diff --git a/akka-docs-dev/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeSeq.scala b/akka-docs-dev/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeSeq.scala
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..49a27c9800
--- /dev/null
+++ b/akka-docs-dev/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeSeq.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+/**
+ *  Copyright (C) 2015 Typesafe <http://typesafe.com/>
+ */
+package docs.stream.cookbook
+
+import akka.stream.scaladsl.{ Sink, Source }
+
+import scala.collection.immutable
+import scala.concurrent.{ Await, Future }
+import scala.concurrent.duration._
+
+class RecipeSeq extends RecipeSpec {
+
+  "Recipe for draining a stream into a strict collection" must {
+
+    "work" in {
+      //#draining-to-seq-unsafe
+      val result = immutable.Seq[Message]("1", "2", "3")
+      val myData = Source(result)
+
+      val unsafe: Future[Seq[Message]] = myData.runWith(Sink.seq) // dangerous!
+      //#draining-to-seq-unsafe
+
+      Await.result(unsafe, 3.seconds) should be(result)
+    }
+
+    "work together with limit(n)" in {
+      //#draining-to-seq-safe
+      val result = List("1", "2", "3")
+      val myData = Source(result)
+      val max = 100
+
+      // OK. Future will fail with a `StreamLimitReachedException`
+      // if the number of incoming elements is larger than max
+      val safe1: Future[immutable.Seq[Message]] = myData.limit(max).runWith(Sink.seq)
+      //#draining-to-seq-safe
+
+      Await.result(safe1, 3.seconds) should be(result)
+    }
+
+    "work together with take(n)" in {
+      val result = List("1", "2", "3")
+      val myData = Source(result)
+      val max = 100
+
+      //#draining-to-seq-safe
+      // OK. Collect up until max-th elements only, then cancel upstream
+      val safe2: Future[immutable.Seq[Message]] = myData.take(max).runWith(Sink.seq)
+      //#draining-to-seq-safe
+
+      Await.result(safe2, 3.seconds) should be(result)
+    }
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/FlowStagesDocTest.java b/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/FlowStagesDocTest.java
index f486e4e420..bfcb21d29a 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/FlowStagesDocTest.java
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/FlowStagesDocTest.java
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ public class FlowStagesDocTest {
   @Test
   public void demonstrateVariousPushPullStages() throws Exception {
     final Sink<Integer, CompletionStage<List<Integer>>> sink =
-        Flow.of(Integer.class).grouped(10).toMat(Sink.head(), Keep.right());
+      Flow.of(Integer.class).limit(10).toMat(Sink.seq(), Keep.right());
 
     //#stage-chain
     final RunnableGraph<CompletionStage<List<Integer>>> runnable =
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/javadsl/cookbook/RecipeByteStrings.java b/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/javadsl/cookbook/RecipeByteStrings.java
index 14b278fea7..9232d21e42 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/javadsl/cookbook/RecipeByteStrings.java
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/javadsl/cookbook/RecipeByteStrings.java
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ public class RecipeByteStrings extends RecipeTest {
           rawBytes.transform(() -> new Chunker(CHUNK_LIMIT));
         //#bytestring-chunker2
 
-        CompletionStage<List<ByteString>> chunksFuture = chunksStream.grouped(10).runWith(Sink.head(), mat);
+        CompletionStage<List<ByteString>> chunksFuture = chunksStream.limit(10).runWith(Sink.seq(), mat);
 
         List<ByteString> chunks = chunksFuture.toCompletableFuture().get(3, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
 
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ public class RecipeByteStrings extends RecipeTest {
           ByteString.fromArray(new byte[] { 4, 5, 6 }),
           ByteString.fromArray(new byte[] { 7, 8, 9, 10 })));
 
-        List<ByteString> got = bytes1.via(limiter).grouped(10).runWith(Sink.head(), mat).toCompletableFuture().get(3, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+        List<ByteString> got = bytes1.via(limiter).limit(10).runWith(Sink.seq(), mat).toCompletableFuture().get(3, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
         ByteString acc = ByteString.empty();
         for (ByteString b : got) {
           acc = acc.concat(b);
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ public class RecipeByteStrings extends RecipeTest {
 
         boolean thrown = false;
         try {
-          bytes2.via(limiter).grouped(10).runWith(Sink.head(), mat).toCompletableFuture().get(3, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+          bytes2.via(limiter).limit(10).runWith(Sink.seq(), mat).toCompletableFuture().get(3, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
         } catch (IllegalStateException ex) {
           thrown = true;
         }
@@ -190,7 +190,7 @@ public class RecipeByteStrings extends RecipeTest {
         Source<ByteString, NotUsed> compacted = rawBytes.map(bs -> bs.compact());
         //#compacting-bytestrings
 
-        List<ByteString> got = compacted.grouped(10).runWith(Sink.head(), mat).toCompletableFuture().get(3, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+        List<ByteString> got = compacted.limit(10).runWith(Sink.seq(), mat).toCompletableFuture().get(3, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
 
         for (ByteString byteString : got) {
           assertTrue(byteString.isCompact());
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/javadsl/cookbook/RecipeFlattenList.java b/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/javadsl/cookbook/RecipeFlattenList.java
index c04ed24cb7..de2ae6ec15 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/javadsl/cookbook/RecipeFlattenList.java
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/javadsl/cookbook/RecipeFlattenList.java
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ public class RecipeFlattenList extends RecipeTest {
         Source<Message, NotUsed> flattened = myData.mapConcat(i -> i);
         //#flattening-lists
 
-        List<Message> got = flattened.grouped(10).runWith(Sink.head(), mat).toCompletableFuture().get(1, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+        List<Message> got = flattened.limit(10).runWith(Sink.seq(), mat).toCompletableFuture().get(1, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
         assertEquals(got.get(0), new Message("1"));
         assertEquals(got.get(1), new Message("2"));
         assertEquals(got.get(2), new Message("3"));
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/javadsl/cookbook/RecipeParseLines.java b/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/javadsl/cookbook/RecipeParseLines.java
index ec502e6506..a25b62ef9a 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/javadsl/cookbook/RecipeParseLines.java
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/javadsl/cookbook/RecipeParseLines.java
@@ -50,8 +50,7 @@ public class RecipeParseLines extends RecipeTest {
       .via(Framing.delimiter(ByteString.fromString("\r\n"), 100, true))
       .map(b -> b.utf8String());
     //#parse-lines
-
-    lines.grouped(10).runWith(Sink.head(), mat).toCompletableFuture().get(1, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+    lines.limit(10).runWith(Sink.seq(), mat).toCompletableFuture().get(1, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
   }
 
