15 Basic ‘ls’ Command Examples in Linux

ls command is one of the most frequently used command in Linux. I believe ls command is the first command you may use when you get into the command prompt of Linux Box.

We use ls command daily basis and frequently even though we may not aware and never use all the ls option available. In this article, we’ll be discussing basic ls command where we have tried to cover as much parameters as possible.

Linux ls Command

1. List Files using ls with no option

ls with no option list files and directories in bare format where we won’t be able to view details like file types, size, modified date and time, permission and links etc.

# ls
0001.pcap        Desktop    Downloads         index.html   install.log.syslog  Pictures  Templates
anaconda-ks.cfg  Documents  fbcmd_update.php  install.log  Music               Public    Videos

2 List Files With option –l

Here, ls -l (-l is character not one) shows file or directory, size, modified date and time, file or folder name and owner of file and it’s permission.

# ls -l
total 176
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root   683 Aug 19 09:59 0001.pcap
-rw-------. 1 root root  1586 Jul 31 02:17 anaconda-ks.cfg
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root  4096 Jul 31 02:48 Desktop
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root  4096 Jul 31 02:48 Documents
drwxr-xr-x. 4 root root  4096 Aug 16 02:55 Downloads
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 21262 Aug 12 12:42 fbcmd_update.php
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 46701 Jul 31 09:58 index.html
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 48867 Jul 31 02:17 install.log
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 11439 Jul 31 02:13 install.log.syslog
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root  4096 Jul 31 02:48 Music
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root  4096 Jul 31 02:48 Pictures
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root  4096 Jul 31 02:48 Public
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root  4096 Jul 31 02:48 Templates
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root  4096 Jul 31 02:48 Videos

3. View Hidden Files

List all files including hidden file starting with ‘.‘.

# ls -a
.                .bashrc  Documents         .gconfd          install.log         .nautilus     .pulse-cookie
..               .cache   Downloads         .gnome2          install.log.syslog  .netstat.swp  .recently-used.xbel
0001.pcap        .config  .elinks           .gnome2_private  .kde                .opera        .spice-vdagent
anaconda-ks.cfg  .cshrc   .esd_auth         .gtk-bookmarks   .libreoffice        Pictures      .tcshrc
.bash_history    .dbus    .fbcmd            .gvfs            .local              .pki          Templates
.bash_logout     Desktop  fbcmd_update.php  .ICEauthority    .mozilla            Public        Videos
.bash_profile    .digrc   .gconf            index.html       Music               .pulse        .wireshark

4. List Files with Human Readable Format with option -lh

With combination of -lh option, shows sizes in human readable format.

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