head

output the first part of files

TLDR

Output the first few lines of a file

$ head --lines [count] [path/to/file]

Output the first few bytes of a file

$ head --bytes [count] [path/to/file]

Output everything but the last few lines of a file

$ head --lines -[count] [path/to/file]

Output everything but the last few bytes of a file

$ head --bytes -[count] [path/to/file]

DESCRIPTION

Print the first 10 lines of each FILE to standard output. With more than one FILE, precede each with a header giving the file name.

With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.

Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.

-c, --bytes=[-]NUM: print the first NUM bytes of each file; with the leading '-', print all but the last NUM bytes of each file
-n, --lines=[-]NUM: print the first NUM lines instead of the first 10; with the leading '-', print all but the last NUM lines of each file
-q, --quiet, --silent: never print headers giving file names
-v, --verbose: always print headers giving file names
-z, --zero-terminated: line delimiter is NUL, not newline
--help: display this help and exit
--version: output version information and exit

NUM may have a multiplier suffix: b 512, kB 1000, K 1024, MB 1000*1000, M 1024*1024, GB 1000*1000*1000, G 1024*1024*1024, and so on for T, P, E, Z, Y. Binary prefixes can be used, too: KiB=K, MiB=M, and so on.

REPORTING BUGS

GNU coreutils online help: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
Report any translation bugs to <https://translationproject.org/team/>

COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2022 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

AUTHOR

Written by David MacKenzie and Jim Meyering.