Files

SKILL.mdagentsreferencesscripts

Install

Install the containing plugin

/plugin install shared-skills@llm-skills

Invoke this skill after installation

/shared-skills:head

Download head-skill.zip

This skill is bundled inside shared-skills. Install the plugin once, then Claude Code can use any of its included skills. Browse the full plugin repository at github.com/alisonaquinas/llm-shared-skills.

SKILL.md

name: head description: Quickly sample the beginning of files with head for inspecting headers, previewing content, and validating file prefixes. Use when the agent needs to peek at file starts, limit output to N lines or bytes, or validate file format headers.

head

Sample and display the first lines or bytes of files or streams.

Quick Start

Verify head is available: head --version or man head
Establish the command surface: man head or head --help
Start with a read-only probe: head -n 5 file.txt

Intent Router

Load only the reference file needed for the active request.

references/install-and-setup.md — Installing head (GNU, BSD) on macOS, Linux, Windows
references/cheatsheet.md — Common flags, line/byte counts, multiple files, quiet/verbose output
references/advanced-usage.md — GNU vs BSD differences, large file handling, stream processing, performance
references/troubleshooting.md — Encoding issues, binary files, empty output, permission errors

Core Workflow

Verify head version and variant (GNU vs BSD): head --version or man head
Specify count explicitly: -n <N> for lines or -c <N> for bytes
Use -q (quiet) for multiple files to suppress file headers
Run on sample data first to validate before processing at scale

Quick Command Reference

head --version                      # Check version (GNU vs BSD)
head -n 5 file.txt                 # First 5 lines (explicit count)
head -c 1024 file.bin              # First 1024 bytes (explicit count)
head -n -5 file.txt                # All lines except last 5 (GNU only)
head -q -n 2 *.log                 # First 2 lines from all files, no headers
head -v -n 3 file.txt              # First 3 lines with file header (verbose)
man head                            # Full manual and options

Safety Notes

Area	Guardrail
Explicit counts	Always use `-n` or `-c` with explicit numbers; default values (10 lines) may not match intent.
Multiple files	When reading multiple files with `-q`, output lacks file name markers; confirm context before processing.
Binary files	head on binary files may include non-text bytes. Pipe through `xxd` or `od` for safe hex viewing.
GNU vs BSD	GNU head supports `-n -5` (all except last 5); BSD does not. Avoid for portability or test on target platform.
Incomplete lines	When using `-c`, output may end mid-line; subsequent processing may fail if expecting complete records.
Large files	head terminates early (safe) but still reads through file sequentially; not suitable for random access to large files.

Source Policy

Treat the installed head behavior and man head as runtime truth.
Use GNU Coreutils documentation (gnu.org/software/coreutils) for GNU-specific extensions.
Use BSD manual for BSD variant behavior differences.

Resource Index

scripts/install.sh — Install head (GNU, BSD, or POSIX variant) on macOS or Linux.
scripts/install.ps1 — Install head on Windows or any platform via PowerShell.