OSF

NAME

last − Displays information about previous logins

SYNOPSIS

last [-N] [Name...] [Tty...]

FLAGS

-NLimits the output to N number of record lines. 

DESCRIPTION

The last command displays, in reverse chronological order, all previous logins and logouts entered in the currently active /var/adm/wtmp file. The list of output records may be restricted to N number of record lines when the -N flag is used with this command. This command also lists login or logout by user specified with the Name parameter, and login or logout from terminals specified with the Tty parameter. Tty terminals references may be fully named (tty0, for example)  or abbreviated (0, for example). For each process, the following information is listed according to session, with the most recent session listed first:

       •Time session began. 

       •Duration of session. 

       •The tty terminal on which session took place. 

The following information is included when applicable:

       •Terminations when rebooting. 

       •Continuing sessions. 

When the last command is interrupted, an indication of how far the search has progressed in the /var/adm/wtmp file is provided.  When last is interrupted with a quit signal, an indication as to how far the search has progressed is provided, but the search continues. 

To obtain information about the mean time between reboots, use the word shutdown as the Name parameter. 

EXAMPLES

     1.To list all recorded logins and logouts according to user root from the console terminal, enter:

last root console

This provides a list of logins and logouts made from the console terminal by the user whose name is root. 

     2.To list the time between system reboots, enter:

last shutdown

The pseudouser named shutdown is used to list the mean time betwen system reboots. 

FILES

/usr/bin/last
Specifies the command path.

/usr/include/utmp.h
Header file defining structures used to organize login information.

/var/adm/wtmp
The login/logout database file.

RELATED INFORMATION

Commands: lastcomm(8)