Remove the First Line of a Text File in Linux

There are several ways to remove the first line of a text file in Linux. In this article, we will go over three different methods that can be used to accomplish this task.

Method 1: Using the head Command

The head command is a Linux utility that is used to display the first few lines of a text file. It can also be used to remove the first line of a text file by using the -n option. The -n option is used to specify the number of lines that should be displayed. By specifying -1, we can remove the first line of a text file.

Example

To remove the first line of a text file called file.txt, we can use the following command −

$ head -n -1 file.txt >: newfile.txt

This command will create a new file called newfile.txt that contains all the lines of file.txt except the first line.

Method 2: Using the sed Command

The sed command is a Linux utility that is used to perform text transformations on an input file. It can also be used to remove the first line of a text file. The sed command can be used to delete a specified line in a text file by using the d command.

Example

To remove the first line of a text file called file.txt, we can use the following command −

$ sed '1d' file.txt > newfile.txt

This command will create a new file called newfile.txt that contains all the lines of file.txt except the first line.

Method 3: Using the tail Command

The tail command is a Linux utility that is used to display the last few lines of a text file. It can also be used to remove the first line of a text file by using the + option. The + option is used to specify the number of lines that should be displayed. By specifying 2, we can remove the first line of a text file.

Example

To remove the first line of a text file called file.txt, we can use the following command −

$ tail -n +2 file.txt > newfile.txt

This command will create a new file called newfile.txt that contains all the lines of file.txt except the first line.

Method 4: Using the awk command

Another method to remove the first line of a text file in Linux is by using the awk command. The awk command is a powerful text processing tool that can be used for a variety of tasks, including removing specific lines from a text file.

Example

To remove the first line of a text file called file.txt, we can use the following command −

$ awk 'NR>1' file.txt > newfile.txt

This command uses the NR variable, which stands for "number of records", to specify that all lines except for the first one should be printed. The output is then redirected to a new file called newfile.txt, which contains all the lines of file.txt except the first line.

Alternatively, we can also use the following command −

$ awk 'FNR>1' file.txt > newfile.txt

This command uses the FNR variable, which stands for "file number of records", and it works the same way as the previous example, but it also considers multiple files.

Performance

When it comes to performance, the head, sed, tail, and awk commands all have their own strengths and weaknesses.

The head and tail commands are generally faster than sed and awk when working with large files because they only read a certain number of lines from the file. However, they are limited in their functionality and can only be used to remove the first or last lines of a file, respectively.

On the other hand, sed and awk commands are more powerful and versatile, they can be used to perform various text transformations, but they may be slower than the head and tail commands when working with large files.

In general, the choice of command will depend on the specific requirements of the task at hand. If the task is simply to remove the first line of a file, then the head or tail commands will likely be the most efficient option. However, if more advanced text transformations are needed, then the sed or awk commands may be more appropriate.

It is important to note that the performance of these commands also depends on the size of the file and the performance of the computer that is being used.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are several ways to remove the first line of a text file in Linux. The head, sed, and tail commands are all useful utilities that can be used to accomplish this task. Each method has its own unique syntax and options, so it's important to choose the one that best fits your needs.