head(1) — Commands
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: XCU5.0
Refer to the standards(5) reference page for more information about industry standards and associated tags.
OPTIONS
The default count is 10.
−c bytes
[Tru64 UNIX] 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 lines
Specifies the number of lines to display
−lines
Works exactly as −n lines. Obsolescent.
OPERANDS
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.
NOTES
The obsolescent form is subject to withdrawal at any time.
EXIT STATUS
The following exit values are returned:
0Successful completion.
>0An error occurred.
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 ∗
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
The following environment variables affect the execution of head:
LANG
Provides 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_ALL
If set to a non-empty string value, overrides the values of all the other internationalization variables.
LC_CTYPE
Determines 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_MESSAGES
Determines the locale for the format and contents of diagnostic messages written to standard error.
NLSPATH
Determines the location of message catalogues for the processing of LC_MESSAGES.