Linux Terminal Command: head

The head command is an essential tool in File Manipulation & Viewing. In this tutorial, we will explore what head does, look at everyday examples, and cover advanced options to supercharge your command-line workflow.

Concept & Explanation

The head command displays the beginning lines or bytes of a file. It defaults to showing the first 10 lines.

Common Options & Syntax

head [options] [arguments]

Here are the most common flags used with head:

• Simple Usage: Basic default commands.
• Detailed View: Shows diagnostic information.
• Advanced Actions: Can chain parameters for scripting.

1. Interactive Example (Simple)

Here is how most people run the command:

# Example
head system.log

What it does: Prints the first 10 lines of ‘system.log’.

2. Power-User Example (Advanced)

For scripting and advanced diagnostics, use this configuration:

# Advanced
head -n 50 -c 5000 config.json

What it does: Prints the first 50 lines or up to 5000 bytes (-c) of ‘config.json’.

⚙️ Warning & Common Pitfalls

[!WARNING] If multiple files are passed to head, it outputs a header for each file, which can disrupt automated parser scripts unless disabled with -q.

🔗 Related Commands

Here are some related posts on cli_tty1 you might want to check out:

• which : Locate a command in the user path environment.