Skip to main content

Linux ls Command Manual

Overview​

The ls command lists directory contents. It's one of the most fundamental commands in Linux/Unix systems, displaying files and directories in the specified location.

Basic syntax:

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

Argument Utilities​

Basic Options​

  • -l: Long format listing with detailed information
  • -a: Shows all files including hidden ones (starting with .)
  • -h: Human-readable file sizes (KB, MB, GB)
  • -R: Recursive listing (includes subdirectories)
  • -d: Lists directories themselves, not their contents
  • --color=auto: Colorized output for different file types

Sorting Options​

  • -t: Sort by modification time (newest first)
  • -S: Sort by file size (largest first)
  • -r: Reverse the sort order
  • -X: Sort alphabetically by file extension
  • -U: Do not sort (list in directory order)

List & Filter by Filenames​

  1. Using ls with grep:

    ls | grep code

    This lists all files/directories and filters for those containing "code"

  2. Using wildcards directly with ls:

    ls *code*

    This lists all files/directories with "code" anywhere in the filename

  3. For case-insensitive search:

    ls | grep -i code

    This finds files containing "code", "Code", "CODE", etc.

  4. With detailed listing:

    ls -l *code*

    Shows detailed information for all files containing "code"

  5. Including hidden files:

    ls -a | grep code

    or

    ls -la *code*

  6. Using find for more powerful filtering:

    find . -name "*code*" -type f

    This finds all files (not directories) containing "code" in current directory and subdirectories

The simplest approach for most cases is just ls *code*, which will display all files and directories in the current location with "code" in their name.

List Filtering by Name/Type/Size/Date​

Filtering by Name​

  • ls file*: Lists all files starting with "file"
  • ls *.txt: Lists all files with .txt extension
  • ls [abc]*: Lists all files starting with a, b, or c

Filtering by Type​

  • ls -F: Appends indicators to entries (/ for directories, * for executables)
  • ls -p: Appends / to directories
  • find . -type f -maxdepth 1 | xargs ls -l: List only regular files
  • find . -type d -maxdepth 1 | xargs ls -ld: List only directories

Filtering by Size​

  • ls -lS: Lists files sorted by size (largest first)
  • find . -size +10M -type f -exec ls -lh {} \;: List files larger than 10MB
  • find . -size -1M -type f -exec ls -lh {} \;: List files smaller than 1MB

Filtering by Date​

  • ls -lt: Lists files sorted by modification time (newest first)
  • ls -ltr: Lists files sorted by modification time (oldest first)
  • find . -mtime -7 -type f -exec ls -l {} \;: List files modified in the last 7 days
  • find . -mtime +30 -type f -exec ls -l {} \;: List files not modified in the last 30 days

Other Utilities for Best Practice​

Output Formatting​

  • ls -1: One file per line
  • ls -m: Comma-separated list of entries
  • ls --group-directories-first: List directories before files

Combining Options​

  • ls -lahS: Most common combination (long format, all files, human-readable sizes, sorted by size)
  • ls -ltr: See files in order of modification (oldest first)

Aliases​

Add these to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.bash_aliases:

alias ll='ls -alF'
alias la='ls -A'
alias l='ls -CF'
alias lt='ls -ltr'
alias lsize='ls -lahS'

Integration with Other Commands​

  • ls | grep pattern: Filter ls output for a specific pattern
  • ls -l | sort -k5 -n: Sort ls output by file size numerically
  • ls -la | awk '$5 > 1000000': Show files larger than 1MB

Security Considerations​

  • Use ls -la when checking permissions
  • Check for hidden files with ls -a when auditing directories
  • Use ls -i to show inode numbers (helpful for finding hard links)

Would you like me to explain or break down any of these commands or options in more detail?