How to see only recent journal entries

The journalctl command shows by default the oldest entries it has in the journal. Typically we are not interested in that, for that purpose there is the --since= option. This option defines that entries should be after the specified moment in time. Besides using an actual date, a shortened name like ’today’ can also be used that automatically defines the date and time.

Usage

To see the entries of today, use the aptly named ’today'.

journalctl --since="today"

Looking for a very recent entry?

journalctl --since="15 min ago"

Want to be really precise? Define the date and time.

journalctl --since="2024-06-15 02:15:30"