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LS(1)			FreeBSD	General	Commands Manual			 LS(1)

NAME
     ls	-- list	directory contents

SYNOPSIS
     ls	[-ABCFGHILPRSTUWZabcdfghiklmnopqrstuvwxy1,] [--color=when] [-D format]
	[file ...]

DESCRIPTION
     For each operand that names a file	of a type other	than directory,	ls
     displays its name as well as any requested, associated information.  For
     each operand that names a file of type directory, ls displays the names
     of	files contained	within that directory, as well as any requested, asso-
     ciated information.

     If	no operands are	given, the contents of the current directory are dis-
     played.  If more than one operand is given, non-directory operands	are
     displayed first; directory	and non-directory operands are sorted sepa-
     rately and	in lexicographical order.

     The following options are available:

     -A	     Include directory entries whose names begin with a	dot (`.') ex-
	     cept for .	and ...	 Automatically set for the super-user unless
	     -I	is specified.

     -B	     Force printing of non-printable characters	(as defined by
	     ctype(3) and current locale settings) in file names as \xxx,
	     where xxx is the numeric value of the character in	octal.	This
	     option is not defined in IEEE Std 1003.1-2008 ("POSIX.1").

     -C	     Force multi-column	output;	this is	the default when output	is to
	     a terminal.

     -D	format
	     When printing in the long (-l) format, use	format to format the
	     date and time output.  The	argument format	is a string used by
	     strftime(3).  Depending on	the choice of format string, this may
	     result in a different number of columns in	the output.  This op-
	     tion overrides the	-T option.  This option	is not defined in IEEE
	     Std 1003.1-2008 ("POSIX.1").

     -F	     Display a slash (`/') immediately after each pathname that	is a
	     directory,	an asterisk (`*') after	each that is executable, an at
	     sign (`@')	after each symbolic link, an equals sign (`=') after
	     each socket, a percent sign (`%') after each whiteout, and	a ver-
	     tical bar (`|') after each	that is	a FIFO.

     -G	     Enable colorized output.  This option is equivalent to defining
	     CLICOLOR or COLORTERM in the environment and setting
	     --color=auto.  (See below.)  This functionality can be compiled
	     out by removing the definition of COLORLS.	 This option is	not
	     defined in	IEEE Std 1003.1-2008 ("POSIX.1").

     -H	     Symbolic links on the command line	are followed.  This option is
	     assumed if	none of	the -F,	-d, or -l options are specified.

     -I	     Prevent -A	from being automatically set for the super-user.  This
	     option is not defined in IEEE Std 1003.1-2008 ("POSIX.1").

     -L	     If	argument is a symbolic link, list the file or directory	the
	     link references rather than the link itself.  This	option cancels
	     the -P option.

     -P	     If	argument is a symbolic link, list the link itself rather than
	     the object	the link references.  This option cancels the -H and
	     -L	options.

     -R	     Recursively list subdirectories encountered.

     -S	     Sort by size (largest file	first) before sorting the operands in
	     lexicographical order.

     -T	     When printing in the long (-l) format, display complete time in-
	     formation for the file, including month, day, hour, minute, sec-
	     ond, and year.  The -D option gives even more control over	the
	     output format.  This option is not	defined	in IEEE	Std
	     1003.1-2008 ("POSIX.1").

     -U	     Use time when file	was created for	sorting	or printing.  This op-
	     tion is not defined in IEEE Std 1003.1-2008 ("POSIX.1").

     -W	     Display whiteouts when scanning directories.  This	option is not
	     defined in	IEEE Std 1003.1-2008 ("POSIX.1").

     -Z	     Display each file's MAC label; see	maclabel(7).  This option is
	     not defined in IEEE Std 1003.1-2008 ("POSIX.1").

     -a	     Include directory entries whose names begin with a	dot (`.').

     -b	     As	-B, but	use C escape codes whenever possible.  This option is
	     not defined in IEEE Std 1003.1-2008 ("POSIX.1").

     -c	     Use time when file	status was last	changed	for sorting or print-
	     ing.

