Linux - ls command in Linux

The ls command in Linux is one of the most fundamental and frequently used commands. It stands for "list" and is used to display the contents of a directory.

 What Does ls Do?

When you type ls in the terminal and press Enter, it shows the names of files and folders in your current working directory.

Basic Syntax

ls [options] [file/directory]

 Commonly Used ls Options

Option Description
ls Lists files and directories in the current folder
ls -l Long format: shows permissions, owner, size, and date modified
ls -a Includes hidden files (those starting with .)
ls -h Human-readable file sizes (e.g., 1K, 234M)
ls -t Sorts by modification time (newest first)
ls -r Reverses the order of the listing
ls -S Sorts by file size
ls -R Lists directories recursively
ls -i Shows inode numbers
ls -d Lists directory names only, not their contents

 Visual Example

Here’s what ls -l output might look like:

-rw-r--r--  1 user  group  1024 Aug 15 10:00  report.txt
drwxr-xr-x  2 user  group  4096 Aug 14 09:30  documents/

Breakdown:

  • -rw-r--r--: File permissions
  • 1: Number of links
  • user: Owner
  • group: Group
  • 1024: File size in bytes
  • Aug 15 10:00: Last modified date
  • report.txt: File name

 Try It Yourself

ls -lh

This will list files with human-readable sizes.

ls -la

This will show all files, including hidden ones, in long format.