NAME

head − Displays the beginning of files

SYNOPSIS

Current Syntax

head [-c bytes] [-n lines] [file...]

Obsolescent Syntax

head [-lines] [file ...]

The head command prints the first count lines of each of the specified files to standard output. 

FLAGS

The default count is 10. 

-c bytesSpecifies the number of bytes to display. If the last byte written is not a newline character, a newline character is appended to the output. 

-n linesSpecifies the number of lines to display

- linesWorks exactly as -nlines. Obsolescent. 

DESCRIPTION

If you do not specify a file, head reads standard input. 

EXAMPLES

To display the first 5 lines of a file called test, enter:

head -n 5 test

RELATED INFORMATION

Commands:  cat(1), more(1)/page(1), pg(1), tail(1).