     --color=when
	     Output colored escape sequences based on when, which may be set
	     to	either always, auto, or	never.

	     always will make ls always	output color.  If TERM is unset	or set
	     to	an invalid terminal, then ls will fall back to explicit	ANSI
	     escape sequences without the help of termcap(5).  always is the
	     default if	--color	is specified without an	argument.

	     auto will make ls output escape sequences based on	termcap(5),
	     but only if stdout	is a tty and either the	-G flag	is specified
	     or	the COLORTERM environment variable is set and not empty.

	     never will	disable	color regardless of environment	variables.
	     never is the default when neither --color nor -G is specified.

	     For compatibility with GNU	coreutils, ls supports yes or force as
	     equivalent	to always, no or none as equivalent to never, and tty
	     or	if-tty as equivalent to	auto.

     -d	     Directories are listed as plain files (not	searched recursively).

     -f	     Output is not sorted.  This option	turns on -a.  It also negates
	     the effect	of the -r, -S and -t options.  As allowed by IEEE Std
	     1003.1-2008 ("POSIX.1"), this option has no effect	on the -d, -l,
	     -R	and -s options.

     -g	     This option has no	effect.	 It is only available for compatibil-
	     ity with 4.3BSD, where it was used	to display the group name in
	     the long (-l) format output.  This	option is incompatible with
	     IEEE Std 1003.1-2008 ("POSIX.1").

     -h	     When used with the	-l option, use unit suffixes: Byte, Kilobyte,
	     Megabyte, Gigabyte, Terabyte and Petabyte in order	to reduce the
	     number of digits to four or fewer using base 2 for	sizes.	This
	     option is not defined in IEEE Std 1003.1-2008 ("POSIX.1").

     -i	     For each file, print the file's file serial number	(inode num-
	     ber).

     -k	     This has the same effect as setting environment variable
	     BLOCKSIZE to 1024,	except that it also nullifies any -h options
	     to	its left.

     -l	     (The lowercase letter "ell".)  List files in the long format, as
	     described in the The Long Format subsection below.

     -m	     Stream output format; list	files across the page, separated by
	     commas.

     -n	     Display user and group IDs	numerically rather than	converting to
	     a user or group name in a long (-l) output.

     -o	     Include the file flags in a long (-l) output.  This option	is in-
	     compatible	with IEEE Std 1003.1-2008 ("POSIX.1").	See chflags(1)
	     for a list	of file	flags and their	meanings.

     -p	     Write a slash (`/') after each filename if	that file is a direc-
	     tory.

     -q	     Force printing of non-graphic characters in file names as the
	     character `?'; this is the	default	when output is to a terminal.

     -r	     Reverse the order of the sort.

     -s	     Display the number	of blocks used in the file system by each
	     file.  Block sizes	and directory totals are handled as described
	     in	The Long Format	subsection below, except (if the long format
	     is	not also requested) the	directory totals are not output	when
	     the output	is in a	single column, even if multi-column output is
	     requested.

     -t	     Sort by descending	time modified (most recently modified first).
	     If	two files have the same	modification timestamp,	sort their
	     names in ascending	lexicographical	order.	The -r option reverses
	     both of these sort	orders.

	     Note that these sort orders are contradictory: the	time sequence
	     is	in descending order, the lexicographical sort is in ascending
	     order.  This behavior is mandated by IEEE Std 1003.2 ("POSIX.2").
	     This feature can cause problems listing files stored with sequen-
	     tial names	on FAT file systems, such as from digital cameras,
	     where it is possible to have more than one	image with the same
	     timestamp.	 In such a case, the photos cannot be listed in	the
	     sequence in which they were taken.	 To ensure the same sort order
	     for time and for lexicographical sorting, set the environment
	     variable LS_SAMESORT or use the -y	option.	 This causes ls	to re-
	     verse the lexicographical sort order when sorting files with the
	     same modification timestamp.

     -u	     Use time of last access, instead of time of last modification of
	     the file for sorting (-t) or printing (-l).

