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ls command with 25 practical examples – RHEL7

ls command is used to list information about the FILEs (the current directory by default) with 25 practical examples
Syntax : ls [options] arguments

1. Listing current directory content

we can list out all files and directories in current path using ‘ls’ without hidden directories
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls
a  anaconda-ks.cfg  arkitsample.txt  ARKIT.txt  b  c  dir1  dir2  initial-setup-ks.cfg  techtutorial

2. Listing including hidden files

default ls command will not list hidden objects, in order to see the hidden objects have to use option ‘-a’ ls command with 25 practical examples
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls -a
.   anaconda-ks.cfg  b              .bash_profile  .cache   .dbus  initial-setup-ks.cfg  techtutorial
..  arkitsample.txt  .bash_history  .bashrc        .config  dir1   .lesshst              .viminfo
a   ARKIT.txt        .bash_logout   c              .cshrc   dir2   .tcshrc

3. Long list ( it display detailed info)

when you use ‘ls’ command it will list files & directories without there permission, owner, group and other details, ‘-l’ option will display owner, group, others, Size and time.
below is the example
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls -l
total 24
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 Jan 11 15:47 a
-rw-------. 1 root ravi 1765 Jan  8 22:47 anaconda-ks.cfg
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    2 Jan 10 17:45 arkitsample.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    3 Jan 10 17:45 ARKIT.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 Jan 11 15:47 b
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 Jan 11 15:47 c
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root   29 Jan 10 17:20 dir1
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root    6 Jan 10 17:05 dir2
-rw-r--r--. 1 root ravi 1813 Jan  8 23:05 initial-setup-ks.cfg
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 5362 Jan 10 17:44 techtutorial

4. List files & directories separated by comma

if there is a requirement that we have to list all the files and directories separated by comma
here is the example ls command with 25 practical examples
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls -m
a, anaconda-ks.cfg, arkitsample.txt, ARKIT.txt, b, c, dir1, dir2, initial-setup-ks.cfg, techtutorial

5. List remote directory files & directories with & without color

in order to list remote directory content with color and without color below is the example
with color
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls --color=always
a  anaconda-ks.cfg  arkitsample.txt  ARKIT.txt  b  c  dir1  dir2  initial-setup-ks.cfg  techtutorial
without color, here all the files and directories will display in block color
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls --color=never
a  anaconda-ks.cfg  arkitsample.txt  ARKIT.txt  b  c  dir1  dir2  initial-setup-ks.cfg  techtutorial

6. List only directory using option ‘-d’

ls command along with option ‘-d’ will display only directory path without its content
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls -d /etc/
/etc/

7. List files & directories detailed time stamp

as we can see above -l option which will give long output, time stamp is not detailed, by following below example it will give time stamp details including time zone and seconds
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls -l --time-style=full-iso
total 24
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 2016-01-11 15:47:47.042849437 +0530 a
-rw-------. 1 root ravi 1765 2016-01-08 22:47:13.626999586 +0530 anaconda-ks.cfg
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    2 2016-01-10 17:45:26.794985205 +0530 arkitsample.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    3 2016-01-10 17:45:34.069985006 +0530 ARKIT.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 2016-01-11 15:47:47.043849437 +0530 b
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 2016-01-11 15:47:47.043849437 +0530 c
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root   29 2016-01-10 17:20:06.963026703 +0530 dir1
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root    6 2016-01-10 17:05:21.261050887 +0530 dir2
-rw-r--r--. 1 root ravi 1813 2016-01-08 23:05:38.464011991 +0530 initial-setup-ks.cfg
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 5362 2016-01-10 17:44:46.245986312 +0530 techtutorial

8. Display files and directories its time stamp as “YY-MM-DD HH:MM”

No need to think a lot to list files and directories with above time stamp format below is the example
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls -l --time-style long-iso
total 24
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 2016-01-11 15:47 a
-rw-------. 1 root ravi 1765 2016-01-08 22:47 anaconda-ks.cfg
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    2 2016-01-10 17:45 arkitsample.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    3 2016-01-10 17:45 ARKIT.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 2016-01-11 15:47 b
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 2016-01-11 15:47 c
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root   29 2016-01-10 17:20 dir1
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root    6 2016-01-10 17:05 dir2
-rw-r--r--. 1 root ravi 1813 2016-01-08 23:05 initial-setup-ks.cfg
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 5362 2016-01-10 17:44 techtutorial

9. List objects its time stamp as “MM-DD HH:MM”

List all files & directories with date format YY-MM-DD HH:MM
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls -l --time-style iso
total 24
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 01-11 15:47 a
-rw-------. 1 root ravi 1765 01-08 22:47 anaconda-ks.cfg
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    2 01-10 17:45 arkitsample.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    3 01-10 17:45 ARKIT.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 01-11 15:47 b
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 01-11 15:47 c
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root   29 01-10 17:20 dir1
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root    6 01-10 17:05 dir2
-rw-r--r--. 1 root ravi 1813 01-08 23:05 initial-setup-ks.cfg
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 5362 01-10 17:44 techtutorial

