head

Explanation

The head command prints the first part (usually the first 10 lines) of files to standard output. It's incredibly useful for quickly checking the structure of a file, verifying column headers, or looking at the initial contents without opening the entire file.

Basic Syntax

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

Common Flags and Options

Flag	Description
-n, --lines=[-]NUM	Print the first NUM lines instead of the first 10. (If NUM is prefixed with '-', print all but the last NUM lines.)
-c, --bytes=[-]NUM	Print the first NUM bytes.
-q, --quiet, --silent	Never print headers giving file names.

Real-world Examples

1. View the first 10 lines of a file (default):

   head file.txt

2. View the first 20 lines:

   head -n 20 file.txt

3. View the first 50 bytes:

   head -c 50 file.txt