uutils / uutils/coreutils

tail manpage incomplete (-n +NUM syntax not mentioned)

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U - tail
Dominant language
Rust
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Description

On my brand new xubuntu-26.04 I noticed:

GNU tail manpage

-n, --lines=[+]NUM
output the last NUM lines, instead of the last 10; or use -n +NUM to skip NUM-1 lines at the
start

new Rust tail manpage

-n, --lines
Number of lines to print

That leaves out the -n +NUM syntax (which still works, but should be mentioned).

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by locating the Rust tail manpage and its option documentation, then compare the -n/--lines entry with the GNU wording shown in the issue. Update the entry to mention the existing -n +NUM syntax and verify that the resulting manpage documents this behavior.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
rust
Domain
cli, documentation
Issue type
Documentation
Difficulty
2/5
Estimated time
1-3 hours
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
72/100

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