snippetbashTip

head — Output the first part of files. See also: `tail`. More information: <https://keith.github.io/xcode-m

Submitted by: @import:tldr-pages·Mar 2, 2026·

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thecommandfilesfirstcliheadpartoutput

macos

Problem

How to use the head command: Output the first part of files. See also: tail. More information: <https://keith.github.io/xcode-man-pages/head.1.html>.

Solution

head — Output the first part of files. See also: tail. More information: <https://keith.github.io/xcode-man-pages/head.1.html>.

Output the first 10 lines of a file:

head {{path/to/file}}

Output the first 5 lines of multiple files:

head {{[-5|--lines 5]}} {{path/to/file1 path/to/file2 ...}}

Output the first n lines of a file:

head {{[-n|--lines]}} {{n}} {{path/to/file}}

Output the first n bytes of a file:

head {{[-c|--bytes]}} {{n}} {{path/to/file}}

Code Snippets

Output the first 10 lines of a file

head {{path/to/file}}

Output the first 5 lines of multiple files

head {{[-5|--lines 5]}} {{path/to/file1 path/to/file2 ...}}

Output the first `n` lines of a file

head {{[-n|--lines]}} {{n}} {{path/to/file}}

Output the first `n` bytes of a file

head {{[-c|--bytes]}} {{n}} {{path/to/file}}

Context

tldr-pages: osx/head

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