Ls view files

The command df -h shows current disk usage in a easier to read format. To display hidden files files with names that start with a period , use the -a option. For example, if you use only ls to look at the root home directory on a clean Linux installation, no files are returned:.

However, if you add the -a option, the ls command returns a list of files:. If you combine the -a option with the -l option see the next section into -la , you get all the details of the hidden files:. The single period. This is convenient if you want it to run a command and reference your current directory for example, when you want to copy a file there.

The double period.. If you type cd.. To get more information about the files in a directory, use the -l option with ls, as shown in the following example. The file names are on the far right side of each line, and the file details precede the names.

The necessary details to check file permissions are 1 the series of letters and dashes on the far left of each line, and 2 the two columns that have root in them in the preceding example. The rest of this article explains how to interpret and use these details. In the preceding examples, the first character in each list was either a dash - or the letter d. The letter d indicates that the file is a directory, which is basically a special kind of file.

One amazing feature of the Linux operating system is the Command Line Interface CLI which allows users to interact with their computer from a shell. The ls command is one of the many Linux commands that allow a user to list files or directories from the CLI.

In this article, we'll go in depth on the ls command and some of the most important flags you'll need day-to-day. The ls command is used to list files or directories in Linux and other Unix-based operating systems. Just like you navigate in your File explorer or Finder with a GUI, the ls command allows you to list all files or directories in the current directory by default, and further interact with them via the command line. The ls command also accepts some flags also known as options which are additional information that changes how files or directories are listed in your terminal.

Type the ls [directory path here] command to list the contents of another directory:. Type the ls.. Use ls.. Type the ls -R command to list all files and directories with their corresponding subdirectories down to the last file:.

Type the ls -s command the s is lowercase to list files or directories with their sizes:. Type the ls -l command to list the contents of the directory in a table format with columns including:.

Note that sizes are listed in bytes B , megabytes MB , gigabytes GB , or terabytes TB when the file or directory's size is larger than bytes. Type the ls -a command to list files or directories including hidden files or directories. Do you need to see the file timestamps with the maximum precision that Linux can provide? Use the full-time option:.

Are you working on a monochrome display and want to remove all risk of confusing files for directories and links? Use the classify option, and ls will append one of these to each listing entry:. Do some digging. Use Google Fonts in Word. Customize the Taskbar in Windows What Is svchost.

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