3.6 Directory Navigation and Control
Syntax
ls [options] [argument]
Common Options
When no argument is used, the listing will be of the current directory. There are many very useful options for the ls command. A listing of many of them follows. When using the command, string the desired options together preceded by "-".
-a lists all files, including those beginning with a dot (.).
-d lists only names of directories, not the files in the directory
-F indicates type of entry with a trailing symbol:
directories /
sockets =
symbolic links @
executables *
-g displays Unix group assigned to the file, requires the -l option (BSD only)
-or- on an SVR4 machine, e.g. Solaris, this option has the opposite effect
-L if the file is a symbolic link, lists the information for the file or directory the link references, not the information for the link itself
-l long listing: lists the mode, link information, owner, size, last modification (time). If the file is a symbolic link, an arrow (-->) precedes the pathname of the linked-to file.
The mode field is given by the -l option and consists of 10 characters. The first character is one of the following:
CHARACTER IF ENTRY IS A
d directory
- plain file
b block-type special file
c character-type special file
l symbolic link
s socket
The next 9 characters are in 3 sets of 3 characters each. They indicate the file access permissions: the first 3 characters refer to the permissions for the user, the next three for the users in the Unix group assigned to the file, and the last 3 to the permissions for other users on the system. Designations are as follows:
r read permission
w write permission
x execute permission
- no permission
There are a few less commonly used permission designations for special circumstances. These are explained in the man page for ls.
Examples
To list the files in a directory:
% ls
demofiles frank linda
To list all files in a directory, including the hidden (dot) files try:
% ls -a
. .cshrc .history .plan .rhosts frank
.. .emacs .login .profile demofiles linda
To get a long listing:
% ls -al
total 24
drwxr-sr-x 5 workshop acs 512 Jun 7 11:12 .
drwxr-xr-x 6 root sys 512 May 29 09:59 ..
-rwxr-xr-x 1 workshop acs 532 May 20 15:31 .cshrc
-rw------- 1 workshop acs 525 May 20 21:29 .emacs
-rw------- 1 workshop acs 622 May 24 12:13 .history
-rwxr-xr-x 1 workshop acs 238 May 14 09:44 .login
-rw-r--r-- 1 workshop acs 273 May 22 23:53 .plan
-rwxr-xr-x 1 workshop acs 413 May 14 09:36 .profile
-rw------- 1 workshop acs 49 May 20 20:23 .rhosts
drwx------ 3 workshop acs 512 May 24 11:18 demofiles
drwx------ 2 workshop acs 512 May 21 10:48 frank
drwx------ 3 workshop acs 512 May 24 10:59 linda