 }
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/javadsl/cookbook/RecipeSeq.java b/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/javadsl/cookbook/RecipeSeq.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0e66e463d3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/javadsl/cookbook/RecipeSeq.java
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+/**
+ *  Copyright (C) 2015-2016 Typesafe <http://typesafe.com/>
+ */
+package docs.stream.javadsl.cookbook;
+
+import akka.NotUsed;
+import akka.actor.ActorSystem;
+import akka.stream.ActorMaterializer;
+import akka.stream.Materializer;
+import akka.stream.javadsl.Sink;
+import akka.stream.javadsl.Source;
+import akka.testkit.JavaTestKit;
+import org.junit.AfterClass;
+import org.junit.BeforeClass;
+import org.junit.Test;
+import scala.concurrent.Await;
+import scala.concurrent.Future;
+import scala.concurrent.duration.FiniteDuration;
+
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.concurrent.CompletionStage;
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+
+public class RecipeSeq extends RecipeTest {
+  static ActorSystem system;
+
+  @BeforeClass
+  public static void setup() {
+    system = ActorSystem.create("RecipeLoggingElements");
+  }
+
+  @AfterClass
+  public static void tearDown() {
+    JavaTestKit.shutdownActorSystem(system);
+    system = null;
+  }
+
+  final Materializer mat = ActorMaterializer.create(system);
+
+  @Test
+  public void drainSourceToList() throws Exception {
+    new JavaTestKit(system) {
+      {
+        //#draining-to-list-unsafe
+        final Source<String, NotUsed> myData = Source.from(Arrays.asList("1", "2", "3"));
+        final int MAX_ALLOWED_SIZE = 100;
+
+        final CompletionStage<List<String>> strings = myData.runWith(Sink.seq(), mat); // dangerous!
+        //#draining-to-list-unsafe
+
+        strings.toCompletableFuture().get(3, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+      }
+    };
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void drainSourceToListWithLimit() throws Exception {
+    new JavaTestKit(system) {
+      {
+        //#draining-to-list-safe
+        final Source<String, NotUsed> myData = Source.from(Arrays.asList("1", "2", "3"));
+        final int MAX_ALLOWED_SIZE = 100;
+
+        // OK. Future will fail with a `StreamLimitReachedException`
+        // if the number of incoming elements is larger than max
+        final CompletionStage<List<String>> strings =
+          myData.limit(MAX_ALLOWED_SIZE).runWith(Sink.seq(), mat);
+        //#draining-to-list-safe
+
+        strings.toCompletableFuture().get(1, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+      }
+    };
+  }
+
+  public void drainSourceToListWithTake() throws Exception {
+    new JavaTestKit(system) {
+      {
+        final Source<String, NotUsed> myData = Source.from(Arrays.asList("1", "2", "3"));
+        final int MAX_ALLOWED_SIZE = 100;
+
+        //#draining-to-list-safe
+        // OK. Collect up until max-th elements only, then cancel upstream
+        final CompletionStage<List<String>> strings =
+                myData.take(MAX_ALLOWED_SIZE).runWith(Sink.seq(), mat);
+        //#draining-to-list-safe
+
+        strings.toCompletableFuture().get(1, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
+      }
+    };
+  }
+}
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/javadsl/cookbook/RecipeToStrict.java b/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/javadsl/cookbook/RecipeToStrict.java
deleted file mode 100644
index c7e7fde861..0000000000
--- a/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/javadsl/cookbook/RecipeToStrict.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,58 +0,0 @@
-/**
- *  Copyright (C) 2015-2016 Typesafe <http://typesafe.com/>
- */
-package docs.stream.javadsl.cookbook;
-
-import akka.NotUsed;
-import akka.actor.ActorSystem;
-import akka.stream.ActorMaterializer;
-import akka.stream.Materializer;
-import akka.stream.javadsl.Sink;
-import akka.stream.javadsl.Source;
-import akka.testkit.JavaTestKit;
-import org.junit.AfterClass;
-import org.junit.BeforeClass;
-import org.junit.Test;
-import scala.concurrent.Await;
-import scala.concurrent.Future;
-import scala.concurrent.duration.FiniteDuration;
-
-import java.util.Arrays;
-import java.util.List;
-import java.util.concurrent.CompletionStage;
-import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
-
-public class RecipeToStrict extends RecipeTest {
-  static ActorSystem system;
-
-  @BeforeClass
-  public static void setup() {
-    system = ActorSystem.create("RecipeLoggingElements");
-  }
-
-  @AfterClass
-  public static void tearDown() {
-    JavaTestKit.shutdownActorSystem(system);
-    system = null;
-  }
-
-  final Materializer mat = ActorMaterializer.create(system);
-
-  @Test
-  public void workWithPrintln() throws Exception {
-    new JavaTestKit(system) {
-      {
-        final Source<String, NotUsed> myData = Source.from(Arrays.asList("1", "2", "3"));
-        final int MAX_ALLOWED_SIZE = 100;
-
-        //#draining-to-list
-        final CompletionStage<List<String>> strings = myData
-          .grouped(MAX_ALLOWED_SIZE).runWith(Sink.head(), mat);
-        //#draining-to-list
-
-        strings.toCompletableFuture().get(3, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
-      }
-    };
-  }
-
-}
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/javadsl/cookbook/RecipeWorkerPool.java b/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/javadsl/cookbook/RecipeWorkerPool.java
index 5ff7cb61ae..c90a756ad2 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/javadsl/cookbook/RecipeWorkerPool.java
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/java/code/docs/stream/javadsl/cookbook/RecipeWorkerPool.java
@@ -73,7 +73,8 @@ public class RecipeWorkerPool extends RecipeTest {
         Source<Message, NotUsed> processedJobs = data.via(balancer);
         //#worker-pool2
 
-        CompletionStage<List<String>> future = processedJobs.map(m -> m.msg).grouped(10).runWith(Sink.head(), mat);
+        FiniteDuration timeout = FiniteDuration.create(200, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS);
+        CompletionStage<List<String>> future = processedJobs.map(m -> m.msg).limit(10).runWith(Sink.seq(), mat);
         List<String> got = future.toCompletableFuture().get(1, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
         assertTrue(got.contains("1 done"));
         assertTrue(got.contains("2 done"));
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/java/stream/stream-cookbook.rst b/akka-docs/rst/java/stream/stream-cookbook.rst
index 5bfae50759..0fb3a475a8 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/java/stream/stream-cookbook.rst
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/java/stream/stream-cookbook.rst
@@ -54,16 +54,20 @@ collection itself, so we can just call ``mapConcat(l -> l)``.
 Draining a stream to a strict collection
 ----------------------------------------
 
-**Situation:** A finite sequence of elements is given as a stream, but a Scala collection is needed instead.
+**Situation:** A possibly unbounded sequence of elements is given as a stream, which needs to be collected into a Scala collection while ensuring boundedness
 
-In this recipe we will use the ``grouped`` stream operation that groups incoming elements into a stream of limited
-size collections (it can be seen as the almost opposite version of the "Flattening a stream of sequences" recipe
-we showed before). By using a ``grouped(MAX_ALLOWED_SIZE)`` we create a stream of groups
-with maximum size of ``MaxAllowedSeqSize`` and then we take the first element of this stream by attaching a ``Sink.head()``. What we get is a
-:class:`CompletionStage` containing a sequence with all the elements of the original up to ``MAX_ALLOWED_SIZE`` size (further
-elements are dropped).
+A common situation when working with streams is one where we need to collect incoming elements into a Scala collection.
+This operation is supported via ``Sink.seq`` which materializes into a ``CompletionStage<List<T>>``.
 
-.. includecode:: ../code/docs/stream/javadsl/cookbook/RecipeToStrict.java#draining-to-list
+The function ``limit`` or ``take`` should always be used in conjunction in order to guarantee stream boundedness, thus preventing the program from running out of memory.
+
+For example, this is best avoided:
+
+.. includecode:: ../../../akka-samples/akka-docs-java-lambda/src/test/java/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeSeq.java#draining-to-list-unsafe
+
+Rather, use ``limit`` or ``take`` to ensure that the resulting ``List`` will contain only up to ``MAX_ALLOWED_SIZE`` elements:
+
+.. includecode:: ../../../akka-samples/akka-docs-java-lambda/src/test/java/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeSeq.java#draining-to-list-safe
 
 Calculating the digest of a ByteString stream
 ---------------------------------------------
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/http/scaladsl/HttpClientExampleSpec.scala b/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/http/scaladsl/HttpClientExampleSpec.scala
index 110711cac6..b2208a6a8c 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/http/scaladsl/HttpClientExampleSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/http/scaladsl/HttpClientExampleSpec.scala
@@ -46,7 +46,6 @@ class HttpClientExampleSpec extends WordSpec with Matchers {
 
     implicit val system = ActorSystem()
     implicit val materializer = ActorMaterializer()
-
     // construct a pool client flow with context type `Int`
     val poolClientFlow = Http().cachedHostConnectionPool[Int]("akka.io")
     val responseFuture: Future[(Try[HttpResponse], Int)] =
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/BidiFlowDocSpec.scala b/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/BidiFlowDocSpec.scala
index e830fb91d6..2182a5b190 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/BidiFlowDocSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/BidiFlowDocSpec.scala
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ class BidiFlowDocSpec extends AkkaSpec with ConversionCheckedTripleEquals {
       // test it by plugging it into its own inverse and closing the right end
       val pingpong = Flow[Message].collect { case Ping(id) => Pong(id) }
       val flow = stack.atop(stack.reversed).join(pingpong)
-      val result = Source((0 to 9).map(Ping)).via(flow).grouped(20).runWith(Sink.head)
+      val result = Source((0 to 9).map(Ping)).via(flow).limit(20).runWith(Sink.seq)
       Await.result(result, 1.second) should ===((0 to 9).map(Pong))
       //#compose
     }
@@ -160,14 +160,14 @@ class BidiFlowDocSpec extends AkkaSpec with ConversionCheckedTripleEquals {
     "work when chopped up" in {
       val stack = codec.atop(framing)
       val flow = stack.atop(chopUp).atop(stack.reversed).join(Flow[Message].map { case Ping(id) => Pong(id) })
-      val f = Source((0 to 9).map(Ping)).via(flow).grouped(20).runWith(Sink.head)
+      val f = Source((0 to 9).map(Ping)).via(flow).limit(20).runWith(Sink.seq)
       Await.result(f, 1.second) should ===((0 to 9).map(Pong))
     }
 
