Use [tail -F] (capital F) instead of [tail -f] when tailing log files.

Key Differences

• tail -f follows the file descriptor - stops working if file is deleted/rotated
• tail -F follows the file path - automatically reconnects when file is recreated

Why This Matters for Logs

Log rotation tools (logrotate, etc.) commonly:

1. Move app.log to app.log.1
2. Create a new empty app.log
3. Signal the app to start writing to the new file

With tail -f: You'd be stuck watching the old rotated file With tail -F: Automatically switches to the new file

Bottom Line

# This stops working after log rotation
tail -f /var/log/app.log

# This keeps working through log rotations  
tail -F /var/log/app.log

Always use tail -F for production log monitoring.

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Backlinks

• tail -F