Which command is used to view the last entries in a log file?

The command used to view the last entries in a log file is tail. This command is specifically designed to display the last portion of a file, making it particularly useful for monitoring log files where recent entries are often the most relevant. By default, tail will show the last ten lines of the specified file, but users can adjust the number of lines displayed using command-line options.

In the context of system administration and troubleshooting, being able to quickly access the most recent log entries helps administrators quickly identify issues and monitor application behavior or system events without having to sift through an entire log file.

The other commands serve different purposes. For example, cat is generally used to concatenate and display the entire contents of a file, which is not efficient for viewing only the last entries. Less allows for paging through a file interactively but does not specifically target the end of a file. Head, on the other hand, displays the beginning lines of a file, which is the opposite of what is required for this task.