|Linux / Unix Command: watch|
NAMEwatch - execute a program periodically, showing output fullscreen
SYNOPSISwatch [-dhv] [-n <seconds>] [--differences[=cumulative]] [--help] [--interval=<seconds>] [--version] <command>
DESCRIPTIONwatch runs command repeatedly, displaying its output (the first screenfull). This allows you to watch the program output change over time. By default, the program is run every 2 seconds; use -n or --interval to specify a different interval.
The -d or --differences flag will highlight the differences between successive updates. The --cumulative option makes highlighting "sticky", presenting a running display of all positions that have ever changed.
NOTENote that command is given to "sh -c" which means that you may need to use extra quoting to get the desired effect.
To watch for mail, you might do
- watch -n 60 from
To watch the contents of a directory change, you could use
- watch -d ls -l
If you're only interested in files owned by user joe, you might use
- watch -d 'ls -l | fgrep joe'
To see the effects of quoting, try these out
- watch echo $$
- watch echo '$$'
- watch echo "'"'$$'"'"
You can watch for your administrator to install the latest kernel with
- watch uname -r
Important: Use the man command (% man) to see how a command is used on your particular computer.