10. List files & directories with specified time stamp format

Here in this option we can mention date command options to customize time stamp as required
below is the example
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls -l --time-style="+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S"
total 24
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 2016-01-11 15:47:47 a
-rw-------. 1 root ravi 1765 2016-01-08 22:47:13 anaconda-ks.cfg
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    2 2016-01-10 17:45:26 arkitsample.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    3 2016-01-10 17:45:34 ARKIT.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 2016-01-11 15:47:47 b
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 2016-01-11 15:47:47 c
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root   29 2016-01-10 17:20:06 dir1
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root    6 2016-01-10 17:05:21 dir2
-rw-r--r--. 1 root ravi 1813 2016-01-08 23:05:38 initial-setup-ks.cfg
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 5362 2016-01-10 17:44:46 techtutorial

11. List Only Group Name without User name (Owner)

ls command will list only group name without user name (Owner name) in long list lets see the example
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls -lg
total 24
-rw-r--r--. 1 root    0 Jan 11 15:47 a
-rw-------. 1 ravi 1765 Jan  8 22:47 anaconda-ks.cfg
-rw-r--r--. 1 root    2 Jan 10 17:45 arkitsample.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root    3 Jan 10 17:45 ARKIT.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root    0 Jan 11 15:47 b
-rw-r--r--. 1 root    0 Jan 11 15:47 c
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root   29 Jan 10 17:20 dir1
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root    6 Jan 10 17:05 dir2
-rw-r--r--. 1 ravi 1813 Jan  8 23:05 initial-setup-ks.cfg
-rw-r--r--. 1 root 5362 Jan 10 17:44 techtutorial

12. List Only Owner Name without Group Name

ls command will list only user name (owner name) excluding group details we have to use ‘-G’ option along with option ‘-l’
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls -lG
total 24
-rw-r--r--. 1 root    0 Jan 11 15:47 a
-rw-------. 1 root 1765 Jan  8 22:47 anaconda-ks.cfg
-rw-r--r--. 1 root    2 Jan 10 17:45 arkitsample.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root    3 Jan 10 17:45 ARKIT.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root    0 Jan 11 15:47 b
-rw-r--r--. 1 root    0 Jan 11 15:47 c
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root   29 Jan 10 17:20 dir1
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root    6 Jan 10 17:05 dir2
-rw-r--r--. 1 root 1813 Jan  8 23:05 initial-setup-ks.cfg
-rw-r--r--. 1 root 5362 Jan 10 17:44 techtutorial

13. List files & directories in human readable format

ls command will give you a nice human readable format of ls command output use option ‘-lh’
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls -lh
total 24K
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 Jan 11 15:47 a
-rw-------. 1 root ravi 1.8K Jan  8 22:47 anaconda-ks.cfg
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    2 Jan 10 17:45 arkitsample.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    3 Jan 10 17:45 ARKIT.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 Jan 11 15:47 b
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 Jan 11 15:47 c
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root   29 Jan 10 17:20 dir1
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root    6 Jan 10 17:05 dir2
-rw-r--r--. 1 root ravi 1.8K Jan  8 23:05 initial-setup-ks.cfg
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 5.3K Jan 10 17:44 techtutorial

14. List inode number of files and directories

we can also list the inode numbers of files and directories using option ‘-i’
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls -i
71153561 a                71153570 arkitsample.txt  71153562 b  37492119 dir1  71163580 initial-setup-ks.cfg
71142770 anaconda-ks.cfg  71153571 ARKIT.txt        71153568 c  71153564 dir2  71153567 techtutorial

15. List only directories using -d option

ls command will only list directories without files in order to do that we have to use #ls -d */ command.
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls -d */
dir1/  dir2/

16. List files & directories, directories should append with / (slash)

in order to append the directories with / ( slash ) we have to use option ‘-p’. if you observe below example output all the directories ended with / ls command with 25 practical examples
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls -p
a  anaconda-ks.cfg  arkitsample.txt  ARKIT.txt  b  c  dir1/  dir2/  initial-setup-ks.cfg  techtutorial