     "work when accumulated" in {
       val stack = codec.atop(framing)
       val flow = stack.atop(accumulate).atop(stack.reversed).join(Flow[Message].map { case Ping(id) => Pong(id) })
-      val f = Source((0 to 9).map(Ping)).via(flow).grouped(20).runWith(Sink.head)
+      val f = Source((0 to 9).map(Ping)).via(flow).limit(20).runWith(Sink.seq)
       Await.result(f, 1.second) should ===((0 to 9).map(Pong))
     }
 
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/FlowErrorDocSpec.scala b/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/FlowErrorDocSpec.scala
index 888b2182d2..a1c820c72e 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/FlowErrorDocSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/FlowErrorDocSpec.scala
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ class FlowErrorDocSpec extends AkkaSpec {
       }
       .withAttributes(ActorAttributes.supervisionStrategy(decider))
     val source = Source(List(1, 3, -1, 5, 7)).via(flow)
-    val result = source.grouped(1000).runWith(Sink.head)
+    val result = source.limit(1000).runWith(Sink.seq)
     // the negative element cause the scan stage to be restarted,
     // i.e. start from 0 again
     // result here will be a Future completed with Success(Vector(0, 1, 4, 0, 5, 12))
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeByteStrings.scala b/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeByteStrings.scala
index efee481c4c..28248ac255 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeByteStrings.scala
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeByteStrings.scala
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ class RecipeByteStrings extends RecipeSpec {
       val chunksStream = rawBytes.transform(() => new Chunker(ChunkLimit))
       //#bytestring-chunker
 
-      val chunksFuture = chunksStream.grouped(10).runWith(Sink.head)
+      val chunksFuture = chunksStream.limit(10).runWith(Sink.seq)
 
       val chunks = Await.result(chunksFuture, 3.seconds)
 
@@ -77,11 +77,11 @@ class RecipeByteStrings extends RecipeSpec {
       val bytes1 = Source(List(ByteString(1, 2), ByteString(3), ByteString(4, 5, 6), ByteString(7, 8, 9)))
       val bytes2 = Source(List(ByteString(1, 2), ByteString(3), ByteString(4, 5, 6), ByteString(7, 8, 9, 10)))
 
-      Await.result(bytes1.via(limiter).grouped(10).runWith(Sink.head), 3.seconds)
+      Await.result(bytes1.via(limiter).limit(10).runWith(Sink.seq), 3.seconds)
         .fold(ByteString())(_ ++ _) should be(ByteString(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9))
 
       an[IllegalStateException] must be thrownBy {
-        Await.result(bytes2.via(limiter).grouped(10).runWith(Sink.head), 3.seconds)
+        Await.result(bytes2.via(limiter).limit(10).runWith(Sink.seq), 3.seconds)
       }
     }
 
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ class RecipeByteStrings extends RecipeSpec {
       val compacted: Source[ByteString, NotUsed] = data.map(_.compact)
       //#compacting-bytestrings
 
-      Await.result(compacted.grouped(10).runWith(Sink.head), 3.seconds).forall(_.isCompact) should be(true)
+      Await.result(compacted.limit(10).runWith(Sink.seq), 3.seconds).forall(_.isCompact) should be(true)
     }
 
   }
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeFlattenSeq.scala b/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeFlattenSeq.scala
index 5ffc2e467e..45f48b9bd1 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeFlattenSeq.scala
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeFlattenSeq.scala
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ class RecipeFlattenSeq extends RecipeSpec {
       val flattened: Source[Message, NotUsed] = myData.mapConcat(identity)
       //#flattening-seqs
 
-      Await.result(flattened.grouped(8).runWith(Sink.head), 3.seconds) should be(List("1", "2", "3", "4", "5", "6", "7"))
+      Await.result(flattened.limit(8).runWith(Sink.seq), 3.seconds) should be(List("1", "2", "3", "4", "5", "6", "7"))
 
     }
 
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeMultiGroupBy.scala b/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeMultiGroupBy.scala
index bd9163684f..76f1dc667d 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeMultiGroupBy.scala
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeMultiGroupBy.scala
@@ -45,8 +45,8 @@ class RecipeMultiGroupBy extends RecipeSpec {
         .grouped(10)
         .mergeSubstreams
         .map(g => g.head._2.name + g.map(_._1).mkString("[", ", ", "]"))
-        .grouped(10)
-        .runWith(Sink.head)
+        .limit(10)
+        .runWith(Sink.seq)
 
       Await.result(result, 3.seconds).toSet should be(Set(
         "1[1: a, 1: b, all: c, all: d, 1: e]",
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeParseLines.scala b/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeParseLines.scala
index 2e66210920..209553fc92 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeParseLines.scala
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeParseLines.scala
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ class RecipeParseLines extends RecipeSpec {
         .map(_.utf8String)
       //#parse-lines
 
-      Await.result(linesStream.grouped(10).runWith(Sink.head), 3.seconds) should be(List(
+      Await.result(linesStream.limit(10).runWith(Sink.seq), 3.seconds) should be(List(
         "Hello World\r!",
         "Hello Akka!",
         "Hello Streams!",
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeReduceByKey.scala b/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeReduceByKey.scala
index 494303fb32..15c07825e9 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeReduceByKey.scala
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeReduceByKey.scala
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class RecipeReduceByKey extends RecipeSpec {
         .mergeSubstreams
       //#word-count
 
-      Await.result(counts.grouped(10).runWith(Sink.head), 3.seconds).toSet should be(Set(
+      Await.result(counts.limit(10).runWith(Sink.seq), 3.seconds).toSet should be(Set(
         ("hello", 2),
         ("world", 1),
         ("and", 1),
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ class RecipeReduceByKey extends RecipeSpec {
           map = (word: String) => 1)((left: Int, right: Int) => left + right))
       //#reduce-by-key-general
 
-      Await.result(wordCounts.grouped(10).runWith(Sink.head), 3.seconds).toSet should be(Set(
+      Await.result(wordCounts.limit(10).runWith(Sink.seq), 3.seconds).toSet should be(Set(
         ("hello", 2),
         ("world", 1),
         ("and", 1),
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeToStrict.scala b/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeToStrict.scala
deleted file mode 100644
index a73c581fc3..0000000000
--- a/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeToStrict.scala
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,27 +0,0 @@
-package docs.stream.cookbook
-
-import akka.stream.scaladsl.{ Sink, Source }
-
-import scala.collection.immutable
-import scala.concurrent.{ Await, Future }
-import scala.concurrent.duration._
-
-class RecipeToStrict extends RecipeSpec {
-
-  "Recipe for draining a stream into a strict collection" must {
-
-    "work" in {
-      val myData = Source(List("1", "2", "3"))
-      val MaxAllowedSeqSize = 100
-
-      //#draining-to-seq
-      val strict: Future[immutable.Seq[Message]] =
-        myData.grouped(MaxAllowedSeqSize).runWith(Sink.head)
-      //#draining-to-seq
-
-      Await.result(strict, 3.seconds) should be(List("1", "2", "3"))
-    }
-
-  }
-
-}
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeWorkerPool.scala b/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeWorkerPool.scala
index ee3d08fafc..afaae9a438 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeWorkerPool.scala
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeWorkerPool.scala
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ class RecipeWorkerPool extends RecipeSpec {
       val processedJobs: Source[Result, NotUsed] = myJobs.via(balancer(worker, 3))
       //#worker-pool
 
-      Await.result(processedJobs.grouped(10).runWith(Sink.head), 3.seconds).toSet should be(Set(
+      Await.result(processedJobs.limit(10).runWith(Sink.seq), 3.seconds).toSet should be(Set(
         "1 done", "2 done", "3 done", "4 done", "5 done"))
 
     }
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/scala/stream/stream-cookbook.rst b/akka-docs/rst/scala/stream/stream-cookbook.rst
index 262cdbf7ac..12a22a1de7 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/scala/stream/stream-cookbook.rst
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/scala/stream/stream-cookbook.rst
@@ -54,16 +54,20 @@ collection itself, so we can just call ``mapConcat(identity)``.
 Draining a stream to a strict collection
 ----------------------------------------
 
-**Situation:** A finite sequence of elements is given as a stream, but a Scala collection is needed instead.
+**Situation:** A possibly unbounded sequence of elements is given as a stream, which needs to be collected into a Scala collection while ensuring boundedness
 
-In this recipe we will use the ``grouped`` stream operation that groups incoming elements into a stream of limited
-size collections (it can be seen as the almost opposite version of the "Flattening a stream of sequences" recipe
-we showed before). By using a ``grouped(MaxAllowedSeqSize)`` we create a stream of groups
-with maximum size of ``MaxAllowedSeqSize`` and then we take the first element of this stream by attaching a ``Sink.head``. What we get is a
-:class:`Future` containing a sequence with all the elements of the original up to ``MaxAllowedSeqSize`` size (further
-elements are dropped).
+A common situation when working with streams is one where we need to collect incoming elements into a Scala collection.
+This operation is supported via ``Sink.seq`` which materializes into a ``Future[Seq[T]]``.
 
