I'm using less to view my journalctl logs because it's more convenient. It doesn't clutter the console window with logs after you exit less and you can scroll using your mouse wheel.
journalctl --unit xyz | less +G
But it's very annoying that I cannot refresh the logs. Is there a way to do that with less? Using Shift + F doesn't work.
But it's very annoying that I cannot refresh the logs. Is there a way to do that with
less? UsingShift+Fdoesn't work.
You might be looking for journalctl's, --follow/-f. That cancels the use of a pager by journalctl, so I guess you need to add it.
journalctl -fu xyz | less
Then less's Shift+F works to see new entries that are added while you're viewing in less.
If you want to scroll up in less while less is waiting for new input (because you hit Shift+F or simply scrolled to the bottom), then make sure to use Ctrl+X rather than Ctrl+C to interrupt its waiting for new entries. If you use Ctrl+C, that's going to kill journalctl so you wouldn't be able to get new entries afterwards.
Here's an example video. I hope this clarifies:
For Ctrl+X, you need to update to less version 633, released last May.
journalctl -fu xyz | less the logs are updated live, but I cannot navigate using the arrow keys or scroll wheel.
less to continue reading beyond the last recorded output. This won't be as seamless as the normal behavior of journalctl -f continuously showing new message as they arrive, but it's the best that less can do if you want to combine both.
journalctl --unit xyz | less (without --follow), go to the bottom with G and press Shift+F? It doesn't work. It says Waiting for data... (interrupt to abort) but it doesn't update the logs. Also I cannot navigate anomore.
less system-wide if you don't want to interfere with someone else's server. I assume you have your own user account on it. Install it under your normal user's home directory, probably using either $HOME/bin or $HOME/.local/bin as the path. Create the folder if it doesn't exist and make sure it gets added to the beginning of your $PATH when logged in by updating your ~/.profile or whatever is appropriate for your shell of choice. You just need to compile it on this system by running make, but don't need to run make install.
--no-tail very useful in combination with --follow.
journalctl calls less anyway (on a typical system). It might be calling less with different options from what you'd like, but you can customize that through the SYSTEMD_LESS environment variable. The default is FRSXMK. You can set it to something like
export SYSTEMD_LESS='-M -R -S +G'
SYSTEMD_LESS=RMS+G instead.
+command has to go after options.