Use the Linux head Command

What head does

head prints the beginning of a file. By default it prints the first 10 lines. It is helpful for a quick look at big files, such as logs.

head [options] fileName

Options

Examples

These examples use a file called sampleFile.txt. First look at all of it:

cat sampleFile.txt

1. Basic use

head sampleFile.txt

2. A number of lines with -n

head -n 7 sampleFile.txt

You can use head -n -3 to show everything except the last 3 lines.

3. A number of bytes with -c

head -c 14 sampleFile.txt

4. Show the file name with -v

head -n 3 -v sampleFile.txt

5. Several files

head -n 3 sampleFile.txt exampleFile.txt

head prints a header with the name of each file.

6. Hide the file names with -q

head -n 3 -q sampleFile.txt exampleFile.txt

7. Save the result in a file

head -n 5 sampleFile.txt > sampleClone.txt
cat sampleClone.txt

8. Use it in a pipe

ls -l | head -n 6

Quick recap

• head shows the first 10 lines by default.
• -n sets lines, -c sets bytes.
• Use it in pipes to limit long output. The partner command tail shows the end.