Linux ls Command

The ls command is a command-line utility used to list the files and directories in a directory. It is one of the most basic and frequently used commands in the command-line interface. It can be used without any options to list the files and directories in the current working directory, or with a directory path as an argument to list the files and directories in a specific directory. Some common options include -l for a detailed listing format, -a for showing hidden files and -h for showing file sizes in a human-readable format.

Here are some common options for the ls command:

-l: This option displays the files and directories in a long listing format, which includes additional information such as permissions, ownership, file size, and timestamps.

BASH[oracle@bracecoder ~]$ ls -l
total 4
drwxr-xr-x. 2 oracle oinstall   6 Nov 10 20:03 Desktop
drwxr-xr-x. 2 oracle oinstall  23 Nov 24 11:24 dir1
drwxr-xr-x. 2 oracle oinstall  35 Nov 24 11:24 dir2
drwxr-xr-x. 2 oracle oinstall   6 Nov 10 20:03 Documents
drwxr-xr-x. 4 oracle oinstall  70 Nov 10 20:20 Downloads
-rw-r--r--. 1 oracle oinstall  22 Nov 24 11:07 file1.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 oracle oinstall   0 Nov 24 11:01 file2.txt
--w-r-x---. 1 oracle oinstall   0 Nov 24 10:42 file.txt
drwxr-xr-x. 2 oracle oinstall  25 Nov 11 18:34 HR
drwxr-xr-x. 2 oracle oinstall 197 Nov 11 18:27 human_resources
drwxr-xr-x. 2 oracle oinstall   6 Nov 10 20:03 Music
drwxr-xr-x. 2 oracle oinstall   6 Nov 10 20:03 Pictures
drwxr-xr-x. 2 oracle oinstall   6 Nov 10 20:03 Public
drwxr-xr-x. 2 oracle oinstall  62 Nov 10 20:21 scripts
drwxr-xr-x. 2 oracle oinstall   6 Nov 10 20:03 Templates
drwxr-xr-x. 2 oracle oinstall   6 Nov 10 20:03 Videos
[oracle@bracecoder ~]$

-a: This option shows hidden files and directories, which are files and directories that have a "." prefix in their names.

BASH[oracle@bracecoder ~]$ ls -la
total 36
drwx------. 23 oracle oinstall 4096 Jan 29 19:44 .
drwxr-xr-x.  4 root   root       33 Nov 10 20:00 ..
-rw-------.  1 oracle oinstall 3463 Jan 28 10:42 .bash_history
-rw-r--r--.  1 oracle oinstall   18 Aug  2 16:35 .bash_logout
-rw-r--r--.  1 oracle oinstall  174 Nov 10 20:21 .bash_profile
-rw-r--r--.  1 oracle oinstall  376 Aug  2 16:35 .bashrc
drwxr-xr-x. 12 oracle oinstall  269 Nov 10 21:01 .cache
drwx------. 12 oracle oinstall  272 Jan 27 23:57 .config
drwxr-xr-x.  2 oracle oinstall    6 Nov 10 20:03 Desktop
drwxr-xr-x.  2 oracle oinstall   23 Nov 24 11:24 dir1
drwxr-xr-x.  2 oracle oinstall   35 Nov 24 11:24 dir2
drwxr-xr-x.  2 oracle oinstall    6 Nov 10 20:03 Documents
drwxr-xr-x.  4 oracle oinstall   70 Nov 10 20:20 Downloads
-rw-------.  1 oracle oinstall   16 Nov 10 20:03 .esd_auth
-rw-r--r--.  1 oracle oinstall   22 Nov 24 11:07 file1.txt
-rw-r--r--.  1 oracle oinstall    0 Nov 24 11:01 file2.txt
--w-r-x---.  1 oracle oinstall    0 Nov 24 10:42 file.txt
drwxr-xr-x.  2 oracle oinstall   25 Nov 11 18:34 HR
drwxr-xr-x.  2 oracle oinstall  197 Nov 11 18:27 human_resources
-rw-------.  1 oracle oinstall 3414 Jan 29 19:44 .ICEauthority
drwxr-xr-x.  3 oracle oinstall   19 Nov 10 21:01 .java
-rw-r--r--.  1 oracle oinstall  172 Sep 13 20:15 .kshrc
drwx------.  3 oracle oinstall   19 Nov 10 20:03 .local
drwxr-xr-x.  4 oracle oinstall   39 Apr  1  2022 .mozilla
drwxr-xr-x.  2 oracle oinstall    6 Nov 10 20:03 Music
drwxr-x---.  2 oracle oinstall   40 Nov 10 21:18 .oracle_jre_usage
drwxr-xr-x.  2 oracle oinstall    6 Nov 10 20:03 Pictures
drwxr-----.  3 oracle oinstall   19 Nov 10 20:03 .pki
drwxr-xr-x.  2 oracle oinstall    6 Nov 10 20:03 Public
drwxr-xr-x.  2 oracle oinstall   62 Nov 10 20:21 scripts
drwx------.  2 oracle oinstall    6 Nov 10 22:48 .ssh
drwxr-xr-x.  2 oracle oinstall    6 Nov 10 20:03 Templates
drwxr-xr-x.  2 oracle oinstall    6 Nov 10 20:03 Videos
[oracle@bracecoder ~]$

-h: This option shows file sizes in a human-readable format, meaning that the sizes are displayed in a more easily readable format like "1K" or "234M" instead of bytes.

BASH[oracle@bracecoder Downloads]$ ls -lh
total 5.6G
drwxr-xr-x.  4 oracle oinstall   55 Nov 10 20:57 19-c
-rw-r--r--.  1 oracle oinstall 2.9G Feb 25  2022 19-c.zip
drwxr-xr-x. 65 oracle oinstall 4.0K Nov 10 20:33 grid-19c
-rw-r--r--.  1 oracle oinstall 2.7G Nov 10 11:45 grid-19c.zip
[oracle@bracecoder Downloads]$

-R: This option recursively lists files and directories in subdirectories.

BASH[muthu@bracecoder ~]$ ls -R
.:
Desktop  dir1  dir2  Documents  Downloads  file.txt  HR  Music  Pictures  Public  Templates  Videos

./Desktop:

./dir1:
file1.txt

./dir2:
dir1  file1.txt

./Documents:

./Downloads:

./HR:
hr_main.log

./Music:

./Pictures:

./Public:

./Templates:

./Videos:
[muthu@bracecoder ~]$

-t: This option sorts the files and directories by modification time, with the most recently modified files appearing first.

-S: This option sorts the files and directories by size, with the largest files appearing first.

--color: This option highlights the files and directories based on their type or attributes.

-1 : This option display each file on separate line.

These are just a few of the many options available for the ls command, and there are many others available depending on the specific implementation.

That’s it.