The /var/account/pacct or /var/account/acct file is a system file that contains accounting information for users and processes on a Linux or Unix system. The file is typically used by the acct command, which is a system utility that records and reports on system activity.
The pacct or acct file is usually in binary format, and it contains a series of records that contain information about system activity, such as the command that was run, the user that ran the command, the time and date when the command was run, and other details.
To view the contents of the pacct or acct file, you can use the accton command to enable system accounting and then use the lastcomm command to view the contents of the file. For example:
# Enable system accounting accton /var/account/pacct # View the contents of the pacct file lastcomm
This will display a list of the commands that were run on the system, along with information about the user that ran the command, the time and date when the command was run, and other details.
You can also use the ac command to view summary information about system activity recorded in the pacct or acct file. For example:
# View summary information about system activity ac -p
This will display a summary of the system activity recorded in the pacct or acct file, including the total number of commands run, the total time spent running commands, and other details.
For more information about the acct command and how to use it to view and analyze system activity, you can consult the acct documentation or use the man acct command to see the manual page.