node-file-tail

A tiny, portable tail module for Node.js. Similar to tail -F in Unix. Extends node-file-size-watcher. Does not rely on fs.watch, thus works in Windows. Install globally to use the command line tool.

Usage

    ft = fileTailer.startTailing('logfile.log');
    ft.on('line', function(line){
        // do stuff
    });

Options

Start tailing with just a file descriptor string, or pass in an object with these properties:

startTailing({
    fd: aFileDescriptor,           // Required
    ms: aFileCheckingInterval,     // Defaults to 100 (milliseconds)
    mode: 'line',                  // The other option is 'stream'
    encoding: 'utf8'               // see Node's fs.createReadStream
    onErr: function(error){};      // immediately listen for 'error' event
});

Events

• 'error' -- All errors including ENOENTs are emitted through this.
• 'tailError' -- 'Error' with ENOENTs ignored; use if you don't care if the file is missing.
• 'line' -- emitted whenever tailed file grows by a line (or many), unless mode is 'stream'.
• 'stream' -- If mode is 'stream', will emit a Node.js stream object instead of lines. Use this if you need to preserve every byte or want to handle the details yourself.

Lastly, file-tail objects are just types of file-size-watchers, so you can use everything they have as well. See (https://github.com/alexmiddeleer/node-file-size-watcher)

Example

Try it out with with this little script (Use with Node script.js fileToTail):

var fd = process.argv[2],
ft = require('file-tail').startTailing(fd);
 
ft.on('line', function(line) {
    console.log(line);
});

CLI Usage

To use this tool on the command line, just install it globally (npm install -g). Then run nftail <filename>.

Help out

Bug reports, feedback, or code contributions are appreciated. All pull requests will be reviewed.