Why exa Beats ls: A Faster, Colorful File‑Listing Tool for the Terminal

What is exa?

exa is a modern, Rust‑written alternative to the classic ls command that provides a more pleasant and informative default output, including color‑coded file types, Git status, and extended metadata.

Installation

On Fedora‑based systems you can install exa with the package manager:

$ dnf install exa

Key Features

Colorful output that distinguishes file types and metadata.

Built‑in Git integration to show added, modified, or ignored files.

Single‑binary, small footprint, and fast execution.

Tree View

Use the --level flag to control the depth of the displayed directory tree. For example, exa --level=2 shows two levels of subdirectories; increase the value for deeper listings.

Color Scheme

exa applies a built‑in color scheme to a wide range of file types, including Cargo.toml, CMakeLists.txt, Gruntfile.coffee, Gruntfile.js, Makefile, and many others, making it easy to spot them at a glance.

Extended Attributes

When you want to view extended file attributes (xattrs), add the --extended flag; exa will list all available xattrs for each file.

Symlink Detection

exa correctly identifies symbolic links and displays the target path, helping you understand link relationships.

Recursive Listing

To list all files recursively under the current directory, simply run exa -R (or exa --recursive), and exa will traverse subdirectories automatically.

Conclusion

The author finds exa to be one of the simplest and most adaptable tools, praising its Git and Maven file tracking, color‑coded output, and ability to reveal xattrs, making navigation of complex directory trees much easier.