save only at end of file. these two make her save more often, just at different rhythms. and --no-copytruncate changes what happens when the log shrinks — warning instead of support. keep those straight, bestie 🧠

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🌈 that's the whole page, periodt 🌈

this was pygtail 0.6.1, from June 2022 — go forth and tail your logs like the main character you are 👑💜🍓

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