This directory of Linux commands is from Linux in a Nutshell, 5th Edition.
Click on any of the 687 commands below to get a description and list of available options. All links in the command summaries point to the online version of the book on Safari Bookshelf.
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ls
ls [options] [names]
List contents of directories. If no names are given, list the files in the current directory. With one or more names, list files contained in a directory name or that match a file name. names can include filename metacharacters. The options let you display a variety of information in different formats. The most useful options include -F, -R, -l, and -s. Some options don't make sense together (e.g., -u and -c).
Options
Print one entry per line of output.
List all files, including the normally hidden files whose names begin with a period.
Display nonprinting characters in octal and alphabetic format.
List files by status change time (not creation/modification time).
Colorize the names of files depending on the type of file. Accepted values for when are never, always, or auto.
Report only on the directory, not its contents.
Print directory contents in exactly the order in which they are stored, without attempting to sort them.
List times in full, rather than using the standard abbreviations.
Long listing like -l, but don't show file owners.
Print sizes in kilobytes and megabytes.
Print a help message and then exit.
List the inode for each file.
Display filenames without the flags assigned by -p or -f (default).
If file sizes are being listed, print them in kilobytes. This option overrides the environment variable POSIXLY_CORRECT.
Long format listing (includes permissions, owner, size, modification time, etc.).
Merge the list into a comma-separated series of names.
Like -l, but use group ID and user ID numbers instead of owner and group names.
Long listing like -l, but don't show group information.
Mark directories by appending / to them.
Show nonprinting characters as ? (default for display to a terminal).
List files in reverse order (by name or by time).
Print file size in blocks.
Show nonprinting characters verbatim (default for printing to a file).
Similar to -h, but uses powers of 1,000 instead of 1,024.
Sort files according to modification time (newest first).
Sort files according to file-access time.
Print version information on standard output, then exit.
List files in rows going across the screen.
Interpret the digits in names such as file.6 and file.6.1 as versions, and order filenames by version.
Format output to fit n columns.
List all files, including the normally hidden files whose names begin with a period. Does not include the . and .. directories.
Do not list files ending in ~ unless given as arguments.
List files in columns (the default format).
List in a format suitable for Emacs dired mode.
Flag filenames by appending / to directories, * to executable files, @ to symbolic links, | to FIFOs, and = to sockets.
In long format, do not display group name.
When symbolic links are given on the command line, follow the link and list information from the actual file.
Do not list files whose names match the shell pattern pattern, unless they are given on the command line.
List the file or directory referenced by a symbolic link rather than the link itself.
Display special graphic characters that appear in filenames.
Quote filenames with "; quote nongraphic characters.
List directories and their contents recursively.
Load state from file before starting execution.
Sort by file size, largest to smallest.
Do not sort files.
Sort by file extension, then by filename.
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