Unlock the Power of ls: 20 Essential Options You Need to Know

ls command overview

The ls utility lists files and directories in a Linux filesystem. By default it shows the names in the current directory; additional options modify the output.

1. Run ls without options

$ ls

2. Long listing format

Use -l (lower‑case L) to display permissions, link count, owner, group, size, modification time and name.

$ ls -l

Column interpretation:

1: file type (d for directory, - for regular file, l for symlink) and permission bits (rwx for owner, group, others).

2: number of hard links.

3: owner name.

4: group name.

5: size in bytes (directories typically 4096 bytes).

6: last modification timestamp.

7: file or directory name.

3. Human‑readable file sizes

Combine -h with -l to show sizes in K, M, G instead of raw bytes.

$ ls -lh

The --si flag uses powers of 1000 rather than 1024.

$ ls --si

4. Sort by file size

Use -S to order entries from largest to smallest.

$ ls -lhS

5. Custom block size

The --block-size=SIZE option sets the unit (K, M, G, …). Example: display sizes in megabytes.

$ ls -l --block-size=M

6. Show hidden files

Files beginning with a dot (.) are hidden; -a lists them.

$ ls -a

7. List only directories

Use -d */ to display directory entries without their contents.

$ ls -d */

8. Omit owner information

The -g flag hides the owner column.

$ ls -g

9. Omit group information

The -G (or --group-directories-first in some shells) hides the group column.

$ ls -lG

10. Print numeric UID and GID

Use -n to display numeric user and group IDs.

$ ls -n

Example shows user pungki with UID 100, GID 1000; the root group has GID 0.

11. Disable colored output

Some distributions enable color by default; suppress it with --color=never.

$ ls --color=never

12. Print inode numbers

Use -i to show each file's inode in the first column.

$ ls -li

13. Append '/' to directories

The -p flag adds a trailing slash to directory names.

$ ls -p

14. Reverse sort order

Use -r to reverse the default sorting order.

$ ls -r

15. Recursively list subdirectories

The -R option traverses directories recursively.

$ ls -R

16. Sort by extension

Use -X or --sort=extension to order files by their filename extensions.

$ ls -lX

17. Sort by modification time

The -t flag orders entries by newest modification time first.

$ ls -lt

18. List your home directory

Use the tilde ( ~) as a shortcut for the current user's home directory.

$ ls ~

19. List parent directories

Use ../ to view the immediate parent directory, or ../../ for the grand‑parent.

$ ls ../
$ ls ../../

20. Print ls version

Use --version to display the version information of the ls utility.

$ ls --version

These options cover the most commonly used ls parameters for everyday tasks. The manual page ( man ls) or ls --help provides a complete reference.