17. Print files & directory names in quoted format

As we can list the files and directories using ls command, file names will be printed as quoted format using -Q option
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls -lQ
total 24
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 Jan 11 15:47 "a"
-rw-------. 1 root ravi 1765 Jan  8 22:47 "anaconda-ks.cfg"
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    2 Jan 10 17:45 "arkitsample.txt"
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    3 Jan 10 17:45 "ARKIT.txt"
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 Jan 11 15:47 "b"
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 Jan 11 15:47 "c"
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root   29 Jan 10 17:20 "dir1"
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root    6 Jan 10 17:05 "dir2"
-rw-r--r--. 1 root ravi 1813 Jan  8 23:05 "initial-setup-ks.cfg"
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 5362 Jan 10 17:44 "techtutorial"
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls -Q
"a"  "anaconda-ks.cfg"  "arkitsample.txt"  "ARKIT.txt"  "b"  "c"  "dir1"  "dir2"  "initial-setup-ks.cfg"  "techtutorial"

18. Sort the list by time stamp

we can sort the files and directories by its time, this option will list old time stamp below newer up
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls -lt
total 24
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 Jan 11 15:47 b
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 Jan 11 15:47 c
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 Jan 11 15:47 a
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    3 Jan 10 17:45 ARKIT.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    2 Jan 10 17:45 arkitsample.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 5362 Jan 10 17:44 techtutorial
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root   29 Jan 10 17:20 dir1
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root    6 Jan 10 17:05 dir2
-rw-r--r--. 1 root ravi 1813 Jan  8 23:05 initial-setup-ks.cfg
-rw-------. 1 root ravi 1765 Jan  8 22:47 anaconda-ks.cfg

19. Print in reverse

As example 18 is showing output old files below and newer files up. using ‘-r’ option print in reverse way, old first and new last
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls -ltr
total 24
-rw-------. 1 root ravi 1765 Jan  8 22:47 anaconda-ks.cfg
-rw-r--r--. 1 root ravi 1813 Jan  8 23:05 initial-setup-ks.cfg
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root    6 Jan 10 17:05 dir2
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root   29 Jan 10 17:20 dir1
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 5362 Jan 10 17:44 techtutorial
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    2 Jan 10 17:45 arkitsample.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    3 Jan 10 17:45 ARKIT.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 Jan 11 15:47 a
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 Jan 11 15:47 c
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 Jan 11 15:47 b

20. List recursively

using option ‘-R’ we can list files and directories in recursively
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls -R
.:
a  anaconda-ks.cfg  arkitsample.txt  ARKIT.txt  b  c  dir1  dir2  initial-setup-ks.cfg  techtutorial
./dir1:
Ravi  Test1
./dir1/Ravi:
Kumar
./dir1/Ravi/Kumar:
Tech
./dir1/Ravi/Kumar/Tech:
TUtorial
./dir1/Ravi/Kumar/Tech/TUtorial:
./dir2:

21. print the allocated size of each file, in blocks

using option ‘-S’ we can sort by file size
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls -lS
total 24
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 5362 Jan 10 17:44 techtutorial
-rw-r--r--. 1 root ravi 1813 Jan  8 23:05 initial-setup-ks.cfg
-rw-------. 1 root ravi 1765 Jan  8 22:47 anaconda-ks.cfg
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root   29 Jan 10 17:20 dir1
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root    6 Jan 10 17:05 dir2
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    3 Jan 10 17:45 ARKIT.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    2 Jan 10 17:45 arkitsample.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 Jan 11 15:47 a
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 Jan 11 15:47 b
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 Jan 11 15:47 c

22. sort by alphabetical order

in order to print in alphabetical order we have to use -X option ls command with 25 practical examples
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls -lX
total 24
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 Jan 11 15:47 a
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 Jan 11 15:47 b
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    0 Jan 11 15:47 c
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root   29 Jan 10 17:20 dir1
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root    6 Jan 10 17:05 dir2
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 5362 Jan 10 17:44 techtutorial
-rw-------. 1 root ravi 1765 Jan  8 22:47 anaconda-ks.cfg
-rw-r--r--. 1 root ravi 1813 Jan  8 23:05 initial-setup-ks.cfg
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    2 Jan 10 17:45 arkitsample.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root    3 Jan 10 17:45 ARKIT.txt

23. List with tab space

ls command default will display file space as 8 COLS, using -T we can print with more tab space in between files
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls
a  anaconda-ks.cfg  arkitsample.txt  ARKIT.txt  b  c  dir1  dir2  initial-setup-ks.cfg  techtutorial
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls -T1
a        anaconda-ks.cfg         arkitsample.txt         ARKIT.txt       b       c       dir1    dir2    initial-setup-ks.cfg    techtutorial

24. Print file names in one row

using option -1 (numeric number 1) ls command with 25 practical examples
[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls -1
a
anaconda-ks.cfg
arkitsample.txt
ARKIT.txt
b
c
dir1
dir2
initial-setup-ks.cfg
techtutorial

25. Lets know the ls command version details and author details

[root@TechTutorial ~]# ls --version
ls (GNU coreutils) 8.22
Copyright (C) 2013 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
Written by Richard M. Stallman and David MacKenzie.

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