LS Command in Linux with Examples

LS command in Linux is used for listing the files to know for better understanding. This article will give you a brief understanding of LS command and how to use it.

Updated: 02 Feb, 24 by Susith Nonis 8 Min

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Linux Command is an effective service that is provided by the Linux OS. These commands are used to execute all the basic and advanced tasks. The implementation of the commands is done on the Linux terminal. The terminal is a powerful command-line interface used to cooperate with the system. The terminal emulator in Linux is identical to the command prompt in the Windows operating system. The commands that we use in Linux are case-sensitive.

Numerous commands pre-installed in Linux enable the user to direct the file system, install software packages, and organize the system and its applications. These are issued on the terminal by stating the title of an executable file; It can be either a binary program or a script.

The Linux ls command is a utility used for viewing the contents of a directory, ls short form of List. It can be used to view files in both a long listing format, which includes additional information such as file size and modification time, or a short listing format, which only displays the filename. The ls command also supports many options for filtering and sorting the output.

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The ls command is one of the most basic and essential commands in Linux. It's used to list files in the current directory, and it has a ton of options that can be used to customize the output. In this article, we'll show you how to use the ls command to list files in Linux. We'll also cover some of the most common options that can be used with ls. If you're new to Linux or if you're just getting started with the command line, this is a great place to start. Let's get started!

The ls command is used to list files in the Linux terminal, displaying them in columns. The output of the ls command consists of various ls columns, which can be initially confusing, but with a little practice, it is easy to read and understand the information presented in these ls output columns.

Here is an example of the output of the ls command:

-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 Apr 12 13:14 file1.txt

-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 Apr 12 13:15 file2.txt

drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 12 13:16 dir1/

  1. The first column shows the permissions for the file.
  2. The second column shows the number of links to the file.
  3. The third column shows the owner of the file.
  4. The fourth column shows the group that owns the file.
  5. The fifth column shows the size of the file in bytes.
  6. The sixth column showed when the file was last modified.
  7. The seventh column shows the name of the file or directory.

ls Command

List all files in the directory.

Syntax:

ls

ls -a Command

A user can’t see hidden files, As hidden files start with a . (dot) and are not detectable in the regular directory. This is where the ls-a command comes in handy. This command enlists the complete content of the existing directory and the hidden files.

Syntax:

ls -a

ls -l Command

If the user wants to see the contents of the files? To get that detailed information, the users must use the ls – l command. The file will be displayed in a long list format.

The long list format displays the contents column-wise.

Let’s say the contents have seven different attributes; then, the attributes will be displayed in seven columns.

For example,

The 1st column specifies particulars with regard to file permission.
The 2nd column specifies the total number of associations with the list.
The 3rd and 4th columns specify information related to the owner and group.
The 5th column specifies the total size of the file (in Bytes).
The 6th column displays the last updated date and time.
The 7th column displays the file/directory name.

Syntax:

ls -l  

ls -l --block-size=[SIZE] Command

This command is used if the user desires to display the file size in their preferred format. There are eight different size formats. They are:

K = Kilobyte

M = Megabyte

G = Gigabyte

T = Terabyte

P = Petabyte

E = Exabyte

Z = Zettabyte

Y = Yottabyte

Users can replace SIZE with their preferred choice.

For example,

ls -l --block-size=M  

If you select your size as M, then the size of all files will be displayed in Megabytes.

Syntax:

ls -l --block-size=[SIZE]  

ls -lrt Command

To list files and directories in long format, sorted by modification time in reverse order, with the most recently modified files appearing at the end of the list.

Syntax:

ls -lrt

ls -d */ Command

This command is used in those cases where you only want to show the sub-directories and not any other files.

Syntax:

ls -d */ 

ls –g Command

If, in any situation, you want to display all the other file information without the owner information column, then use this command.

Syntax:

ls -g  

ls –lG Command

If, in any situation, you want to display all the other file information without the group column, then use this command in Linux OS.

The group column will be excluded from the output.

Syntax:

ls -lG

ls --color=[VALUE] Command

This command is used if the user wants to colorize and decolorize the list. To get a colored list, you’ve to replace [VALUE] with auto, and if you want to get a decolorized list, replace [VALUE] with never.

Syntax:

ls --color=[VALUE]

ls ~ Command

The ls ~ command displays all the contents of the home directory.

Syntax:

ls ~

ls ../ Command

Using this command, you can enlist the details of the parent directory.

Let’s say there are two directories. The current directory is the “Downloads” directory and the directory that is previous to it i.e. its parent directory is the “Home” directory.

Syntax:

ls ../

ls –version Command

Using this command, the user can look into the version of the ls command.

Syntax:

ls -version

ls –F Command

If you put the -F command with the ls command then it will add a new character ‘ / ‘ at the end of every directory.

Syntax:

ls -F

ls –help Command

Syntax:

ls -help

ls -n Command

The ls -n command displays files and directories with their respective inode numbers.

Syntax:

Is -n

ls –r Command

The ls -r command shows all the existing files and directories but in reverse order.

Syntax:

ls -r

ls -R Command

The ls -R command only displays the long listing directory trees.

Syntax:

Is -R

ls -i Command

When you use the ls -i command, it will display all the existing files or directories with an inode number before it.

Syntax:

Is -i

ls -l Command

In Linux, if the user wants to create an alias of their Is terminal command, then they can use this command.

Syntax:

Is -l

ls command in Linux sort by size

To sort the output of the "ls" command by size in Linux, you can use the "-S" option. This will display the files and directories in the current directory, sorted by size in descending order. The largest files will appear at the top of the list.

Syntax:

ls -S

ls command in Linux sort by date

To sort the output of the "ls" command by date in Linux, you can use the "-t" option. This will display the files and directories in the current directory, sorted by modification time in descending order. The most recently modified files will appear at the top of the list.

Syntax:

ls -t

There is a plethora of ls command in Linux that can be used to list the files and directories in a Linux operating system. But these were some of the basic ls commands in the Linux operating system. These commands help users to implement their tasks comfortably and effortlessly. They are also proven to be very effective. 

Users need to practice them a lot as it may take some time to adapt to these commands.

People Are Also Reading:

The "man ls" command in Linux opens the manual page for the "ls" command, providing detailed documentation and usage instructions. It allows users to access information about the options, arguments, and functionalities of the "ls" command directly from the terminal.

the main difference between "ll" and "ls" is that "ll" is equivalent to "ls -l" and provides a detailed long format listing, while "ls" on its own gives a basic listing without additional information.

The "cat" command is used to display the contents of files, printing their content to the terminal. On the other hand, the "ls" command is used to list files and directories in a given directory without displaying their actual content.

To list files in a specific directory, you can provide the directory path as an argument to the ls command. For example: ls /path/to/directory

ls -l displays files and directories in long format, excluding hidden files. ls -la displays all files, including hidden ones, in long format.

Yes, you can use wildcards like * and ? with the ls command to filter and list specific files. For example: ls *.txt will list all files with the .txt extension.

Susith Nonis

Susith Nonis

I'm fascinated by the IT world and how the 1's and 0's work. While I venture into the world of Technology, I try to share what I know in the simplest way with you. Not a fan of coffee, a travel addict, and a self-accredited 'master chef'.