Overview

Linux has useful tools called `head` and `tail`. By using these, you can view the beginning or end of a text file.

head document

NAME

head – display first lines of a file

SYNOPSIS

head [-n count | -c bytes] [file ...]

DESCRIPTION

This filter displays the first count lines or bytes of each of the

specified files, or of the standard input if no files are specified. If

count is omitted it defaults to 10.

The following options are available:

-c bytes, --bytes=bytes

Print bytes of each of the specified files.

-n count, --lines=count

Print count lines of each of the specified files.

If more than a single file is specified, each file is preceded by a header

consisting of the string "==> XXX <==" where "XXX" is the name of the file.

NAME

tail – display the last part of a file

SYNOPSIS

tail [-F | -f | -r] [-q] [-b number | -c number | -n number] [file ...]

DESCRIPTION

The tail utility displays the contents of file or, by default, its standard

input, to the standard output.

The display begins at a byte, line or 512-byte block location in the input.

Numbers having a leading plus ('+') sign are relative to the beginning of

the input, for example, "-c +2" starts the display at the second byte of

the input. Numbers having a leading minus ('-') sign or no explicit sign

are relative to the end of the input, for example, "-n 2" displays the last

two lines of the input. The default starting location is "-n 10", or the

last 10 lines of the input.

The options are as follows:

-b number, --blocks=number

examples

Let's assume we have a `test.txt` file with the following content.

$cat test.txt

chaos and order

hello

hi

nice to meet you

and you?

thankyou

1

2

3

4

4

5

6

7

hihihihihi

head file

If you enter a file name after head, it outputs the first 10 lines.

$ head test.txt

chaos and order

hello

hi

nice to meet you

and you?

thankyou

1

2

3

4

head -n file

If you specify a number with -n after head, it outputs the first n lines.

$ head -5 test.txt

chaos and order

hello

hi

nice to meet you

and you?

tail file

Opposite to head, the tail command shows text from the end.

$ tail test.txt

thankyou

1

2

3

4

4

5

6

7

hihihihihi

tail -n file

Specifying -n shows the last n lines.

$ tail -3 test.txt

6

7

hihihihihi

When reading simple text or checking what kind of text it is, it can be very useful to quickly check with tail and head.

Quiz

Learn the basics of the head and tail commands, useful text viewing command-line tools in Linux.

If you enter a file name after head, it outputs the first 10 lines.

If you specify a number with -n after head, it outputs the first n lines.

Opposite to head, the tail command shows text from the end.

Specifying -n shows the last n lines. When reading simple text or checking what kind of text it

is, it can be very useful to quickly check with tail and head.