LS(1) BSD Reference Manual LS(1)NAMEls - list directory contents
SYNOPSISls [-1AaCcdFfgikLlmnopqRrSsTtux] [file ...]
DESCRIPTION
For each operand that names a file of a type other than directory, ls
displays its name as well as any requested, associated information. For
each named directory, ls displays the names of files contained within
that directory, as well as any requested, associated information.
If no operands are given, the contents of the current directory are
displayed. If more than one operand is given, non-directory operands are
displayed first; directory and non-directory operands are sorted
separately and in lexicographical order.
The options are as follows:
-1 (The numeric digit "one".) Force output to be one entry per line.
This is the default when output is not to a terminal.
-A List all entries except for '.' and '..'. Always set for the su-
peruser.
-a Include directory entries whose names begin with a dot ('.').
-C Force multi-column output; this is the default when output is to
a terminal.
-c Use time file's status was last changed instead of last modifica-
tion time for sorting (-t) or printing (-l, -n).
-d Directories are listed as plain files (not searched recursively)
and symbolic links in the argument list are not indirected
through.
-F Display a slash ('/') immediately after each pathname that is a
directory, an asterisk ('*') after each that is executable, an at
sign ('@') after each symbolic link, an equal sign ('=') after
each socket, and a vertical bar ('|') after each that is a FIFO.
-f Output is not sorted.
-g Does nothing; kept for compatibility with older versions of ls.
-i For each file, print its inode number.
-k Modifies the -s option, causing the sizes to be reported in kilo-
bytes. Overrides any value specified by the BLOCKSIZE environment
variable.
-L If argument is a symbolic link, evaluate the file information and
file type to be those of the file referenced by the link, and not
the link itself; however, ls writes the name of the link itself
and not the file referenced by the link.
-l (The lowercase letter "ell".) List in long format (see below). A
total sum of all file sizes is output on a line before the long
listing. Output is one entry per line, in blocks (see the -s op-
tion for the block size unit).
-m Stream output format; list files across the page, separated by
commas.
-n List in long format as in -l, but retain user and group IDs in a
numeric format.
-o Include the file flags in a long format (-l, -n) output.
-p Display a slash ('/') immediately after each pathname that is a
directory.
-q Force printing of non-graphic characters in file names as the
character '?'; this is the default when output is to a terminal.
-R Recursively list subdirectories encountered.
-r Reverse the order of the sort to get reverse lexicographical ord-
er or the smallest or oldest entries first.
-S Sort by size, largest file first.
-s Display the number of file system blocks actually used by each
file, where partial units are rounded up to the next integer
value. A total sum for all the file sizes is output on a line be-
fore the listing. Blocks are 512 bytes unless overridden by the
-k flag or BLOCKSIZE environment variable.
-T Display complete time information for the file, including month,
day, hour, minute, second, and year. This option has no effect
unless one of the long format (-l, -n) options is also specified.
-t Sort by time modified (most recently modified first) before sort-
ing the operands in lexicographical order.
-u Use file's last access time instead of last modification time for
sorting (-t) or printing (-l, -n).
-x Multi-column output sorted across the page rather than down the
page.
The -1, -C, -l, and -n options all override each other; the last one
specified determines the format used.
The -c and -u options override each other; the last one specified deter-
mines the file time used. The -f option overrides any occurrence of ei-
ther.
By default, ls lists one entry per line to standard output; the excep-
tions are to terminals or when the -C, -m, or -x options are specified.
File information is displayed with one or more <blank>s separating the
information associated with the -i, -s, -l, and -n options.
The Long Format
If the -l or -n options are given, the following information is displayed
for each file: mode, number of links, owner, group, size in bytes, time
of last modification ("mmm dd HH:MM"), and the pathname. In addition, for
each directory whose contents are displayed, the first line displayed is
the total number of blocks used by the files in the directory. Blocks are
512 bytes unless overridden by the -k option or BLOCKSIZE environment
variable.
If the owner or group name is not a known user or group name, respective-
ly, or the -n option is given, the numeric ID is displayed.
If the file is a character special or block special file, the major and
minor device numbers for the file are displayed in the size field.
If the -T option is given, the time of last modification is displayed us-
ing the format "mmm dd HH:MM:SS CCYY".
If the file is a symbolic link, the pathname of the linked-to file is
preceded by "->".
The file mode printed under the -l or -n options consists of the entry
type, owner permissions, group permissions, and other permissions. The
entry type character describes the type of file, as follows:
b block special file
c character special file
d directory
l symbolic link
s socket link
p FIFO
- regular file
The next three fields are three characters each: owner permissions, group
permissions, and other permissions. Each field has three character posi-
tions:
1. If r, the file is readable; if -, it is not readable.
2. If w, the file is writable; if -, it is not writable.
3. The first of the following that applies:
S If in the owner permissions, the file is not exe-
cutable and set-user-ID mode is set. If in the
group permissions, the file is not executable and
set-group-ID mode is set.
s If in the owner permissions, the file is execut-
able and set-user-ID mode is set. If in the group
permissions, the file is executable and setgroup-
ID mode is set.
x The file is executable or the directory is search-
able.
- The file is neither readable, writable, execut-
able, nor set-user-ID, nor set-group-ID, nor
sticky (see below).
These next two apply only to the third character in the last
group (other permissions):
T The sticky bit is set (mode 1000), but neither ex-
ecutable nor searchable (see chmod(1) or
sticky(8)).
t The sticky bit is set (mode 1000), and is search-
able or executable (see chmod(1) or sticky(8)).
In addition, if the -o option is specified, the file flags (see
chflags(1)) are displayed as comma-separated strings in front of the file
size, abbreviated as follows:
- no flags
uappnd user append-only
uchg user immutable
nodump do not dump
opaque opaque file
sappnd system append-only
arch archived
schg system immutable
The ls utility exits 0 on success or >0 if an error occurred.
ENVIRONMENT
BLOCKSIZE If the environment variable BLOCKSIZE is set, and the -k op-
tion is not specified, the block counts (see -s) will be
displayed in units of that size block.
COLUMNS If this variable contains a string representing a decimal in-
teger, it is used as the column position width for displaying
multiple-text-column output. The ls utility calculates how
many pathname text columns to display based on the width pro-
vided (see -C).
TZ The timezone to use when displaying dates. See environ(7) for
more information.
EXAMPLES
List the contents of the current working directory in long format:
$ ls-l
In addition to listing the contents of the current working directory in
long format, show inode numbers, file flags (see chflags(1)), and suffix
each filename with a symbol representing its file type:
$ ls-lioF
List the files in /var/log, sorting the output such that the mostly re-
cently modified entries are printed first:
$ ls-lt /var/log
SEE ALSOchflags(1), chmod(1), symlink(7), sticky(8)STANDARDS
The group field is now automatically included in the long listing for
files in order to be compatible with the IEEE Std 1003.2 ("POSIX.2")
specification.
The ls utility is expected to be a superset of the IEEE Std 1003.2 ("PO-
SIX.2") specification.
HISTORY
An ls utility appeared in Version 3 AT&T UNIX.
MirOS BSD #10-current July 29, 1994 3
