SPLK-1001 Basic Searching and Transforming Commands Practice Question
A user runs a search that returns thousands of results. They need to see only the first 100 events after sorting by time descending. Which command should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
Splunk often tests the distinction between `head` and `tail` in combination with sorting, where candidates mistakenly think `tail` returns the most recent events because it 'ends' the list, but in descending time order, the most recent events are at the top, so `head` is correct.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
sort - _time | head 100
The user needs the first 100 events after sorting by time descending. The `sort - _time` command sorts events in descending order by timestamp, and piping the result to `head 100` returns the first 100 events from that sorted list, which are the most recent 100 events. This is the correct approach because `head` returns events from the top of the result set, and sorting ensures the top events are the newest.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
reverse
Why it's wrong here
Reverses order of events, but does not sort by time.
- ✗
tail 100
Why it's wrong here
Returns last 100 events, not the latest after sorting.
- ✗
head 100
Why it's wrong here
Only limits to first 100 without sorting, so events are not necessarily the latest.
- ✓
sort - _time | head 100
Why this is correct
Sorts by time descending, then takes first 100, which are the 100 most recent.
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About these practice questions
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SPLK-1001 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Splunk certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SPLK-1001 exam.