`ls` command

List files and directories with sizes, permissions and dates.

Files & directories
Package coreutils
10 options · 8 examples

Read the full guide Jump to examples All commands

On this page

Syntax
Common options
Examples
Tips
Guides
Related commands

Syntax

ls [options] [path…]

Provided by the coreutils package. Run man ls for the full manual.

Common options

Option	What it does
`-l`	Long format: permissions, owner, size, date
`-a`	Show hidden files (names starting with a dot)
`-h`	Human-readable sizes (K, M, G) with -l
`-t`	Sort by modification time, newest first
`-r`	Reverse the sort order
`-S`	Sort by file size, largest first
`-R`	List subdirectories recursively
`-d`	List the directory itself, not its contents
`-1`	One name per line
`--color=auto`	Colour file types

Examples

List files with details and human-readable sizes
```
ls -lh
```
Include hidden files
```
ls -la
```
Newest files first
```
ls -lt
```
Oldest files first
```
ls -ltr
```
Largest files first
```
ls -lhS
```
Only directories in the current folder
```
ls -d */
```
List a directory recursively
```
ls -R /etc/nginx
```
Count the files in a directory
```
ls -1 | wc -l
```

Tips

ll is a common alias for ls -alF on Ubuntu.
Don't parse ls output in scripts; use find or a shell glob instead.

ls guides

The `ls` Command in Linux with Practical Examples Linux Commands · Updated Apr 2025

← All Linux commands · Suggest a fix