ABOUT LS

Lists the contents of a directory.

SYNTAX

ls [-a] [-A] [-b] [-c] [-C] [-d] [-f] [-F] [-g] [-i] [-l] [-L] [-m] [-o] [-p] [-q] [-r] [-R] [-s] [-t] [-u] [-x] [pathnames]

  -a Shows you all files, even files that are hidden (these files begin with a dot.) 
-A List all files including the hidden files. However does not display the working directory (.) or the parent directory (..). 
-b Force printing of non-printable characters to be in octal \ddd notation. 
-c Use time of last modification of the i-node (file created, mode changed, and so forth) for sorting (-t) or printing (-l or -n). 
-C Multi-column output with entries sorted down the columns. Generally this is the default option. 
-d If an argument is a directory it only lists its name not its contents. 
-f Force each argument to be interpreted as a directory and list the name found in each slot. This option turns off -l, -t, -s, and -r, and turns on -a; the order is the order in which entries appear in the directory. 
-F Mark directories with a trailing slash (/), doors with a trailing greater-than sign (>), executable files with a trailing asterisk (*), FIFOs with a trailing vertical bar (|), symbolic links with a trailing at-sign (@), and AF_UNIX address family sockets with a trailing equals sign (=). 
-g  Same as -l except the owner is not printed. 
-i  For each file, print the i-node number in the first column of the report. 
-l Shows you huge amounts of information (permissions, owners, size, and when last modified.) 
-L If an argument is a symbolic link, list the file or directory the link references rather than the link itself. 
-m Stream output format; files are listed across the page, separated by commas. 
-n The same as -l, except that the owner's UID and group's GID numbers are printed, rather than the associated character strings. 
-o The same as -l, except that the group is not printed. 
-p Displays a slash ( / ) in front of all directories. 
-q Force printing of non-printable characters in file names as the character question mark (?). 
-r Reverses the order of how the files are displayed. 
-R Includes the contents of subdirectories. 
-s Give size in blocks, including indirect blocks, for each entry. 
-t Shows you the files in modification time. 
-u Use time of last access instead of last modification for sorting (with the -t option) or printing (with the -l option). 
-x Displays files in columns. 
-1 Print one entry per line of output. 
pathnames File or directory to list. 


EXAMPLES

ls -l - lists all the files and directories as well as the permissions for each of them. 

RELATED COMMANDS

chmod
df
diff
du
file