How to Use the ‘head’ Command in Linux

The head command stands as a simple yet powerful tool for file manipulation. It’s primarily used to display the first few lines of a file, allowing users to quickly glance at the beginning of a document without needing to open the entire file. This can be incredibly handy for previewing large files or scripts.

Similar to the head command, the tail command is often used in conjunction, allowing users to view the end of a file. Together, these commands provide a comprehensive view of a file’s content. The head command is particularly useful for system administrators, data analysts, and developers who need to sift through log files or large datasets. It can also be paired with other commands like grep to filter specific information

How to Use head

1. head

Explanation: Displays the first 10 lines of a file.

Example: head file.txt

Output:

Line 1
Line 2
Line 3
Line 4
Line 5
Line 6
Line 7
Line 8
Line 9
Line 10

The command displays the first 10 lines of the file named file.txt.

2. head -n 5

Explanation: Displays the first 5 lines of a file.

Example: head -n 5 file.txt

Output:

Line 1
Line 2
Line 3
Line 4
Line 5

The command displays the first 5 lines of the file named file.txt.

3. head -c 20

Explanation: Displays the first 20 bytes of a file.

Example: head -c 20 file.txt

Output:

Line 1
Line 2
Li

The command displays the first 20 bytes of the file named file.txt.

4. head -q

Explanation: Displays the first 10 lines of multiple files without headers.

Example: head -q file1.txt file2.txt

Output:

Line 1 of file1
Line 2 of file1
...
Line 1 of file2
Line 2 of file2
...

The command displays the first 10 lines of both file1.txt and file2.txt without printing the file names as headers.

5. head -v

Explanation: Displays the first 10 lines of multiple files with headers.

Example: head -v file1.txt file2.txt

Output:

==> file1.txt <==
Line 1 of file1
...
==> file2.txt <==
Line 1 of file2
...

The command displays the first 10 lines of both file1.txt and file2.txt, including the file names as headers.

6. head -n -5

Explanation: Displays all but the last 5 lines of a file.

Example: head -n -5 file.txt

Output:

Line 1
...
Line (n-5)

The command displays all the lines of file.txt except the last 5.

7. tail file.txt | head -n 3

Explanation: Displays the first 3 lines of the last 10 lines of a file.

Example: tail file.txt | head -n 3

Output:

Line (n-9)
Line (n-8)
Line (n-7)

The command first retrieves the last 10 lines of file.txt using tail, then pipes that output to head, displaying the first 3 lines of those last 10.

8. head -n 5 file1.txt file2.txt

Explanation: Displays the first 5 lines of multiple files.

Example: head -n 5 file1.txt file2.txt

Output:

==> file1.txt <==
Line 1 of file1
...
==> file2.txt <==
Line 1 of file2
...

The command displays the first 5 lines of both file1.txt and file2.txt, including the file names as headers.

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