Terminal 101: Head and Tail Text Commands

Every Monday, we'll show you how to do something new and simple with Apple's built-in command line application. You don't need any fancy software, or a knowledge of coding to do any of these. All you need is a keyboard to type 'em out!

In OS X, you can easily view the contents of almost any file in the Finder by using Quick Look. But, did you know you can also do the same with the command line. The head and tail commands let you preview the first or last bits of a text file you’re working with, letting you narrow down the file that you need without opening it in a text editor like nano.

Head

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