-.. includecode:: ../code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeToStrict.scala#draining-to-seq
+The function ``limit`` or ``take`` should always be used in conjunction in order to guarantee stream boundedness, thus preventing the program from running out of memory.
+
+For example, this is best avoided:
+
+.. includecode:: code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeSeq.scala#draining-to-seq-unsafe
+
+Rather, use ``limit`` or ``take`` to ensure that the resulting ``Seq`` will contain only up to ``max`` elements:
+
+.. includecode:: code/docs/stream/cookbook/RecipeSeq.scala#draining-to-seq-safe
 
 Calculating the digest of a ByteString stream
 ---------------------------------------------
diff --git a/akka-http-core/src/test/scala/akka/http/impl/engine/parsing/RequestParserSpec.scala b/akka-http-core/src/test/scala/akka/http/impl/engine/parsing/RequestParserSpec.scala
index c1bb085683..dbb0cef368 100644
--- a/akka-http-core/src/test/scala/akka/http/impl/engine/parsing/RequestParserSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-http-core/src/test/scala/akka/http/impl/engine/parsing/RequestParserSpec.scala
@@ -252,7 +252,7 @@ class RequestParserSpec extends FreeSpec with Matchers with BeforeAndAfterAll {
         val parser = newParser
         val result = multiParse(newParser)(Seq(prep(start + manyChunks)))
         val HttpEntity.Chunked(_, chunks) = result.head.right.get.req.entity
-        val strictChunks = chunks.grouped(100000).runWith(Sink.head).awaitResult(awaitAtMost)
+        val strictChunks = chunks.limit(100000).runWith(Sink.seq).awaitResult(awaitAtMost)
         strictChunks.size shouldEqual numChunks
       }
     }
@@ -322,7 +322,7 @@ class RequestParserSpec extends FreeSpec with Matchers with BeforeAndAfterAll {
       "too-large chunk size" in new Test {
         Seq(start,
           """1a2b3c4d5e
-             |""") should generalMultiParseTo(Right(baseRequest),
+            |""") should generalMultiParseTo(Right(baseRequest),
             Left(EntityStreamError(ErrorInfo("HTTP chunk size exceeds the configured limit of 1048576 bytes"))))
         closeAfterResponseCompletion shouldEqual Seq(false)
       }
@@ -360,10 +360,10 @@ class RequestParserSpec extends FreeSpec with Matchers with BeforeAndAfterAll {
 
       "two Content-Length headers" in new Test {
         """GET / HTTP/1.1
-            |Content-Length: 3
-            |Content-Length: 4
-            |
-            |foo""" should parseToError(BadRequest,
+          |Content-Length: 3
+          |Content-Length: 4
+          |
+          |foo""" should parseToError(BadRequest,
           ErrorInfo("HTTP message must not contain more than one Content-Length header"))
       }
 
@@ -374,63 +374,63 @@ class RequestParserSpec extends FreeSpec with Matchers with BeforeAndAfterAll {
 
       "HTTP version 1.2" in new Test {
         """GET / HTTP/1.2
-              |""" should parseToError(HTTPVersionNotSupported,
+          |""" should parseToError(HTTPVersionNotSupported,
           ErrorInfo("The server does not support the HTTP protocol version used in the request."))
       }
 
       "with an illegal char in a header name" in new Test {
         """GET / HTTP/1.1
-            |User@Agent: curl/7.19.7""" should parseToError(BadRequest, ErrorInfo("Illegal character '@' in header name"))
+          |User@Agent: curl/7.19.7""" should parseToError(BadRequest, ErrorInfo("Illegal character '@' in header name"))
       }
 
       "with a too-long header name" in new Test {
         """|GET / HTTP/1.1
-            |UserxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxAgent: curl/7.19.7""" should parseToError(
+          |UserxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxAgent: curl/7.19.7""" should parseToError(
           BadRequest, ErrorInfo("HTTP header name exceeds the configured limit of 64 characters"))
       }
 
       "with a too-long header-value" in new Test {
         """|GET / HTTP/1.1
-            |Fancy: 123456789012345678901234567890123""" should parseToError(BadRequest,
+          |Fancy: 123456789012345678901234567890123""" should parseToError(BadRequest,
           ErrorInfo("HTTP header value exceeds the configured limit of 32 characters"))
       }
 
       "with an invalid Content-Length header value" in new Test {
         """GET / HTTP/1.0
-            |Content-Length: 1.5
-            |
-            |abc""" should parseToError(BadRequest, ErrorInfo("Illegal `Content-Length` header value"))
+          |Content-Length: 1.5
+          |
+          |abc""" should parseToError(BadRequest, ErrorInfo("Illegal `Content-Length` header value"))
       }
 
       "with Content-Length > Long.MaxSize" in new Test {
         // content-length = (Long.MaxValue + 1) * 10, which is 0 when calculated overflow
         """PUT /resource/yes HTTP/1.1
-            |Content-length: 92233720368547758080
-            |Host: x
-            |
-            |""" should parseToError(400: StatusCode, ErrorInfo("`Content-Length` header value must not exceed 63-bit integer range"))
+          |Content-length: 92233720368547758080
+          |Host: x
+          |
+          |""" should parseToError(400: StatusCode, ErrorInfo("`Content-Length` header value must not exceed 63-bit integer range"))
       }
 
       "with an illegal entity using CONNECT" in new Test {
         """CONNECT /resource/yes HTTP/1.1
-            |Transfer-Encoding: chunked
-            |Host: x
-            |
-            |""" should parseToError(422: StatusCode, ErrorInfo("CONNECT requests must not have an entity"))
+          |Transfer-Encoding: chunked
+          |Host: x
+          |
+          |""" should parseToError(422: StatusCode, ErrorInfo("CONNECT requests must not have an entity"))
       }
       "with an illegal entity using HEAD" in new Test {
         """HEAD /resource/yes HTTP/1.1
-            |Content-length: 3
-            |Host: x
-            |
-            |foo""" should parseToError(422: StatusCode, ErrorInfo("HEAD requests must not have an entity"))
+          |Content-length: 3
+          |Host: x
+          |
+          |foo""" should parseToError(422: StatusCode, ErrorInfo("HEAD requests must not have an entity"))
       }
       "with an illegal entity using TRACE" in new Test {
         """TRACE /resource/yes HTTP/1.1
-            |Transfer-Encoding: chunked
-            |Host: x
-            |
-            |""" should parseToError(422: StatusCode, ErrorInfo("TRACE requests must not have an entity"))
+          |Transfer-Encoding: chunked
+          |Host: x
+          |
+          |""" should parseToError(422: StatusCode, ErrorInfo("TRACE requests must not have an entity"))
       }
     }
   }
@@ -504,7 +504,7 @@ class RequestParserSpec extends FreeSpec with Matchers with BeforeAndAfterAll {
           }
         }
         .map(strictEqualify)
-        .grouped(100000).runWith(Sink.head)
+        .limit(100000).runWith(Sink.seq)
         .awaitResult(awaitAtMost)
 
     protected def parserSettings: ParserSettings = ParserSettings(system)
@@ -517,7 +517,7 @@ class RequestParserSpec extends FreeSpec with Matchers with BeforeAndAfterAll {
       }
 
     private def compactEntityChunks(data: Source[ChunkStreamPart, Any]): Future[Seq[ChunkStreamPart]] =
-      data.grouped(100000).runWith(Sink.head)
+      data.limit(100000).runWith(Sink.seq)
         .fast.recover { case _: NoSuchElementException ⇒ Nil }
 
     def prep(response: String) = response.stripMarginWithNewline("\r\n")
diff --git a/akka-http-core/src/test/scala/akka/http/impl/engine/parsing/ResponseParserSpec.scala b/akka-http-core/src/test/scala/akka/http/impl/engine/parsing/ResponseParserSpec.scala
index ed0362fa71..dbcc470240 100644
--- a/akka-http-core/src/test/scala/akka/http/impl/engine/parsing/ResponseParserSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-http-core/src/test/scala/akka/http/impl/engine/parsing/ResponseParserSpec.scala
@@ -306,7 +306,7 @@ class ResponseParserSpec extends FreeSpec with Matchers with BeforeAndAfterAll {
         }.concatSubstreams
 
     def collectBlocking[T](source: Source[T, Any]): Seq[T] =
-      Await.result(source.grouped(100000).runWith(Sink.head), 500.millis)
+      Await.result(source.limit(100000).runWith(Sink.seq), 500.millis)
 
     protected def parserSettings: ParserSettings = ParserSettings(system)
 
