Name
head
Synopsis
head [options
] [files
]
Print the first few lines (default is 10) of one or more files to standard output. If files is missing or -, read from standard input. With more than one file, print a header for each file showing the filename.
Options
- -c num[b|k|m], --bytes num[b|k|m]
Print first num bytes or, if num is followed by b, k, or m, first num 512-byte blocks, 1-kilobyte blocks, or 1-megabyte blocks.
- --help
Display help and then exit.
- -n num, --lines num, -num
Print first num lines. Default is 10.
- -q, --quiet, --silent
Quiet mode; never print headers giving filenames.
- -v, --verbose
Print filename headers, even for only one file.
- --version
Output version information and then exit.
Examples
Display the first 20 lines of phone_list:
head −20 phone_list
Display the first 10 phone numbers having a 202 area code:
grep '(202)' phone_list | head
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