tail AlternativesWeb Log Analyzers and other similar apps like tail

tail is described as 'A command line tool to output the last part of files' and is a web log analyzer in the network & admin category. There are more than 10 alternatives to tail for a variety of platforms, including Mac, Windows, Linux, BSD and Self-Hosted apps. The best tail alternative is ov, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like tail are less, slit, unxutils and Tail for Win32.

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Alternatives list

  1. ov

     2 likes
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    Feature-rich terminal-based text viewer. It is a so-called terminal pager.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Go (Programming Language)
    • Linux
    • Windows
    • Mac
    • FreeBSD
    • Homebrew
    • MacPorts
    ov screenshot 1
     

    • ov is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to tail.

    • ov is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to tail.

    • ov is Free and Open Sourcetail is also Free and Open Source

  2. less

     20 likes
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    Less is a free, open-source file pager. It can be found on most versions of Linux, Unix and Mac OS, as well as on many other operating systems.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • BSD
    less screenshot 1
     

  4. slit

     3 likes
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    A modern pager for viewing logs, get more than most in less time.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
     

  5. unxutils

     7 likes
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    Here are some ports of common GNU utilities to native Win32. In this context, native means the executables do only depend on the Microsoft C-runtime (msvcrt.dll) and not an emulation layer like that provided by Cygwin tools.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  6. Tail for Win32 icon

    Tail for Win32

     3 likes
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    Tail for Win32 is used to monitor changes to files; displaying the changed lines in realtime. This makes Tail ideal for watching log files.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Tail for Win32 screenshot 1
     
  7. Logs icon

    Logs

     2 likes
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    Logs is a viewer for the systemd journal.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • GNOME
    Logs screenshot 1
     
  9. macOS Console icon

    macOS Console

     1 like
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    An application to view live log files.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
     
  10. Grafito icon

    Grafito

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    Grafito is a simple, self-contained web-based log viewer for journalctl. It provides an intuitive interface to browse and filter system logs directly from your web browser.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    Grafito screenshot 1
     

    • Grafito is the most popular Self-Hosted alternative to tail.

    • Grafito is Free and Open Sourcetail is also Free and Open Source
  11. Log Transformer icon

    Log Transformer

     1 like
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    Monitor log files in real time using customized filter and formatting rules. Use regular expressions to apply color and formatting. Go even further by filtering out unwanted text or lines. https://logtransformer.com.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Log Transformer screenshot 1
     
  12. tail for Windows icon

    tail for Windows

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    tail for Windows is a UNIX/Linux like tail DOS Command for Windows that designed to display last lines of a file and trace/monitor file's change. You can also intercept a file from specified line by using the redirection symbol.

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
    tail for Windows screenshot 1
     

    • tail for Windows is the most popular commercial alternative to tail.

    • tail for Windows is Paid and Proprietarytail is Free and Open Source

  13. Goldilogs

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    Intuitive and powerful real-time log viewer. Low CPU/RAM/network usage. Handles large files (gigabytes), instant loading, colour highlighting, tailing and powerful text/RegEx searching.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Pay once)
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Easy to use Colour Highlighting Scheme Editor.
     

  14. more

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    More is a filter for paging through text one screenful at a time. This version is especially primitve. Users should realize that less(1) provides more(1) emulation and extensive enhancements.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • BSD
     
12 of 12 tail alternatives