@@ -323,7 +323,7 @@ class ResponseParserSpec extends FreeSpec with Matchers with BeforeAndAfterAll {
       }
 
     private def compactEntityChunks(data: Source[ChunkStreamPart, Any]): Future[Source[ChunkStreamPart, Any]] =
-      data.grouped(100000).runWith(Sink.head)
+      data.limit(100000).runWith(Sink.seq)
         .fast.map(source(_: _*))
         .fast.recover { case _: NoSuchElementException ⇒ source() }
 
diff --git a/akka-http-core/src/test/scala/akka/http/impl/engine/rendering/RequestRendererSpec.scala b/akka-http-core/src/test/scala/akka/http/impl/engine/rendering/RequestRendererSpec.scala
index 9129624057..1760a365e0 100644
--- a/akka-http-core/src/test/scala/akka/http/impl/engine/rendering/RequestRendererSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-http-core/src/test/scala/akka/http/impl/engine/rendering/RequestRendererSpec.scala
@@ -325,7 +325,7 @@ class RequestRendererSpec extends FreeSpec with Matchers with BeforeAndAfterAll
     def renderTo(expected: String): Matcher[HttpRequest] =
       equal(expected.stripMarginWithNewline("\r\n")).matcher[String] compose { request ⇒
         val byteStringSource = renderToSource(RequestRenderingContext(request, Host(serverAddress)))
-        val future = byteStringSource.grouped(1000).runWith(Sink.head).map(_.reduceLeft(_ ++ _).utf8String)
+        val future = byteStringSource.limit(1000).runWith(Sink.seq).map(_.reduceLeft(_ ++ _).utf8String)
         Await.result(future, 250.millis)
       }
   }
diff --git a/akka-http-core/src/test/scala/akka/http/scaladsl/ClientServerSpec.scala b/akka-http-core/src/test/scala/akka/http/scaladsl/ClientServerSpec.scala
index d8be965b22..9253d622bc 100644
--- a/akka-http-core/src/test/scala/akka/http/scaladsl/ClientServerSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-http-core/src/test/scala/akka/http/scaladsl/ClientServerSpec.scala
@@ -394,7 +394,7 @@ class ClientServerSpec extends WordSpec with Matchers with BeforeAndAfterAll wit
         private val HttpRequest(POST, uri, List(Accept(Seq(MediaRanges.`*/*`)), Host(_, _), `User-Agent`(_)),
           Chunked(`chunkedContentType`, chunkStream), HttpProtocols.`HTTP/1.1`) = serverIn.expectNext()
         uri shouldEqual Uri(s"http://$hostname:$port/chunked")
-        Await.result(chunkStream.grouped(5).runWith(Sink.head), 100.millis) shouldEqual chunks
+        Await.result(chunkStream.limit(5).runWith(Sink.seq), 100.millis) shouldEqual chunks
 
         val serverOutSub = serverOut.expectSubscription()
         serverOutSub.expectRequest()
@@ -404,7 +404,7 @@ class ClientServerSpec extends WordSpec with Matchers with BeforeAndAfterAll wit
         clientInSub.request(1)
         val HttpResponse(StatusCodes.PartialContent, List(Age(42), Server(_), Date(_)),
           Chunked(`chunkedContentType`, chunkStream2), HttpProtocols.`HTTP/1.1`) = clientIn.expectNext()
-        Await.result(chunkStream2.grouped(1000).runWith(Sink.head), 100.millis) shouldEqual chunks
+        Await.result(chunkStream2.limit(1000).runWith(Sink.seq), 100.millis) shouldEqual chunks
 
         clientOutSub.sendComplete()
         serverInSub.request(1)
diff --git a/akka-http-core/src/test/scala/akka/http/scaladsl/model/HttpEntitySpec.scala b/akka-http-core/src/test/scala/akka/http/scaladsl/model/HttpEntitySpec.scala
index dbd8b2beeb..d2961df1b3 100755
--- a/akka-http-core/src/test/scala/akka/http/scaladsl/model/HttpEntitySpec.scala
+++ b/akka-http-core/src/test/scala/akka/http/scaladsl/model/HttpEntitySpec.scala
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ class HttpEntitySpec extends FreeSpec with MustMatchers with BeforeAndAfterAll {
 
   def collectBytesTo(bytes: ByteString*): Matcher[HttpEntity] =
     equal(bytes.toVector).matcher[Seq[ByteString]].compose { entity ⇒
-      val future = entity.dataBytes.grouped(1000).runWith(Sink.head)
+      val future = entity.dataBytes.limit(1000).runWith(Sink.seq)
       Await.result(future, 250.millis)
     }
 
diff --git a/akka-http-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/http/scaladsl/testkit/RouteTestResultComponent.scala b/akka-http-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/http/scaladsl/testkit/RouteTestResultComponent.scala
index 2c0f45327e..500b57fd2e 100644
--- a/akka-http-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/http/scaladsl/testkit/RouteTestResultComponent.scala
+++ b/akka-http-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/http/scaladsl/testkit/RouteTestResultComponent.scala
@@ -95,6 +95,6 @@ trait RouteTestResultComponent {
       failTest("Request was neither completed nor rejected within " + timeout)
 
     private def awaitAllElements[T](data: Source[T, _]): immutable.Seq[T] =
-      data.grouped(100000).runWith(Sink.headOption).awaitResult(timeout).getOrElse(Nil)
+      data.limit(100000).runWith(Sink.seq).awaitResult(timeout)
   }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/akka-http-tests/src/test/scala/akka/http/scaladsl/coding/CoderSpec.scala b/akka-http-tests/src/test/scala/akka/http/scaladsl/coding/CoderSpec.scala
index e731ebbe26..e9ee051203 100644
--- a/akka-http-tests/src/test/scala/akka/http/scaladsl/coding/CoderSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-http-tests/src/test/scala/akka/http/scaladsl/coding/CoderSpec.scala
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ abstract class CoderSpec extends WordSpec with CodecSpecSupport with Inspectors
       val resultBs =
         Source.single(compressed)
           .via(Coder.withMaxBytesPerChunk(limit).decoderFlow)
-          .grouped(4200).runWith(Sink.head)
+          .limit(4200).runWith(Sink.seq)
           .awaitResult(1.second)
 
       forAll(resultBs) { bs ⇒
diff --git a/akka-http-tests/src/test/scala/akka/http/scaladsl/server/directives/RangeDirectivesSpec.scala b/akka-http-tests/src/test/scala/akka/http/scaladsl/server/directives/RangeDirectivesSpec.scala
index 572970e7b0..963b707a5c 100644
--- a/akka-http-tests/src/test/scala/akka/http/scaladsl/server/directives/RangeDirectivesSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-http-tests/src/test/scala/akka/http/scaladsl/server/directives/RangeDirectivesSpec.scala
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ class RangeDirectivesSpec extends RoutingSpec with Inspectors with Inside {
         wrs { complete("Some random and not super short entity.") }
       } ~> check {
         header[`Content-Range`] should be(None)
-        val parts = Await.result(responseAs[Multipart.ByteRanges].parts.grouped(1000).runWith(Sink.head), 1.second)
+        val parts = Await.result(responseAs[Multipart.ByteRanges].parts.limit(1000).runWith(Sink.seq), 1.second)
         parts.size shouldEqual 2
         inside(parts(0)) {
           case Multipart.ByteRanges.BodyPart(range, entity, unit, headers) ⇒
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ class RangeDirectivesSpec extends RoutingSpec with Inspectors with Inside {
         wrs { complete(HttpEntity.Default(ContentTypes.`text/plain(UTF-8)`, content.length, entityData())) }
       } ~> check {
         header[`Content-Range`] should be(None)
-        val parts = Await.result(responseAs[Multipart.ByteRanges].parts.grouped(1000).runWith(Sink.head), 1.second)
+        val parts = Await.result(responseAs[Multipart.ByteRanges].parts.limit(1000).runWith(Sink.seq), 1.second)
         parts.size shouldEqual 2
       }
     }
diff --git a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/java/akka/stream/javadsl/BidiFlowTest.java b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/java/akka/stream/javadsl/BidiFlowTest.java
index 718dcd75b6..a8e14b32a8 100644
--- a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/java/akka/stream/javadsl/BidiFlowTest.java
+++ b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/java/akka/stream/javadsl/BidiFlowTest.java
@@ -142,7 +142,8 @@ public class BidiFlowTest extends StreamTest {
             return ByteString.fromString("Hello " + arg);
           }
         }));
-    final CompletionStage<List<String>> result = Source.from(list).via(f).grouped(10).runWith(Sink.<List<String>> head(), materializer);
+
+    final CompletionStage<List<String>> result = Source.from(list).via(f).limit(10).runWith(Sink.<String>seq(), materializer);
     assertEquals(Arrays.asList("Hello 3", "Hello 4", "Hello 5"), result.toCompletableFuture().get(1, TimeUnit.SECONDS));
   }
 
