# git-ls-tree - List the contents of a tree object - man(1) - [phpMan] > **TLDR:** List the contents of a tree object. > - List the contents of the tree on a branch: `git ls-tree {{branch_name}}` - List the contents of the tree on a commit, recursing into subtrees: `git ls-tree -r {{commit_hash}}` - List only the filenames of the tree on a commit: `git ls-tree --name-only {{commit_hash}}` - Print the filenames of the current branch head in a tree structure (Note: `tree --fromfile` is not supported on Windows): `git ls-tree -r --name-only HEAD | tree --fromfile` *Source: tldr-pages* --- [_GIT-LS-TREE_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/GIT-LS-TREE/1/markdown) Git Manual [_GIT-LS-TREE_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/GIT-LS-TREE/1/markdown) ## NAME git-ls-tree - List the contents of a tree object ## SYNOPSIS _git_ _ls-tree_ [-d] [-r] [-t] [-l] [-z] [--name-only] [--name-status] [--object-only] [--full-name] [--full-tree] [--abbrev[=]] [--format=] [...] ## DESCRIPTION Lists the contents of a given tree object, like what "/bin/ls -a" does in the current working directory. Note that: • the behaviour is slightly different from that of "/bin/ls" in that the __ denotes just a list of patterns to match, e.g. so specifying directory name (without **-r**) will behave differently, and order of the arguments does not matter. • the behaviour is similar to that of "/bin/ls" in that the __ is taken as relative to the current working directory. E.g. when you are in a directory _sub_ that has a directory _dir_, you can run _git_ _ls-tree_ _-r_ _HEAD_ _dir_ to list the contents of the tree (that is **sub/dir **in **HEAD**). You don’t want to give a tree that is not at the root level (e.g. **git** **ls-tree -r HEAD:sub dir**) in this case, as that would result in asking for **sub/sub/dir **in the **HEAD **commit. However, the current working directory can be ignored by passing --full-tree option. ## OPTIONS Id of a tree-ish. ### -d Show only the named tree entry itself, not its children. ### -r Recurse into sub-trees. ### -t Show tree entries even when going to recurse them. Has no effect if **-r **was not passed. **-d **implies **-t**. ### -l, --long Show object size of blob (file) entries. ### -z \0 line termination on output and do not quote filenames. See OUTPUT FORMAT below for more information. ### --name-only, --name-status List only filenames (instead of the "long" output), one per line. Cannot be combined with **--object-only**. ### --object-only List only names of the objects, one per line. Cannot be combined with **--name-only **or **--name-status**. This is equivalent to specifying **--format='%(objectname)'**, but for both this option and that exact format the command takes a hand-optimized codepath instead of going through the generic formatting mechanism. --abbrev[=] Instead of showing the full 40-byte hexadecimal object lines, show the shortest prefix that is at least __ hexdigits long that uniquely refers the object. Non default number of digits can be specified with --abbrev=. ### --full-name Instead of showing the path names relative to the current working directory, show the full path names. ### --full-tree Do not limit the listing to the current working directory. Implies --full-name. --format= A string that interpolates **%(fieldname) **from the result being shown. It also interpolates **%% **to **%**, and **%xNN **where **NN **are hex digits interpolates to character with hex code **NN**; for example **%x00 **interpolates to **\0 **(NUL), **%x09 **to **\t **(TAB) and **%x0a **to **\n **(LF). When specified, **--format **cannot be combined with other format-altering options, including **--long**, **--name-only **and **--object-only**. [...] When paths are given, show them (note that this isn’t really raw pathnames, but rather a list of patterns to match). Otherwise implicitly uses the root level of the tree as the sole path argument. ## OUTPUT FORMAT The output format of **ls-tree **is determined by either the **--format **option, or other format-altering options such as **--name-only **etc. (see **--format **above). The use of certain **--format **directives is equivalent to using those options, but invoking the full formatting machinery can be slower than using an appropriate formatting option. In cases where the **--format **would exactly map to an existing option **ls-tree **will use the appropriate faster path. Thus the default format is equivalent to: %(objectmode) %(objecttype) %(objectname)%x09%(path) This output format is compatible with what **--index-info --stdin **of _git_ _update-index_ expects. When the **-l **option is used, format changes to %(objectmode) %(objecttype) %(objectname) %(objectsize:padded)%x09%(path) Object size identified by is given in bytes, and right-justified with minimum width of 7 characters. Object size is given only for blobs (file) entries; for other entries **- **character is used in place of size. Without the **-z **option, pathnames with "unusual" characters are quoted as explained for the configuration variable **core.quotePath **(see [**git-config**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git-config/1/markdown)). Using **-z **the filename is output verbatim and the line is terminated by a NUL byte. Customized format: It is possible to print in a custom format by using the **--format **option, which is able to interpolate different fields using a **%(fieldname) **notation. For example, if you only care about the "objectname" and "path" fields, you can execute with a specific "--format" like git ls-tree --format='%(objectname) %(path)' ## FIELD NAMES Various values from structured fields can be used to interpolate into the resulting output. For each outputting line, the following names can be used: objectmode The mode of the object. objecttype The type of the object (**commit**, **blob **or **tree**). objectname The name of the object. objectsize[:padded] The size of a **blob **object ("-" if it’s a **commit **or **tree**). It also supports a padded format of size with "%(objectsize:padded)". path The pathname of the object. ## GIT Part of the [**git**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git/1/markdown) suite Git 2.43.0 07/02/2025 [_GIT-LS-TREE_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/GIT-LS-TREE/1/markdown)