Understanding the LS Command in Linux

Working with the LS Command in Linux

The simple command ls, which stands for list, is one of the most commonly used commands in Linux. It is used to list files and directories in the current directory. In this article, we will explain some of the most common options available with the ls command and show examples of how to use them.

Basic LS command

The basic form of the ls command looks like this:

$ ls

This will list all of the files and directories in the current directory. If you want to list the files in a specific directory, you can use the command like this:

$ ls path/to/directory

The ls command also supports several options, which can be used to modify its behavior. Some of the most commonly used options are described below.

LS Options

• -a : Use this option to include hidden files in the list.
• -l : Use this option to view the files in a long-list format, including file permissions, owner and size.
• -t : Use this option to sort the list by modification time.
• -S : Use this option to sort the list by file size.
• -r : Use this option to reverse the sort order.

These options can be combined and used together, for example:

$ ls -alt

This command will list all the files (including hidden files), sorted by modification time and displayed in a long-list format.

Conclusion

The ls command is a powerful tool that can be used to list files and directories in Linux. We have covered some of the most commonly used ls options in this article, but there are many more options available. Refer to the ls man page for more information.