@@ -155,7 +156,7 @@ public class BidiFlowTest extends StreamTest {
           }
         }).join(bidi);
     final List<ByteString> inputs = Arrays.asList(ByteString.fromString("1"), ByteString.fromString("2"));
-    final CompletionStage<List<Long>> result = Source.from(inputs).via(f).grouped(10).runWith(Sink.<List<Long>> head(), materializer);
+    final CompletionStage<List<Long>> result = Source.from(inputs).via(f).limit(10).runWith(Sink.<Long>seq(), materializer);
     assertEquals(Arrays.asList(3L, 4L), result.toCompletableFuture().get(1, TimeUnit.SECONDS));
   }
 
@@ -167,7 +168,7 @@ public class BidiFlowTest extends StreamTest {
             return arg.toString();
           }
         }));
-    final CompletionStage<List<String>> result = Source.from(list).via(f).grouped(10).runWith(Sink.<List<String>> head(), materializer);
+    final CompletionStage<List<String>> result = Source.from(list).via(f).limit(10).runWith(Sink.<String>seq(), materializer);
     assertEquals(Arrays.asList("5", "6", "7"), result.toCompletableFuture().get(1, TimeUnit.SECONDS));
   }
 
@@ -179,7 +180,7 @@ public class BidiFlowTest extends StreamTest {
             return arg.toString();
           }
         }).join(inverse.reversed()).join(bidi.reversed());
-    final CompletionStage<List<String>> result = Source.from(list).via(f).grouped(10).runWith(Sink.<List<String>> head(), materializer);
+    final CompletionStage<List<String>> result = Source.from(list).via(f).limit(10).runWith(Sink.<String>seq(), materializer);
     assertEquals(Arrays.asList("5", "6", "7"), result.toCompletableFuture().get(1, TimeUnit.SECONDS));
   }
 
diff --git a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/java/akka/stream/javadsl/FlowGraphTest.java b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/java/akka/stream/javadsl/FlowGraphTest.java
index 898b3877e4..b10b5de63d 100644
--- a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/java/akka/stream/javadsl/FlowGraphTest.java
+++ b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/java/akka/stream/javadsl/FlowGraphTest.java
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ public class FlowGraphTest extends StreamTest {
 
     // collecting
     final Publisher<String> pub = source.runWith(publisher, materializer);
-    final CompletionStage<List<String>> all = Source.fromPublisher(pub).grouped(100).runWith(Sink.<List<String>>head(), materializer);
+    final CompletionStage<List<String>> all = Source.fromPublisher(pub).limit(100).runWith(Sink.<String>seq(), materializer);
 
     final List<String> result = all.toCompletableFuture().get(200, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS);
     assertEquals(new HashSet<Object>(Arrays.asList("a", "b", "c", "d", "e", "f")), new HashSet<String>(result));
diff --git a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/java/akka/stream/javadsl/FlowTest.java b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/java/akka/stream/javadsl/FlowTest.java
index 83bd3acbb0..db15b8a1a4 100644
--- a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/java/akka/stream/javadsl/FlowTest.java
+++ b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/java/akka/stream/javadsl/FlowTest.java
@@ -260,7 +260,7 @@ public class FlowTest extends StreamTest {
         .mergeSubstreams();
 
     final CompletionStage<List<List<String>>> future =
-        Source.from(input).via(flow).grouped(10).runWith(Sink.<List<List<String>>> head(), materializer);
+        Source.from(input).via(flow).limit(10).runWith(Sink.<List<String>> seq(), materializer);
     final Object[] result = future.toCompletableFuture().get(1, TimeUnit.SECONDS).toArray();
     Arrays.sort(result, (Comparator<Object>)(Object) new Comparator<List<String>>() {
       @Override
@@ -286,7 +286,7 @@ public class FlowTest extends StreamTest {
     	.concatSubstreams();
 
     final CompletionStage<List<List<String>>> future =
-        Source.from(input).via(flow).grouped(10).runWith(Sink.<List<List<String>>> head(), materializer);
+        Source.from(input).via(flow).limit(10).runWith(Sink.<List<String>> seq(), materializer);
     final List<List<String>> result = future.toCompletableFuture().get(1, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
 
     assertEquals(Arrays.asList(Arrays.asList("A", "B", "C"), Arrays.asList(".", "D"), Arrays.asList(".", "E", "F")), result);
@@ -306,7 +306,7 @@ public class FlowTest extends StreamTest {
 	    .concatSubstreams();
 
     final CompletionStage<List<List<String>>> future =
-        Source.from(input).via(flow).grouped(10).runWith(Sink.<List<List<String>>> head(), materializer);
+        Source.from(input).via(flow).limit(10).runWith(Sink.<List<String>> seq(), materializer);
     final List<List<String>> result = future.toCompletableFuture().get(1, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
 
     assertEquals(Arrays.asList(Arrays.asList("A", "B", "C", "."), Arrays.asList("D", "."), Arrays.asList("E", "F")), result);
@@ -359,7 +359,7 @@ public class FlowTest extends StreamTest {
 
     // collecting
     final Publisher<String> pub = source.runWith(publisher, materializer);
-    final CompletionStage<List<String>> all = Source.fromPublisher(pub).grouped(100).runWith(Sink.<List<String>>head(), materializer);
+    final CompletionStage<List<String>> all = Source.fromPublisher(pub).limit(100).runWith(Sink.<String>seq(), materializer);
 
     final List<String> result = all.toCompletableFuture().get(200, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS);
     assertEquals(new HashSet<Object>(Arrays.asList("a", "b", "c", "d", "e", "f")), new HashSet<String>(result));
@@ -445,7 +445,7 @@ public class FlowTest extends StreamTest {
     Pair<List<Integer>, Source<Integer, NotUsed>> result = future.toCompletableFuture().get(3, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
     assertEquals(Arrays.asList(1, 2, 3), result.first());
 
-    CompletionStage<List<Integer>> tailFuture = result.second().grouped(4).runWith(Sink.<List<Integer>>head(), materializer);
+    CompletionStage<List<Integer>> tailFuture = result.second().limit(4).runWith(Sink.<Integer>seq(), materializer);
     List<Integer> tailResult = tailFuture.toCompletableFuture().get(3, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
     assertEquals(Arrays.asList(4, 5, 6), tailResult);
   }
diff --git a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/java/akka/stream/javadsl/SourceTest.java b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/java/akka/stream/javadsl/SourceTest.java
index d46518c614..06a553f180 100644
--- a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/java/akka/stream/javadsl/SourceTest.java
+++ b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/java/akka/stream/javadsl/SourceTest.java
@@ -321,7 +321,7 @@ public class SourceTest extends StreamTest {
     Pair<List<Integer>, Source<Integer, NotUsed>> result = future.toCompletableFuture().get(3, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
     assertEquals(Arrays.asList(1, 2, 3), result.first());
 
-    CompletionStage<List<Integer>> tailFuture = result.second().grouped(4).runWith(Sink.<List<Integer>>head(), materializer);
+    CompletionStage<List<Integer>> tailFuture = result.second().limit(4).runWith(Sink.<Integer>seq(), materializer);
     List<Integer> tailResult = tailFuture.toCompletableFuture().get(3, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
     assertEquals(Arrays.asList(4, 5, 6), tailResult);
   }
diff --git a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/io/FramingSpec.scala b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/io/FramingSpec.scala
index 4dccaea418..57e66385c8 100644
--- a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/io/FramingSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/io/FramingSpec.scala
@@ -86,12 +86,12 @@ class FramingSpec extends AkkaSpec {
     "Respect maximum line settings" in {
       // The buffer will contain more than 1 bytes, but the individual frames are less
       Await.result(
-        Source.single(ByteString("a\nb\nc\nd\n")).via(simpleLines("\n", 1)).grouped(100).runWith(Sink.head),
+        Source.single(ByteString("a\nb\nc\nd\n")).via(simpleLines("\n", 1)).limit(100).runWith(Sink.seq),
         3.seconds) should ===(List("a", "b", "c", "d"))
 
       an[FramingException] should be thrownBy {
         Await.result(
-          Source.single(ByteString("ab\n")).via(simpleLines("\n", 1)).grouped(100).runWith(Sink.head),
+          Source.single(ByteString("ab\n")).via(simpleLines("\n", 1)).limit(100).runWith(Sink.seq),
           3.seconds)
       }
     }
@@ -225,7 +225,7 @@ class FramingSpec extends AkkaSpec {
 
       val testMessages = List.fill(100)(referenceChunk.take(Random.nextInt(1024)))
       Await.result(
-        Source(testMessages).via(codecFlow).grouped(1000).runWith(Sink.head),
+        Source(testMessages).via(codecFlow).limit(1000).runWith(Sink.seq),
         3.seconds) should ===(testMessages)
     }
 
diff --git a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/BidiFlowSpec.scala b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/BidiFlowSpec.scala
index 2a472d7c11..f7b179a831 100644
--- a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/BidiFlowSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/BidiFlowSpec.scala
@@ -57,26 +57,26 @@ class BidiFlowSpec extends AkkaSpec with ConversionCheckedTripleEquals {
 
