LAST(1M)

NAME

last, lastb − indicate last logins of users and teletypes

SYNOPSIS

/etc/last [ −c ] [ −count ] [ name ... ] [ tty ... ]
/etc/lastb [ −c ] [ −count ] [ name ... ] [ tty ... ]

DESCRIPTION

Last looks back in the wtmp file that records all logins and logouts for information about a user, a teletype or any group of users and teletypes. Arguments specify names of users or teletypes of interest. Names of teletypes can be given fully or abbreviated. For example, last 0 is the same as last tty0. If multiple arguments are given, the information that applies to any of the arguments is printed. For example, last root console would list all of root’s sessions as well as all sessions on the console terminal. Last prints the sessions of the specified users and teletypes, most recent first, indicating when the session began, the duration of the session, and the teletype on which the session took place. If the session is still continuing or was cut short by a reboot, last so indicates.

The pseudo-user reboot logs each time the system reboots. Thus last reboot is a useful command for evaluating the relative time between system reboots.

Last with no arguments prints a record of all logins and logouts in reverse order. The −c option displays login information for all cnodes of an HP Cluster (see the Glossary). The −count option limits the report to count lines. When used in conjunction with the −c option, the limit is applied independently for each cnode of the cluster.

If last is interrupted, it indicates how far the search has progressed in wtmp. If interrupted with a quit signal (generated by a control-\), last indicates how far the search has progressed, then continues the search.

Lastb looks back in the btmp database to display bad login information, and is normally executable only by superuser because the btmp file may contain password information.

AUTHOR

Last was developed by the University of California, Berkeley and HP.

FILES

/etc/btmpbad login data base
/etc/wtmplogin data base

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