# removeFirst
> Remove the first character(s) of a string.
## Usage
```javascript
var removeFirst = require( '@stdlib/string/remove-first' );
```
#### removeFirst( str\[, n] )
Removes the first character of a `string`.
```javascript
var out = removeFirst( 'last man standing' );
// returns 'ast man standing'
out = removeFirst( 'Hidden Treasures' );
// returns 'idden Treasures'
```
If provided a second argument, the function removes the first `n` characters.
```javascript
var out = removeFirst( 'foo bar', 4 );
// returns 'bar'
out = removeFirst( 'foo bar', 10 );
// returns ''
```
## Examples
```javascript
var removeFirst = require( '@stdlib/string/remove-first' );
var str = removeFirst( 'last man standing' );
// returns 'ast man standing'
str = removeFirst( 'presidential election' );
// returns 'residential election'
str = removeFirst( 'javaScript' );
// returns 'avaScript'
str = removeFirst( 'Hidden Treasures' );
// returns 'idden Treasures'
str = removeFirst( 'The Last of the Mohicans', 4 );
// returns 'Last of the Mohicans'
str = removeFirst( '🐶🐮🐷🐰🐸', 2 );
// returns '🐷🐰🐸'
str = removeFirst( '🐶🐮🐷🐰🐸', 10 );
// returns ''
```
* * *
## CLI
### Usage
```text
Usage: remove-first [options] []
Options:
-h, --help Print this message.
-V, --version Print the package version.
--n Number of characters to remove. Default: 1.
--split sep Delimiter for stdin data. Default: '/\\r?\\n/'.
```
### Notes
- If the split separator is a [regular expression][mdn-regexp], ensure that the `split` option is either properly escaped or enclosed in quotes.
```bash
# Not escaped...
$ echo -n $'beep\nboop' | remove-first --split /\r?\n/
# Escaped...
$ echo -n $'beep\nboop' | remove-first --split /\\r?\\n/
```
- The implementation ignores trailing delimiters.
### Examples
```bash
$ remove-first beep
eep
```
To use as a [standard stream][standard-streams],
```bash
$ echo -n 'beep\nboop' | remove-first --n=2
be
bo
```
By default, when used as a [standard stream][standard-streams], the implementation assumes newline-delimited data. To specify an alternative delimiter, set the `split` option.
```bash
$ echo -n 'beep\tboop' | remove-first --split '\t'
eep
oop
```
[standard-streams]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_streams
[mdn-regexp]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Guide/Regular_Expressions
[@stdlib/string/remove-last]: https://github.com/stdlib-js/string/tree/main/remove-last