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Next Article: Head Command in Linux With

Tail command in Examples
Linux with…
examples Last Updated : 10 Mar, 2025

Need to quickly view the beginning of a file in

Linux? The head command is your best option. This
essential command-line tool enables users,
developers, and system administrators to preview
the start of log files, configuration files, CSV
datasets, and other text documents in seconds.

The head command is useful for troubleshooting

issues, monitoring logs, and managing large
datasets, as it allows you to view specific portions
of data without opening entire files. In this guide,
we will explore the head command in Linux,
covering its syntax, options, and practical examples
for better understanding.

Head Command in Linux With Examples

What is the head Command in Linux

The head command in Linux is a command-line
utility used to display the first few lines (or bytes)
of one or more text files. By default, it outputs the
first 10 lines of a file, making it invaluable for
quickly previewing content without opening large
files entirely. It’s widely used in system
administration, log analysis, data processing, and
scripting to extract or inspect critical information
efficiently.

Key Features of the head Command

1. Preview Files: Instantly view the start of log

files, configuration files, or datasets.
2. Customize Output: Adjust the number of lines
or bytes displayed.
3. Combine with Other Commands:
Pipe head with tools like grep, tail, or sort for
advanced workflows.

Syntax:

head [options] [file(s)]

where,

Options: are the flags you use to customize the

behaviour of head
File(s): is the name of the file/s you’re looking to
view.

Let us consider two files having name state.txt and

capital.txt contains all the names of the Indian
states and capitals respectively.

$ cat state.txt
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chhattisgarh
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir
Jharkhand
Karnataka
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Odisha
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu
Telangana
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
Uttarakhand
West Bengal

$ cat capital.txt
Hyderabad
Itanagar
Dispur
Patna
Raipur
Panaji
Gandhinagar
Chandigarh
Shimla
Srinagar

Without any option, it displays only the first 10

lines of the file specified.

Example:

$ head state.txt
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chhattisgarh
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir

Options

1. -n num: Prints the first ‘num’ lines instead of first

10 lines. num is mandatory to be specified in
command otherwise it displays an error.

$ head -n 5 state.txt
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chhattisgarh

2. -c num: Prints the first ‘num’ bytes from the file

specified. Newline count as a single character, so if
head prints out a newline, it will count it as a byte.
num is mandatory to be specified in command
otherwise displays an error.

$ head -c 6 state.txt
Andhra

3. -q: It is used if more than 1 file is given. Because

of this command, data from each file is not
precedes by its file name.

Without using -q option

$ head state.txt capital.txt
==> state.txt <==
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chhattisgarh
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir

==> capital.txt <==

Hyderabad
Itanagar
Dispur
Patna
Raipur
Panaji
Gandhinagar
Chandigarh
Shimla
Srinagar

With using -q option

$ head -q state.txt capital.txt
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chhattisgarh
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir
Hyderabad
Itanagar
Dispur
Patna
Raipur
Panaji
Gandhinagar
Chandigarh
Shimla
Srinagar

4. -v: By using this option, data from the specified

file is always preceded by its file name.

$ head -v state.txt
==> state.txt <==
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chhattisgarh
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir

Real-World Scenario of head

Command
Now, we’re going to discuss some of the best real-
world scenarios that can be used using head
command in Linux:

1. Print line between M and N lines(M>N)

For this purpose, we use the head, tail, and

pipeline(|) commands. The command is: head -M
file_name | tail +N since the head command takes
first M lines and from M lines tail command cuts
lines starting from +N till the end, we can also use
head -M file_name | tail +(M-N+1) command since
the head command takes first M lines and from M
lines tail command cuts (M-N+1) lines starting
from the end. Let say from the state.txt file we have
to print lines between 10 and 20.

$ head -n 20 state.txt | tail -10

Jharkhand
Karnataka
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Odisha

2. How to use the head with pipeline(|)

The head command can be piped with other

commands. In the following example, the output of
the ls command is piped to head to show only the
three most recently modified files or folders.

Display all recently modified or

recently used files.
$ ls -t
e.txt
d.txt
c.txt
b.txt
a.txt

Cut three most recently used file.

$ ls -t | head -n 3
e.txt
d.txt
c.txt

3. Multiple Pipping for Additional Processing

It can also be piped with one or more filters for

additional processing. For example, the sort filter
could be used to sort the three most recently used
files or folders in the alphabetic order.

$ ls -t | head -n 3 | sort
c.txt
d.txt
e.txt

4. For Viewing Huge Log Files

There are number of other filters or commands

along which we use head command. Mainly, it can
be used for viewing huge log files in Unix.

?list=PLqM7alHXFySFc4KtwEZTANgmyJm3NqS_L

Conclusion
The head command in Linux is an essential tool for
quickly viewing the btop lines of files. Whether
you need to display a specific number of lines,
view files in a custom format, or pipe output from
other commands, head command for Linux makes
it easy to manipulate the text files.

Head command in Linux with

examples – FAQs

What does the head command do in Linux?

The head command in Linux is used to display

the first few lines of a file or files to the
standard output. By default, it shows the first
10 lines.

How to use the head command with a file?

To use the head command with a file, simply

type head followed by the filename. For
example, to display the first 10 lines of a file
named example.txt, you would use:

head example.txt

Can I use the head command to display byte

insteas of lines?

Yes, you can use -c option to display bytes,

here’s the syntax for it:

head -c 10 filename

How do I display the first 20 lines of a file

using head command?

You can use the -n option, syntax for this:

head -n 20 filename

Can we use the head command with

multiple files?

Yes, you can use the head command with

multiple files. When used with more than
one file, head will display the first 10 lines
from each file with a header showing the file
name. For example:

head file1.txt file2.txt

This command will display the first 10 lines

from both file1.txt and file2.txt.

What are some common options for the

head command?

Some common options for the head command

include:

-n <number>: Specifies the number of lines

to display. For example, head -n 5
file.txt will display the first 5 lines of
file.txt.
-c <number>: Specifies the number of
bytes to display. For example, head -c 100
file.txt will display the first 100 bytes of
file.txt.

How to display the first 10 lines of a file

using head?

To display the first 10 lines of a file using the

head command, simply invoke head with the
file name:

head example.txt

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