head(1) General Commands Manual head(1)
NAME
head - give first few lines
SYNOPSIS
count] [file ...]
Obsolescent:
[file ...]
DESCRIPTION
prints on standard output the first count lines of each of the specified files, or of the standard input. If count is omitted it defaults
to 10.
If multiple files are specified, outputs before each file a line of this form:
file
Options
The quantity of output is measured in bytes.
The number of units of output.
This option is provided for backward compatibility (see below) and is mutually exclusive of all other options.
The quantity of output is measured in lines; this is the default.
The number of lines (default) or bytes output.
count is an unsigned decimal integer. If (or is not given, the default quantity is 10. This option provides the same func-
tionality as the option, but in a more standard way. Use of the option is recommended where portability between systems is
important.
EXTERNAL INFLUENCES
Environment Variables
determines the interpretation of text within file as single and/or multi-byte characters.
determines the language in which messages are displayed.
If or is not specified in the environment or is set to the empty string, the value of is used as a default for each unspecified or empty
variable. If is not specified or is set to the empty string, a default of "C" (see lang(5)) is used instead of
If any internationalization variable contains an invalid setting, behaves as if all internationalization variables are set to "C". See
environ(5).
International Code Set Support
Single- and multi-byte character code sets are supported.
WARNINGS
The length of the input lines is limited to bytes.
SEE ALSO
tail(1), cat(1), more(1), pg(1).
STANDARDS CONFORMANCE
head(1)