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linuxunixcommand-linedd

How to extract the first x-megabyte from a large file in unix/linux?


I have a large file which I am only interested in the first couple of megabytes in the head.

How do I extract the first x-megabyte from a large file in unix/linux and put it into a seperate file?

(I know the split command can split files into many pieces. And using bash scripts I can erase the pieces I don't want. I would prefer a easier way)


Solution

  • Head works with binary files and the syntax is neater than dd.

    head -c 2M input.file > output.file
    

    Tail works the same way if you want the end of a file.