# ls(1) - man - phpman > **TLDR:** List directory contents. > - List files one per line: `ls -1` - List all files, including hidden files: `ls {{-a|--all}}` - List files with a trailing symbol to indicate file type (directory/, symbolic_link@, executable*, ...): `ls {{-F|--classify}}` - List all files in [l]ong format (permissions, ownership, size, and modification date): `ls {{-la|-l --all}}` - List files in [l]ong format with size displayed using human-readable units (KiB, MiB, GiB): `ls {{-lh|-l --human-readable}}` - List files in [l]ong format, sorted by [S]ize (descending) recursively: `ls {{-lSR|-lS --recursive}}` - List files in [l]ong format, sorted by [t]ime the file was modified and in reverse order (oldest first): `ls {{-ltr|-lt --reverse}}` - Only list directories: `ls {{-d|--directory}} */` *Source: tldr-pages* --- [LS(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/LS/1/markdown) User Commands [LS(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/LS/1/markdown) ## NAME ls - list directory contents ## SYNOPSIS **ls** [_OPTION_]... [_FILE_]... ## DESCRIPTION List information about the FILEs (the current directory by default). Sort entries alphabeti‐ cally if none of **-cftuvSUX** nor **--sort** is specified. Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too. ### -a --all do not ignore entries starting with . ### -A --almost-all do not list implied . and .. ### --author with **-l**, print the author of each file ### -b --escape print C-style escapes for nongraphic characters **--block-size**=_SIZE_ with **-l**, scale sizes by SIZE when printing them; e.g., '--block-size=M'; see SIZE for‐ mat below ### -B --ignore-backups do not list implied entries ending with ~ ### -c -lt tion); with **-l**: show ctime and sort by name; otherwise: sort by ctime, newest first ### -C **--color**[=_WHEN_] colorize the output; WHEN can be 'always' (default if omitted), 'auto', or 'never'; more info below ### -d --directory list directories themselves, not their contents ### -D --dired generate output designed for Emacs' dired mode ### -f -aU -ls --color ### -F --classify append indicator (one of */=>@|) to entries ### --file-type likewise, except do not append '*' **--format**=_WORD_ across **-x**, commas **-m**, horizontal **-x**, long **-l**, single-column **-1**, verbose **-l**, vertical **-C** ### --full-time like **-l** **--time-style**=_full-iso_ ### -g -l ### --group-directories-first group directories before files; can be augmented with a **--sort** option, but any use of **--sort**=_none_ (**-U**) disables group‐ ing ### -G --no-group in a long listing, don't print group names ### -h --human-readable with **-l** and **-s**, print sizes like 1K 234M 2G etc. **--si** likewise, but use powers of 1000 not 1024 ### -H --dereference-command-line follow symbolic links listed on the command line ### --dereference-command-line-symlink-to-dir follow each command line symbolic link that points to a directory **--hide**=_PATTERN_ do not list implied entries matching shell PATTERN (overridden by **-a** or **-A**) **--hyperlink**[=_WHEN_] hyperlink file names; WHEN can be 'always' (default if omitted), 'auto', or 'never' **--indicator-style**=_WORD_ append indicator with style WORD to entry names: none (default), slash (**-p**), file-type (**--file-type**), classify (**-F**) ### -i --inode print the index number of each file ### -I --ignore do not list implied entries matching shell PATTERN ### -k --kibibytes default to 1024-byte blocks for disk usage; used only with **-s** and per directory totals ### -l ### -L --dereference when showing file information for a symbolic link, show information for the file the link references rather than for the link itself ### -m ### -n --numeric-uid-gid like **-l**, but list numeric user and group IDs ### -N --literal print entry names without quoting ### -o -l ### -p --indicator-style append / indicator to directories ### -q --hide-control-chars print ? instead of nongraphic characters ### --show-control-chars show nongraphic characters as-is (the default, unless program is 'ls' and output is a terminal) ### -Q --quote-name enclose entry names in double quotes **--quoting-style**=_WORD_ use quoting style WORD for entry names: literal, locale, shell, shell-always, shell-escape, shell-escape-always, c, escape (overrides QUOTING_STYLE environment variable) ### -r --reverse reverse order while sorting ### -R --recursive list subdirectories recursively ### -s --size print the allocated size of each file, in blocks ### -S **--sort**=_WORD_ sort by WORD instead of name: none (**-U**), size (**-S**), time (**-t**), version (**-v**), extension (**-X**) **--time**=_WORD_ change the default of using modification times; access time (**-u**): atime, access, use; change time (**-c**): ctime, status; birth time: birth, creation; with **-l**, WORD determines which time to show; with **--sort**=_time_, sort by WORD (newest first) **--time-style**=_TIME_STYLE_ time/date format with **-l**; see TIME_STYLE below ### -t --time ### -T --tabsize assume tab stops at each COLS instead of 8 ### -u -lt -l otherwise: sort by access time, newest first ### -U ### -v ### -w --width set output width to COLS. 0 means no limit ### -x ### -X ### -Z --context print any security context of each file ### -1 -q -b **--help** display this help and exit ### --version output version information and exit The SIZE argument is an integer and optional unit (example: 10K is 10*1024). Units are K,M,G,T,P,E,Z,Y (powers of 1024) or KB,MB,... (powers of 1000). Binary prefixes can be used, too: KiB=K, MiB=M, and so on. The TIME_STYLE argument can be full-iso, long-iso, iso, locale, or +FORMAT. FORMAT is inter‐ preted like in [date(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/date/1/markdown). If FORMAT is FORMAT1FORMAT2, then FORMAT1 applies to non-recent files and FORMAT2 to recent files. TIME_STYLE prefixed with 'posix-' takes effect only outside the POSIX locale. Also the TIME_STYLE environment variable sets the default style to use. Using color to distinguish file types is disabled both by default and with **--color**=_never_. With **--color**=_auto_, ls emits color codes only when standard output is connected to a terminal. The LS_COLORS environment variable can change the settings. Use the dircolors command to set it. ### Exit status: 0 if OK, 1 if minor problems (e.g., cannot access subdirectory), 2 if serious trouble (e.g., cannot access command-line argument). ## AUTHOR Written by Richard M. Stallman and David MacKenzie. ## REPORTING BUGS GNU coreutils online help: <> Report any translation bugs to <> ## COPYRIGHT Copyright © 2020 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <>. This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law. ## SEE ALSO Full documentation <> or available locally via: info '(coreutils) ls invocation' GNU coreutils 8.32 January 2026 [LS(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/LS/1/markdown)