head

Display the first lines of a file. Default shows first 10 lines, -n specifies number of lines.

Primary Syntax

$ head -n 20 file.txt

Example Usage

head -n 5 /etc/passwd
head -c 100 file.txt

• Use man head to read the full manual

• Add --help flag for quick options reference

• Combine with | less for paginated output

Submitted by: admin

Added: 2/9/2026