How to Use the Linux watch Command with Pipeline Commands

The watch command can also be helpful with other pipeline commands:

Monitoring Files

To view a particular file's status or its changes, use the following command:

watch -d 'ls -l | fgrep newuser'

Here, "newuser" is the username, and "ls -l" represents the files in the user directory.

Using watch Command as a Clock

You can use the watch command as a clock by executing the specified command below:

watch –t date

The executed "date" command will display the clock and date only.

Viewing Network Status

It's possible to use the watch command to monitor your network. For example:

watch "netstat -anp | grep -c ':22\b.*LISTEN'"

The command will display active connections on port 22.