head Command Cheatsheet

The head command is used to display the first part of a file or output. It is commonly used to quickly view the beginning of files or outputs, often to check file contents or inspect logs.

Syntax

head [OPTION]... [FILE]...

Common Options

• -n NUM: Output the first NUM lines. Default is 10.

• -c NUM: Output the first NUM bytes.

• -q: Suppress header showing file name.

• -v: Show file name header (default behavior).

Examples and Use Cases

Display the First 10 Lines of a File

head filename.txt

• Outputs the first 10 lines of filename.txt.

Display the First 20 Lines of a File

head -n 20 filename.txt

• Outputs the first 20 lines of filename.txt.

Display the First 10 Bytes of a File

head -c 10 filename.txt

• Outputs the first 10 bytes of filename.txt.

Display the First 10 Lines of Multiple Files

head file1.txt file2.txt

• Outputs the first 10 lines of both file1.txt and file2.txt.

Display the First 5 Lines of a File

head -n 5 filename.txt

• Outputs the first 5 lines of filename.txt.

Suppress Header Showing File Name

head -n 10 -q filename.txt

• Outputs the first 10 lines without showing the file name header.

Display the First 10 Lines of a File with a Specific Byte Range

head -c 50 filename.txt

• Outputs the first 50 bytes of filename.txt.

View the First 10 Lines of a Pipe Output

cat filename.txt | head

• Outputs the first 10 lines of the content piped from filename.txt.

Combine with -n and -c Options

head -n 15 -c 100 filename.txt

• Outputs the first 100 bytes of the first 15 lines of filename.txt.

Additional Information

• Man Page: For more details, you can refer to the head man page:

    man head
  

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This cheatsheet covers the most common usages and options for the head command. For more detailed information, you can always refer to the head man page. Let me know if you need more information or additional examples!