NAME

head − Displays the beginning of files

SYNOPSIS

Current Syntax

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

Obsolescent Syntax

head [-lines] [file ...]

STANDARDS

Interfaces documented on this reference page conform to industry standards as follows:

head:  XPG4, XPG4−UNIX

Refer to the standards(5) reference page for more information about industry standards and associated tags. 

FLAGS

The default count is 10. 

-c bytes[Digital]  Specifies 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 -n lines. Obsolescent. 

PARAMETERS

filePath name of the input file.  If you do not specify a file, head reads standard input. 

DESCRIPTION

The head command copies the standard input to standard output, ending output of each file at the specified point. 

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

The following environment variables affect the execution of head:

LANGProvides a default value for the internationalization variables that are unset or null. If LANG is unset or null, the corresponding value from the default locale is used. If any of the internationalization variables contain an invalid setting, the utility behaves as if none of the variables had been defined. 

LC_ALLIf set to a non-empty string value, overrides the values of all the other internationalization variables. 

LC_CTYPEDetermines the locale for the interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data as characters (for example, single-byte as opposed to multibyte characters in arguments and input files). 

LC_MESSAGESDetermines the locale for the format and contents of diagnostic messages written to standard error. 

NLSPATHDetermines the location of message catalogues for the processing of LC_MESSAGES. 

NOTES

The obsolescent form is subject to withdrawal at any time. 

EXAMPLES

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

head -n 5 test

     2.To display the first ten lines of all files (except those with a name beginning with a period), enter:

head ∗

EXIT VALUES

The following exit values are returned:

0Successful completion

>0An error occurred

RELATED INFORMATION

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

Standards:  standards(5)