Linux in a Nutshell, Third Edition

Name

ls

Synopsis

ls [options] [names]

Description

List contents of directories. If no names are given, list the files in the current directory. With one or more names, list files contained in a directory name or that match a file name. names can include filename metacharacters. The options let you display a variety of information in different formats. The most useful options include -F, -R, -l, and -s. Some options don’t make sense together (e.g., -u and -c).

Options

-1, --format=single-column

Print one entry per line of output.

-a

List all files, including the normally hidden files whose names begin with a period.

-b, --escape

Display nonprinting characters in octal and alphabetic format.

-c, --time-ctime, --time=status

List files by status change time (not creation/modification time).

--color, --colour, --color=yes, --colour=yes

Colorize the names of files depending on the type of file.

--color=no, --colour=no

Disables colorization. This is the default. Provided to override a previous color option.

--color=tty, --colour=tty

Same as --color, but only if standard output is a terminal. Very useful for shell scripts and command aliases, especially if your favorite pager does not support color control codes.

-d, --directory

Report only on the directory, not its contents.

-f

Print directory contents in exactly the order in which they are stored, without attempting to sort them.

--full-time

List times in full, rather than use the standard abbreviations.

--help

Print a help message and ...