last command in Linux with Examples

The last command in Linux is used to display the list of all the users logged in and out since the file /var/log/wtmp was created. One or more usernames can be given as an argument to display their login in (and out) time and their host-name.

Syntax:

last [options] [username...] [tty...]
Example:



Options:





-[number]: This option is used to specify the number of lines to display.
Example:

last -5
Output:



-R: This option is used to hide the host-name field.
Example:

last -R basil


-F: This option is used to display the login and logout time including the dates.
Example:

last -F


-a: This option is used is to display the host-name in the last column.
Example:

last -a
-s, -t: This option is used to display within a specific time period.(-s) since and (-t) until, these commands are used to frame the time period.
Example:

last -s yesterday -t today
The valid formats for the above commands are:

YYYYMMDDhhmmss
YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss
YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm      (seconds will be set to 00)
YYYY-MM-DD            (time will be set to 00:00:00)
hh:mm:ss              (date will be set to today)
hh:mm                 (date will be set to today, seconds to 00)
now
yesterday             (time is set to 00:00:00)
today                 (time is set to 00:00:00)
tomorrow              (time is set to 00:00:00)
+5min
-5days
-d: This option is used to translate the IP address back into its host-name.
Example:

last -d
-x: This option is used to display information like system down entries and run level changes.
Example:

last -x
-w: This option is used to display full user and domain names.
Example:

last -w basil
–help: This option is used to display help regarding all options belonging to the last command.
Syntax:

last --help