     "work as a Flow that is open on the left" in {
       val f = bidi.join(Flow[Long].map(x ⇒ ByteString(s"Hello $x")))
-      val result = Source(List(1, 2, 3)).via(f).grouped(10).runWith(Sink.head)
+      val result = Source(List(1, 2, 3)).via(f).limit(10).runWith(Sink.seq)
       Await.result(result, 1.second) should ===(Seq("Hello 3", "Hello 4", "Hello 5"))
     }
 
     "work as a Flow that is open on the right" in {
       val f = Flow[String].map(Integer.valueOf(_).toInt).join(bidi)
-      val result = Source(List(ByteString("1"), ByteString("2"))).via(f).grouped(10).runWith(Sink.head)
+      val result = Source(List(ByteString("1"), ByteString("2"))).via(f).limit(10).runWith(Sink.seq)
       Await.result(result, 1.second) should ===(Seq(3L, 4L))
     }
 
     "work when atop its inverse" in {
       val f = bidi.atop(inverse).join(Flow[Int].map(_.toString))
-      val result = Source(List(1, 2, 3)).via(f).grouped(10).runWith(Sink.head)
+      val result = Source(List(1, 2, 3)).via(f).limit(10).runWith(Sink.seq)
       Await.result(result, 1.second) should ===(Seq("5", "6", "7"))
     }
 
     "work when reversed" in {
       // just reversed from the case above; observe that Flow inverts itself automatically by being on the left side
       val f = Flow[Int].map(_.toString).join(inverse.reversed).join(bidi.reversed)
-      val result = Source(List(1, 2, 3)).via(f).grouped(10).runWith(Sink.head)
+      val result = Source(List(1, 2, 3)).via(f).limit(10).runWith(Sink.seq)
       Await.result(result, 1.second) should ===(Seq("5", "6", "7"))
     }
 
diff --git a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/FlowScanSpec.scala b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/FlowScanSpec.scala
index 2d6bda805b..f5e9c2bdaf 100644
--- a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/FlowScanSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/FlowScanSpec.scala
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ class FlowScanSpec extends AkkaSpec {
     }
 
     "emit values promptly" in {
-      val f = Source.single(1).concat(Source.maybe[Int]).scan(0)(_ + _).grouped(2).runWith(Sink.head)
+      val f = Source.single(1).concat(Source.maybe[Int]).scan(0)(_ + _).take(2).runWith(Sink.seq)
       Await.result(f, 1.second) should ===(Seq(0, 1))
     }
 
diff --git a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/FlowSpec.scala b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/FlowSpec.scala
index 343bcae9fb..1cc6555e93 100644
--- a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/FlowSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/FlowSpec.scala
@@ -314,12 +314,12 @@ class FlowSpec extends AkkaSpec(ConfigFactory.parseString("akka.actor.debug.rece
       val identity1 = Flow[Int].toProcessor
       val identity2 = Flow.fromProcessor(() ⇒ identity1.run())
       Await.result(
-        Source(1 to 10).via(identity2).grouped(100).runWith(Sink.head),
+        Source(1 to 10).via(identity2).limit(100).runWith(Sink.seq),
         3.seconds) should ===(1 to 10)
 
       // Reusable:
       Await.result(
-        Source(1 to 10).via(identity2).grouped(100).runWith(Sink.head),
+        Source(1 to 10).via(identity2).limit(100).runWith(Sink.seq),
         3.seconds) should ===(1 to 10)
     }
   }
diff --git a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/FlowSupervisionSpec.scala b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/FlowSupervisionSpec.scala
index b826a2d0d3..d981ee791f 100644
--- a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/FlowSupervisionSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/FlowSupervisionSpec.scala
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ class FlowSupervisionSpec extends AkkaSpec {
   val failingMap = Flow[Int].map(n ⇒ if (n == 3) throw exc else n)
 
   def run(f: Flow[Int, Int, NotUsed]): immutable.Seq[Int] =
-    Await.result(Source((1 to 5).toSeq ++ (1 to 5)).via(f).grouped(1000).runWith(Sink.head), 3.seconds)
+    Await.result(Source((1 to 5).toSeq ++ (1 to 5)).via(f).limit(1000).runWith(Sink.seq), 3.seconds)
 
   "Stream supervision" must {
 
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ class FlowSupervisionSpec extends AkkaSpec {
 
     "complete stream with NPE failure when null is emitted" in {
       intercept[NullPointerException] {
-        Await.result(Source(List("a", "b")).map(_ ⇒ null).grouped(1000).runWith(Sink.head), 3.seconds)
+        Await.result(Source(List("a", "b")).map(_ ⇒ null).limit(1000).runWith(Sink.seq), 3.seconds)
       }.getMessage should be(ReactiveStreamsCompliance.ElementMustNotBeNullMsg)
     }
 
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ class FlowSupervisionSpec extends AkkaSpec {
       val nullMap = Flow[String].map(elem ⇒ if (elem == "b") null else elem)
         .withAttributes(supervisionStrategy(Supervision.resumingDecider))
       val result = Await.result(Source(List("a", "b", "c")).via(nullMap)
-        .grouped(1000).runWith(Sink.head), 3.seconds)
+        .limit(1000).runWith(Sink.seq), 3.seconds)
       result should be(List("a", "c"))
     }
 
diff --git a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/PublisherSinkSpec.scala b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/PublisherSinkSpec.scala
index bc01f061af..fa4a64913a 100644
--- a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/PublisherSinkSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/PublisherSinkSpec.scala
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import scala.concurrent.Await
 class PublisherSinkSpec extends AkkaSpec {
 
   implicit val materializer = ActorMaterializer()
+  import materializer.executionContext
 
   "A PublisherSink" must {
 
@@ -42,7 +43,7 @@ class PublisherSinkSpec extends AkkaSpec {
     "work with SubscriberSource" in {
       val (sub, pub) = Source.asSubscriber[Int].toMat(Sink.asPublisher(false))(Keep.both).run()
       Source(1 to 100).to(Sink.fromSubscriber(sub)).run()
-      Await.result(Source.fromPublisher(pub).grouped(1000).runWith(Sink.head), 3.seconds) should ===(1 to 100)
+      Await.result(Source.fromPublisher(pub).limit(1000).runWith(Sink.seq), 3.seconds) should ===(1 to 100)
     }
 
     "be able to use Publisher in materialized value transformation" in {
diff --git a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/ReverseArrowSpec.scala b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/ReverseArrowSpec.scala
index 15461a56e1..45476cd47b 100644
--- a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/ReverseArrowSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/ReverseArrowSpec.scala
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ class ReverseArrowSpec extends AkkaSpec with ConversionCheckedTripleEquals {
 
   implicit val materializer = ActorMaterializer()
   val source = Source(List(1, 2, 3))
-  val sink = Flow[Int].grouped(10).toMat(Sink.head)(Keep.right)
+  val sink = Flow[Int].limit(10).toMat(Sink.seq)(Keep.right)
 
   "Reverse Arrows in the Graph DSL" must {
 
diff --git a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/SeqSinkSpec.scala b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/SeqSinkSpec.scala
index 622accd823..112bd3d72a 100644
--- a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/SeqSinkSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/SeqSinkSpec.scala
@@ -5,7 +5,8 @@ package akka.stream.scaladsl
 
 import akka.stream.{ ActorMaterializer, ActorMaterializerSettings }
 import akka.stream.testkit.AkkaSpec
-import scala.concurrent.Await
+import scala.collection.immutable
+import scala.concurrent.{ Future, Await }
 import scala.concurrent.duration._
 
 class SeqSinkSpec extends AkkaSpec {
@@ -18,16 +19,16 @@ class SeqSinkSpec extends AkkaSpec {
   "Sink.toSeq" must {
     "return a Seq[T] from a Source" in {
       val input = (1 to 6)
-      val future = Source(input).runWith(Sink.seq)
-      val result = Await.result(future, 300.millis)
+      val future: Future[immutable.Seq[Int]] = Source(input).runWith(Sink.seq)
+      val result: immutable.Seq[Int] = Await.result(future, 300.millis)
       result should be(input.toSeq)
     }
 
