Ls (List Contents of Directory)

The ls (LiSt directory) command is used to list the contents of a directory. On the GUI (Graphic User Interface), you can see what directories and files are contained under a directory. On the CUI (Character User Interface), you need to use your keyboard to list up the directory contents.

List up Working Directory contents

When you run the ls command without specifying a directory path, you get a list of the contents of your working directory like the one below.

ls

application  media  sample.txt

List up directory contents under a specific location

You can specify a file path to execute the ls command. This is an example of listing up the root directory contents.

ls /

bin dev home lib32 libx32 media opt root  ....

-a option

With the -a option, you can list up directory contents including hidden files.

ls -a

. .. .bash_history .bash_logout .bashrc .cache. .profile .ssh ...

-l option

With the -l option, you can list directory contents with detailed information.

ls -l

drwxr-xr-x   3 usr_a staff  4096 Jul 16  2020 media
-rwxr-xr-x  15 usr_b staff  3180 Dec 21 12:53 sample.txt

Here is the list of information

Note: To learn about the access mode, check Permission (Access Mode) by Owner Status .