Tail4win - Tail Command for Windows, GUI tail -f
Tail4win is a real-time log monitor and viewer
It's a GUI version of the UNIX 'tail -f' command, it can be used to view the end of a growing file.
Tail4win can display the last part of a large file quickly without loading the entire file.
By using Tail4win system administrator can monitor log files of server applications in real-time, e.g. Apache's error.log and access.log, or IIS, Tomcat, Resin, MySQL log files. And programmer can monitor application traces easy and quickly.
Current Version: 6.0, Release Date: 2026/09/09
Supports Windows, Linux, and macOS.
Price: $45.00 USD or less, Buy Now
Tail for Windows
tail is a command Unix and Linux users reach for every day: it prints the last lines of a file, and with -f it keeps printing new lines as the file grows. Windows has no built-in tail, so watching a log file on a Windows server or workstation usually means a PowerShell workaround or a full development environment. Tail4win gives Windows a real tail command with a GUI: open a log file, see the last lines immediately, and watch new lines appear in real time.
What does "tail -f" do?
tail -f ("follow") keeps the file open and prints whatever is appended to it. It is the standard way to watch an Apache, IIS, Tomcat or MySQL log while the server is running. Tail4win is the GUI version of that command, so you do not have to keep a console window open, and you can highlight and filter while it runs.
Monitor log files in real time
Point Tail4win at one or more log files and it shows only the new lines. Highlight rules mark the lines that matter (errors, warnings, a request id), and the filter works like tail -f | grep, with regular expressions. Several files can be watched at the same time, so a web server log and a database log can sit side by side. See also log files and tail on the command line.
Command line, sessions and drag & drop
Prefer the console? Tail4win also ships a real command line, so the same tail can be scripted and scheduled. A set of files can be saved as a session and loaded again later, and files can be dragged from Windows Explorer or opened from the Explorer context menu.
Capture OutputDebugString
For developers, Tail4win can also capture Windows OutputDebugString output, which is useful when a desktop application writes traces that never reach a log file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Windows have a tail command?
No. The Windows Command Prompt (cmd.exe) has no tail command. Tail4win provides both a GUI tail and a real command-line tail for Windows, so a log file can be followed the same way as on Linux.
How do I tail a log file in Windows?
Open the log file in Tail4win and turn on the real-time display. Only the end of the file is read, so it works for multi-gigabyte logs, and new lines appear as they are written. See tail -f.
What is the Windows equivalent of the Unix tail command?
PowerShell has Get-Content -Wait, but it prints the whole file before it starts waiting and needs a console window. Tail4win is the Windows equivalent that is closer to tail -f: it shows the last lines immediately, follows the file, highlights and filters, and keeps several files in one window.
Can I use the tail command in a script or scheduled task?
Yes. Tail4win also ships a command line, so the same tail can be called from a batch file, a script or Task Scheduler.
Can I monitor several log files at once?
Yes. Tail4win can watch multiple files in the same window, which is useful when an application writes to more than one log.
Can I filter or highlight the output?
Yes. Highlight rules color the lines you care about, and the filter works like tail -f | grep and accepts regular expressions. There is also a guide to tail and grep on Windows.
Does Tail4win support Linux and macOS?
Yes. The current version runs on Windows, Linux and macOS, so the same tail works on a server and on a workstation.