     "return an empty Seq[T] from an empty Source" in {
-      val input: Seq[Int] = Seq.empty
-      val future = Source.fromIterator(() ⇒ input.iterator).runWith(Sink.seq)
-      val result = Await.result(future, 300.millis)
-      result should be(Seq.empty: Seq[Int])
+      val input: immutable.Seq[Int] = Nil
+      val future: Future[immutable.Seq[Int]] = Source.fromIterator(() ⇒ input.iterator).runWith(Sink.seq)
+      val result: immutable.Seq[Int] = Await.result(future, 300.millis)
+      result should be(input)
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/StreamLimitReachedException.scala b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/StreamLimitReachedException.scala
index 6eb8930258..fbc644ea43 100644
--- a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/StreamLimitReachedException.scala
+++ b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/StreamLimitReachedException.scala
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 /**
  * Copyright (C) 2015 Typesafe Inc. <http://www.typesafe.com>
  */
+
 package akka.stream
 
 class StreamLimitReachedException(val n: Long) extends RuntimeException(s"limit of $n reached")
diff --git a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/Sinks.scala b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/Sinks.scala
index 5676a81376..5920c29b4f 100644
--- a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/Sinks.scala
+++ b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/Sinks.scala
@@ -8,10 +8,12 @@ import akka.{ Done, NotUsed }
 import akka.actor.{ ActorRef, Props }
 import akka.stream.Attributes.InputBuffer
 import akka.stream._
+import akka.stream.impl.Stages.DefaultAttributes
 import akka.stream.impl.StreamLayout.Module
 import akka.stream.stage._
 import org.reactivestreams.{ Publisher, Subscriber }
 import scala.annotation.unchecked.uncheckedVariance
+import scala.collection.immutable
 import scala.concurrent.{ Future, Promise }
 import scala.language.postfixOps
 import scala.util.{ Failure, Success, Try }
@@ -242,6 +244,44 @@ private[akka] final class HeadOptionStage[T] extends GraphStageWithMaterializedV
   override def toString: String = "HeadOptionStage"
 }
 
+private[akka] final class SeqStage[T] extends GraphStageWithMaterializedValue[SinkShape[T], Future[immutable.Seq[T]]] {
+  val in = Inlet[T]("seq.in")
+
+  override val shape: SinkShape[T] = SinkShape.of(in)
+
+  override protected def initialAttributes: Attributes = DefaultAttributes.seqSink
+
+  override def createLogicAndMaterializedValue(inheritedAttributes: Attributes) = {
+    val p: Promise[immutable.Seq[T]] = Promise()
+    val logic = new GraphStageLogic(shape) {
+      val buf = Vector.newBuilder[T]
+
+      override def preStart(): Unit = pull(in)
+
+      setHandler(in, new InHandler {
+
+        override def onPush(): Unit = {
+          buf += grab(in)
+          pull(in)
+        }
+
+        override def onUpstreamFinish(): Unit = {
+          val result = buf.result()
+          p.trySuccess(result)
+          completeStage()
+        }
+
+        override def onUpstreamFailure(ex: Throwable): Unit = {
+          p.tryFailure(ex)
+          failStage(ex)
+        }
+      })
+    }
+
+    (logic, p.future)
+  }
+}
+
 /**
  * INTERNAL API
  */
diff --git a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/Stages.scala b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/Stages.scala
index 8726d633e2..56fa6817e4 100644
--- a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/Stages.scala
+++ b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/Stages.scala
@@ -102,6 +102,7 @@ private[stream] object Stages {
     val headOptionSink = name("headOptionSink") and inputBuffer(initial = 1, max = 1)
     val lastSink = name("lastSink")
     val lastOptionSink = name("lastOptionSink")
+    val seqSink = name("seqSink")
     val publisherSink = name("publisherSink")
     val fanoutPublisherSink = name("fanoutPublisherSink")
     val ignoreSink = name("ignoreSink")
diff --git a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/javadsl/Flow.scala b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/javadsl/Flow.scala
index 5350c4b328..187bcc1abf 100644
--- a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/javadsl/Flow.scala
+++ b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/javadsl/Flow.scala
@@ -461,6 +461,8 @@ final class Flow[-In, +Out, +Mat](delegate: scaladsl.Flow[In, Out, Mat]) extends
    *
    * '''Completes when''' the defined number of elements has been taken or upstream completes
    *
+   * '''Errors when''' the total number of incoming element exceeds max
+   *
    * '''Cancels when''' the defined number of elements has been taken or downstream cancels
    *
    * See also [[Flow.take]], [[Flow.takeWithin]], [[Flow.takeWhile]]
@@ -486,6 +488,8 @@ final class Flow[-In, +Out, +Mat](delegate: scaladsl.Flow[In, Out, Mat]) extends
    *
    * '''Completes when''' the defined number of elements has been taken or upstream completes
    *
+   * '''Errors when''' when the accumulated cost exceeds max
+   *
    * '''Cancels when''' the defined number of elements has been taken or downstream cancels
    *
    * See also [[Flow.take]], [[Flow.takeWithin]], [[Flow.takeWhile]]
diff --git a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/Flow.scala b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/Flow.scala
index 802ca4207c..2657d267d0 100644
--- a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/Flow.scala
+++ b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/Flow.scala
@@ -656,16 +656,15 @@ trait FlowOps[+Out, +Mat] {
    * requested from upstream publishers that will then not be processed downstream
    * of this step.
    *
-   * The stream will be completed without producing any elements if `n` is zero
-   * or negative.
-   *
-   * '''Emits when''' the specified number of elements to take has not yet been reached
+   * '''Emits when''' upstream emits and the number of emitted elements has not reached max
    *
    * '''Backpressures when''' downstream backpressures
    *
-   * '''Completes when''' the defined number of elements has been taken or upstream completes
+   * '''Completes when''' upstream completes and the number of emitted elements has not reached max
    *
-   * '''Cancels when''' the defined number of elements has been taken or downstream cancels
+   * '''Errors when''' the total number of incoming element exceeds max
+   *
+   * '''Cancels when''' downstream cancels
    *
    * See also [[FlowOps.take]], [[FlowOps.takeWithin]], [[FlowOps.takeWhile]]
    */
@@ -681,16 +680,15 @@ trait FlowOps[+Out, +Mat] {
    * requested from upstream publishers that will then not be processed downstream
    * of this step.
    *
-   * The stream will be completed without producing any elements if `n` is zero
-   * or negative.
-   *
-   * '''Emits when''' the specified number of elements to take has not yet been reached
+   * '''Emits when''' upstream emits and the accumulated cost has not reached max
    *
    * '''Backpressures when''' downstream backpressures
    *
-   * '''Completes when''' the defined number of elements has been taken or upstream completes
+   * '''Completes when''' upstream completes and the number of emitted elements has not reached max
    *
-   * '''Cancels when''' the defined number of elements has been taken or downstream cancels
+   * '''Errors when''' when the accumulated cost exceeds max
+   *
+   * '''Cancels when''' downstream cancels
    *
    * See also [[FlowOps.take]], [[FlowOps.takeWithin]], [[FlowOps.takeWhile]]
    */
diff --git a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/Sink.scala b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/Sink.scala
index 691a4e4469..2f20a67b1a 100644
--- a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/Sink.scala
+++ b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/scaladsl/Sink.scala
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import akka.stream.{ javadsl, _ }
 import akka.util.ByteString
 import org.reactivestreams.{ Publisher, Subscriber }
 import scala.annotation.tailrec
+import scala.collection.immutable
 import scala.concurrent.duration.{ FiniteDuration, _ }
 import scala.concurrent.{ ExecutionContext, Future }
 import scala.util.{ Failure, Success, Try }
@@ -161,11 +162,7 @@ object Sink {
    *
    * See also [[Flow.limit]], [[Flow.limitWeighted]], [[Flow.take]], [[Flow.takeWithin]], [[Flow.takeWhile]]
    */
-  def seq[T]: Sink[T, Future[Seq[T]]] = {
-    Flow[T].grouped(Integer.MAX_VALUE).toMat(Sink.headOption)(Keep.right) mapMaterializedValue { e ⇒
-      e.map(_.getOrElse(Seq.empty[T]))(ExecutionContexts.sameThreadExecutionContext)
-    }
-  }
+  def seq[T]: Sink[T, Future[immutable.Seq[T]]] = Sink.fromGraph(new SeqStage[T])
 
   /**
    * A `Sink` that materializes into a [[org.reactivestreams.Publisher]].