LS

ls − list directory contents

ls [OPTION]... [FILE]...

List information about the FILEs (the current directory by default). Sort entries alphabetically if none of −cftuSUX nor −−sort.

−a, −−all

do not hide entries starting with .

−A, −−almost−all

do not list implied . and ..

−b, −−escape

print octal escapes for nongraphic characters

−−block−size=SIZE

use SIZE-byte blocks

−B, −−ignore−backups

do not list implied entries ending with ~

−c

with −lt: sort by, and show, ctime (time of last modification of file status information)

with −l: show ctime and sort by name otherwise: sort by ctime

−C

list entries by columns

−−color[=WHEN]

control whether color is used to distinguish file types. WHEN may be ‘never’, ‘always’, or ‘auto’

−d, −−directory

list directory entries instead of contents

−D, −−dired

generate output designed for Emacs’ dired mode

−f

do not sort, enable −aU, disable −lst

−F, −−classify

append indicator (one of */=@|) to entries

−−format=WORD

across −x, commas −m, horizontal −x, long −l, single-column −1, verbose −l, vertical −C

−−full−time

list both full date and full time

−g

(ignored)

−G, −−no−group

inhibit display of group information

−h, −−human−readable

print sizes in human readable format (e.g., 1K 234M 2G)

−H, −−si

likewise, but use powers of 1000 not 1024

−−indicator−style=WORD append indicator with style WORD to entry names:

none (default), classify (-F), file-type (-p)

−i, −−inode

print index number of each file

−I, −−ignore=PATTERN

do not list implied entries matching shell PATTERN

−k, −−kilobytes

like −−block−size=1024

−l

use a long listing format

−L, −−dereference

list entries pointed to by symbolic links

−m

fill width with a comma separated list of entries

−n, −−numeric−uid−gid

list numeric UIDs and GIDs instead of names

−N, −−literal

print raw entry names (don’t treat e.g. control characters specially)

−o

use long listing format without group info

−p, −−file−type

append indicator (one of /=@|) to entries

−q, −−hide−control−chars

print ? instead of non graphic characters

−−show−control−chars

show non graphic characters as-is (default unless program is ‘ls’ and output is a terminal)

−Q, −−quote−name

enclose entry names in double quotes

−−quoting−style=WORD

use quoting style WORD for entry names: literal, locale, shell, shell-always, c, escape

−r, −−reverse

reverse order while sorting

−R, −−recursive

list subdirectories recursively

−s, −−size

print size of each file, in blocks

−S

sort by file size

−−sort=WORD

extension −X, none −U, size −S, time −t, version −v

status −c, time −t, atime −u, access −u, use −u

−−time=WORD

show time as WORD instead of modification time: atime, access, use, ctime or status; use specified time as sort key if −−sort=time

−t

sort by modification time

−T, −−tabsize=COLS

assume tab stops at each COLS instead of 8

−u

with −lt: sort by, and show, access time with −l: show access time and sort by name otherwise: sort by access time

−U

do not sort; list entries in directory order

−v

sort by version

−w, −−width=COLS

assume screen width instead of current value

−x

list entries by lines instead of by columns

−X

sort alphabetically by entry extension

−1

list one file per line

−−help

display this help and exit

−−version

output version information and exit

By default, color is not used to distinguish types of files. That is equivalent to using −−color=none. Using the −−color option without the optional WHEN argument is equivalent to using −−color=always. With −−color=auto, color codes are output only if standard output is connected to a terminal (tty).

Written by Richard Stallman and David MacKenzie.

Report bugs to <bug-fileutils@gnu.org>.

Copyright © 1999 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions. There is NO warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

The full documentation for ls is maintained as a Texinfo manual. If the info and ls programs are properly installed at your site, the command

info ls

should give you access to the complete manual.