ls - list directory contents
ls [-1ACFLRSTWacdfghiklmnopqrstux] [file ...]
For each operand that names a file of a type other than directory, ls
displays its name as well as any requested, associated information. For
each named directory, ls displays the names of files contained within
that directory, as well as any requested, associated information.
If no operands are given, the contents of the current directory are displayed.
If more than one operand is given, non-directory
operands are
displayed first; directory and non-directory operands are
sorted separately
and in lexicographical order.
The options are as follows:
-A List all entries except for ``.'' and ``..''. Always set for the
superuser.
-C Force multi-column output; this is the default when
output is to
a terminal.
-F Display a slash (`/') immediately after each pathname that is a
directory, an asterisk (`*') after each that is executable, an at
sign (`@') after each symbolic link, a percent sign
(`%') after
each whiteout, an equal sign (`=') after each socket, and a vertical
bar (`|') after each that is a FIFO.
-L If argument is a symbolic link, evaluate the file
information and
file type to be those of the file referenced by the
link, and not
the link itself; however, ls writes the name of the
link itself
and not the file referenced by the link.
-R Recursively list subdirectories encountered.
-S Sort by size, largest file first.
-T Display complete time information for the file, including month,
day, hour, minute, second, and year. This option
has no effect
unless one of the long format (-l, -n) options is
also specified.
-W Display whiteouts when scanning directories.
-a Include directory entries whose names begin with a
dot (`.').
-c Use time file's status was last changed instead of
last modification
time for sorting (-t) or printing (-l, -n).
-d Directories are listed as plain files (not searched
recursively)
and symbolic links in the argument list are not indirected
through.
-f Output is not sorted.
-g Does nothing; kept for compatibility with older versions of ls.
-h When used with a long format option, use unit suffixes: Byte,
Kilobyte, Megabyte, Gigabyte, Terabyte, Petabyte and
Exabyte in
order to reduce the number of digits to four or fewer using powers
of 2 for sizes (K=1024, M=1048576, etc.).
-i For each file, print its inode number.
-k Modifies the -s option, causing the sizes to be reported in kilobytes.
Overrides any value specified by the BLOCKSIZE environment
variable.
-l (The lowercase letter ``ell.'') List in long format
(see below).
If the output is to a terminal, a total sum of all
file sizes is
output on a line before the long listing.
-m Stream output format; list files across the page,
separated by
commas.
-n List in long format as in -l, but retain user and
group IDs in a
numeric format.
-o Include the file flags in a long format (-l, -n)
output.
-p Display a slash (`/') immediately after each pathname that is a
directory.
-q Force printing of non-graphic characters in file
names as the
character `?'; this is the default when output is to
a terminal.
-r Reverse the order of the sort to get reverse lexicographical order
or the smallest or oldest entries first.
-s Display the number of file system blocks actually
used by each
file, where partial units are rounded up to the next
integer value.
Blocks are 512 bytes unless overridden by the
-k flag or
BLOCKSIZE environment variable.
-t Sort by time modified (most recently modified first)
before sorting
the operands in lexicographical order.
-u Use file's last access time instead of last modification time for
sorting (-t) or printing (-l, -n).
-x Multi-column output sorted across the page rather
than down the
page.
-1 (The numeric digit ``one.'') Force output to be one
entry per
line. This is the default when output is not to a
terminal.
The -1, -C, -l, and -n options all override each other; the
last one
specified determines the format used.
The -c and -u options override each other; the last one
specified determines
the file time used. The -f option overrides any occurrence of either.
By default, ls lists one entry per line to standard output;
the exceptions
are to terminals or when the -C or -m options are
specified.
File information is displayed with one or more <blank>s separating the
information associated with the -i, -s, -l, and -n options.
The Long Format [Toc] [Back]
If the -l or -n options are given, the following information
is displayed
for each file: mode, number of links, owner, group, size in
bytes, time
of last modification (``mmm dd HH:MM''), and the pathname.
In addition,
for each directory whose contents are displayed, the first
line displayed
is the total number of blocks used by the files in the directory. Blocks
are 512 bytes unless overridden by the -k option or BLOCKSIZE environment
variable.
If the owner or group name is not a known user or group
name, respectively,
or the -n option is given, the numeric ID is displayed.
If the file is a character special or block special file,
the major and
minor device numbers for the file are displayed in the size
field.
If the -T option is given, the time of last modification is
displayed using
the format ``mmm dd HH:MM:SS CCYY''.
If the file is a symbolic link, the pathname of the linkedto file is
preceded by ``->''.
The file mode printed under the -l or -n options consists of
the entry
type, owner permissions, group permissions, and other permissions. The
entry type character describes the type of file, as follows:
b block special file
c character special file
d directory
l symbolic link
s socket link
p FIFO
w whiteout
- regular file
The next three fields are three characters each: owner permissions, group
permissions, and other permissions. Each field has three
character positions:
1. If r, the file is readable; if -, it is not readable.
2. If w, the file is writable; if -, it is not
writable.
3. The first of the following that applies:
S If in the owner permissions, the file
is not executable
and set-user-ID mode is set.
If in the
group permissions, the file is not
executable and
set-group-ID mode is set.
s If in the owner permissions, the file
is executable
and set-user-ID mode is set.
If in the
group permissions, the file is executable and setgroup-ID
mode is set.
x The file is executable or the directory is searchable.
- The file is neither readable,
writable, executable,
nor set-user-ID, nor setgroup-ID, nor
sticky (see below).
These next two apply only to the third character
in the last
group (other permissions):
T The sticky bit is set (mode 1000),
but neither executable
nor searchable (see chmod(1)
or
sticky(8)).
t The sticky bit is set (mode 1000),
and is searchable
or executable (see chmod(1) or
sticky(8)).
In addition, if the -o option is specified, the file flags
(see
chflags(1)) are displayed as comma-separated strings in
front of the file
size, abbreviated as follows:
- no flags
uappnd user append-only
uchg user immutable
nodump do not dump
opaque opaque file
sappnd system append-only
arch archived
schg system immutable
The ls utility exits 0 on success or >0 if an error occurred.
BLOCKSIZE If the environment variable BLOCKSIZE is set, and
the -k option
is not specified, the block counts (see -s)
will be displayed
in units of that size block.
COLUMNS If this variable contains a string representing a
decimal integer,
it is used as the column position width
for displaying
multiple-text-column output. The ls utility calculates how
many pathname text columns to display based on
the width provided
(see -C).
TZ The timezone to use when displaying dates. See
environ(7) for
more information.
List the contents of the current working directory in long
format:
$ ls -l
In addition to listing the contents of the current working
directory in
long format, show inode numbers, file flags (see
chflags(1)), and suffix
each filename with a symbol representing its file type:
$ ls -lioF
List the files in /var/log, sorting the output such that the
mostly recently
modified entries are printed first:
$ ls -lt /var/log
chflags(1), chmod(1), symlink(7), sticky(8)
The group field is now automatically included in the long
listing for
files in order to be compatible with the IEEE Std 1003.2
(``POSIX.2'')
specification.
The ls utility is expected to be a superset of the IEEE Std
1003.2
(``POSIX.2'') specification.
An ls utility appeared in Version 3 AT&T UNIX.
OpenBSD 3.6 July 29, 1994
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