These docs are under active development and cover the v0.20 Kobicha security model.
Peios Learn
On this page
reference 1 min read

head

head prints the beginning of a file — by default, the first 10 lines.

head [options] [file...]

$ head config.toml

It is the quick way to glance at the top of a file without printing the whole thing — a header, the first few records, the start of a log. With no file, head reads standard input.

Choosing how much

Option Effect
-n, --lines=NUM Print the first NUM lines instead of 10.
-c, --bytes=NUM Print the first NUM bytes instead of counting lines.

NUM accepts a unit suffix (K, M, …) when counting bytes.

Counting from the end

If NUM is given a leading -, the meaning flips: head prints everything except the last NUM.

$ head -n -5 report.txt    # all but the final 5 lines

Headers for multiple files

When given more than one file, head prints a header line before each one so you can tell them apart. Two options override that:

Option Effect
-q, --quiet Never print the file-name headers.
-v, --verbose Always print the header, even for a single file.

Other options

Option Effect
-z, --zero-terminated Treat the NUL character as the line delimiter instead of newline.

Exit status

Code Meaning
0 Every file was printed.
1 A file could not be read.

See also