ls command with 25 practical examples – RHEL7
ls command with 25 practical examples – RHEL7
ls command is used to list information about the FILEs (the current directory by default). Sort entries alphabetically if none of -cftuvSUX nor –sort is specified. ls command 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.
Its all above ls command. ls command with 25 practical examples
Conclusion:
ls command is used to list the files and directory (default as current directory) also remote directory path. ls command with 25 practical examples
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