{"id":68634,"date":"2023-09-22T18:01:29","date_gmt":"2023-09-22T10:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/?p=68634"},"modified":"2023-09-27T18:02:17","modified_gmt":"2023-09-27T10:02:17","slug":"linux-command-head","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/linux-command-head\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Use the ‘head’ Command in Linux"},"content":{"rendered":"

The head<\/code> command stands as a simple yet powerful tool for file manipulation. It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Similar to the head<\/code> command, the tail<\/a><\/code> 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\u2019s content. The head<\/code> 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<\/a><\/code> to filter specific information<\/p>\n

How to Use head<\/code><\/h2>\n

1. head<\/code><\/h3>\n

Explanation<\/strong>: Displays the first 10 lines of a file.<\/p>\n

Example:<\/strong> head file.txt<\/code><\/p>\n

Output:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\r\nLine 1\r\nLine 2\r\nLine 3\r\nLine 4\r\nLine 5\r\nLine 6\r\nLine 7\r\nLine 8\r\nLine 9\r\nLine 10\r\n<\/pre>\n
The command displays the first 10 lines of the file named file.txt<\/code>.<\/p>\n
\n
2. head -n 5<\/code><\/h3>\n
Explanation<\/strong>: Displays the first 5 lines of a file.<\/p>\n
Example:<\/strong> head -n 5 file.txt<\/code><\/p>\n
Output:<\/strong><\/p>\n
\r\nLine 1\r\nLine 2\r\nLine 3\r\nLine 4\r\nLine 5\r\n<\/pre>\n
The command displays the first 5 lines of the file named file.txt<\/code>.<\/p>\n
\n
3. head -c 20<\/code><\/h3>\n
Explanation<\/strong>: Displays the first 20 bytes of a file.<\/p>\n
Example:<\/strong> head -c 20 file.txt<\/code><\/p>\n
Output:<\/strong><\/p>\n
\r\nLine 1\r\nLine 2\r\nLi\r\n<\/pre>\n
The command displays the first 20 bytes of the file named file.txt<\/code>.<\/p>\n
\n
4. head -q<\/code><\/h3>\n
Explanation<\/strong>: Displays the first 10 lines of multiple files without headers.<\/p>\n
Example:<\/strong> head -q file1.txt file2.txt<\/code><\/p>\n
Output:<\/strong><\/p>\n
\r\nLine 1 of file1\r\nLine 2 of file1\r\n...\r\nLine 1 of file2\r\nLine 2 of file2\r\n...\r\n<\/pre>\n
The command displays the first 10 lines of both file1.txt<\/code> and file2.txt<\/code> without printing the file names as headers.<\/p>\n
\n
5. head -v<\/code><\/h3>\n
Explanation<\/strong>: Displays the first 10 lines of multiple files with headers.<\/p>\n
Example:<\/strong> head -v file1.txt file2.txt<\/code><\/p>\n
Output:<\/strong><\/p>\n
\r\n==> file1.txt <==\r\nLine 1 of file1\r\n...\r\n==> file2.txt <==\r\nLine 1 of file2\r\n...\r\n<\/pre>\n
The command displays the first 10 lines of both file1.txt<\/code> and file2.txt<\/code>, including the file names as headers.<\/p>\n
\n
6. head -n -5<\/code><\/h3>\n
Explanation<\/strong>: Displays all but the last 5 lines of a file.<\/p>\n
Example:<\/strong> head -n -5 file.txt<\/code><\/p>\n
Output:<\/strong><\/p>\n
\r\nLine 1\r\n...\r\nLine (n-5)\r\n<\/pre>\n
The command displays all the lines of file.txt<\/code> except the last 5.<\/p>\n
\n
7. tail file.txt | head -n 3<\/code><\/h3>\n
Explanation<\/strong>: Displays the first 3 lines of the last 10 lines of a file.<\/p>\n
Example:<\/strong> tail file.txt | head -n 3<\/code><\/p>\n
Output:<\/strong><\/p>\n
\r\nLine (n-9)\r\nLine (n-8)\r\nLine (n-7)\r\n<\/pre>\n
The command first retrieves the last 10 lines of file.txt<\/code> using tail, then pipes that output to head, displaying the first 3 lines of those last 10.<\/p>\n
\n
8. head -n 5 file1.txt file2.txt<\/code><\/h3>\n
Explanation<\/strong>: Displays the first 5 lines of multiple files.<\/p>\n
Example:<\/strong> head -n 5 file1.txt file2.txt<\/code><\/p>\n
Output:<\/strong><\/p>\n
\r\n==> file1.txt <==\r\nLine 1 of file1\r\n...\r\n==> file2.txt <==\r\nLine 1 of file2\r\n...\r\n<\/pre>\n
The command displays the first 5 lines of both file1.txt<\/code> and file2.txt<\/code>, including the file names as headers.<\/p>\n
\n
More Linux commands:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Directory Operations<\/td>\nrmdir<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 cd<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 pwd<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 exa<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 ls<\/code><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
File Operations<\/td>\ncat<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 cp<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 dd<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 less<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 touch<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 ln<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 rename<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 more<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 head<\/code><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
File System Operations<\/td>\nchown<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 mkfs<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 locate<\/code><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Networking<\/td>\nping<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 curl<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 wget<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 iptables<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 mtr<\/code><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Search and Text Processing<\/td>\nfind<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 grep<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 sed<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 whatis<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 ripgrep<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 fd<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 tldr<\/code><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
System Information and Management<\/td>\nenv<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 history<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 top<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 who<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 htop<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 glances<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 lsof<\/code><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
User and Session Management<\/td>\nscreen<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 su<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 sudo<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 open<\/code><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Get a quick glimpse of file beginnings with the Linux ‘head’ command.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3397],"tags":[888,3316],"topic":[],"class_list":["entry-content","is-maxi"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Use the 'head' Command in Linux - Hongkiat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Get a quick glimpse of file beginnings with the Linux 'head' command.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/linux-command-head\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Use the 'head' Command in Linux\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Get a quick glimpse of file beginnings with the Linux 'head' command.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/linux-command-head\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hongkiat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hongkiatcom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-22T10:01:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-09-27T10:02:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hongkiat.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@hongkiat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@hongkiat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hongkiat.com\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/linux-command-head\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/linux-command-head\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Hongkiat.com\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cc686597d92f9086729e4bcc1577ba3\"},\"headline\":\"How to Use the ‘head’ Command in Linux\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-22T10:01:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-27T10:02:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/linux-command-head\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":335,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Linux\",\"Linux Commands\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Desktop\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/linux-command-head\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/linux-command-head\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to Use the 'head' Command in Linux - 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