     -v	     Sort following a natural ordering,	using strverscmp(3) instead of
	     strcoll(3)	as the comparison function.  E.g., files lexicographi-
	     cally ordered "bloem1", "bloem10",	and "bloem9" would instead be
	     ordered "bloem1", "bloem9", and "bloem10",	as one would perhaps
	     expect.

     -w	     Force raw printing	of non-printable characters.  This is the de-
	     fault when	output is not to a terminal.  This option is not de-
	     fined in IEEE Std 1003.1-2001 ("POSIX.1").

     -x	     The same as -C, except that the multi-column output is produced
	     with entries sorted across, rather	than down, the columns.

     -y	     When the -t option	is set,	sort the alphabetical output in	the
	     same order	as the time output.  This has the same effect as set-
	     ting LS_SAMESORT.	See the	description of the -t option for more
	     details.  This option is not defined in IEEE Std 1003.1-2001
	     ("POSIX.1").

     -1	     (The numeric digit	"one".)	 Force output to be one	entry per
	     line.  This is the	default	when output is not to a	terminal.

     -,	     (Comma) When the -l option	is set,	print file sizes grouped and
	     separated by thousands using the non-monetary separator returned
	     by	localeconv(3), typically a comma or period.  If	no locale is
	     set, or the locale	does not have a	non-monetary separator,	this
	     option has	no effect.  This option	is not defined in IEEE Std
	     1003.1-2001 ("POSIX.1").

     The -1, -C, -x, and -l options all	override each other; the last one
     specified determines the format used.

     The -c, -u, and -U	options	all override each other; the last one speci-
     fied determines the file time used.

     The -S and	-t options override each other;	the last one specified deter-
     mines the sort order used.

     The -B, -b, -w, and -q options all	override each other; the last one
     specified determines the format used for non-printable characters.

     The -H, -L	and -P options all override each other (either partially or
     fully); they are applied in the order specified.

     By	default, ls lists one entry per	line to	standard output; the excep-
     tions are to terminals or when the	-C or -x options are specified.

     File information is displayed with	one or more <blank>s separating	the
     information associated with the -i, -s, and -l options.

   The Long Format
     If	the -l option is given,	the following information is displayed for
     each file:	file mode, number of links, owner name,	group name, MAC	label,
     number of bytes in	the file, abbreviated month, day-of-month file was
     last modified, hour file last modified, minute file last modified,	and
     the pathname.

     If	the modification time of the file is more than 6 months	in the past or
     future, and the -D	or -T are not specified, then the year of the last
     modification is displayed in place	of the hour and	minute fields.

     If	the owner or group names are not a known user or group name, or	the -n
     option is given, the numeric ID's are displayed.

     If	the file is a character	special	or block special file, the device num-
     ber for the file is displayed in the size field.  If the file is a	sym-
     bolic link	the pathname of	the linked-to file is preceded by "->".

     The listing of a directory's contents is preceded by a labeled total num-
     ber of blocks used	in the file system by the files	which are listed as
     the directory's contents (which may or may	not include . and .. and other
     files which start with a dot, depending on	other options).

     The default block size is 512 bytes.  The block size may be set with op-
     tion -k or	environment variable BLOCKSIZE.	 Numbers of blocks in the out-
     put will have been	rounded	up so the numbers of bytes is at least as many
     as	used by	the corresponding file system blocks (which might have a dif-
     ferent size).

     The file mode printed under the -l	option consists	of the entry type and
     the permissions.  The entry type character	describes the type of file, as
     follows:

	   -	 Regular file.
	   b	 Block special file.
	   c	 Character special file.
	   d	 Directory.
	   l	 Symbolic link.
	   p	 FIFO.
	   s	 Socket.
	   w	 Whiteout.

     The next three fields are three characters	each: owner permissions, group
     permissions, and other permissions.  Each field has three character posi-
     tions:

	   1.	If r, the file is readable; if -, it is	not readable.

	   2.	If w, the file is writable; if -, it is	not writable.

	   3.	The first of the following that	applies:

		      S	    If in the owner permissions, the file is not exe-
			    cutable and	set-user-ID mode is set.  If in	the
			    group permissions, the file	is not executable and
			    set-group-ID mode is set.

		      s	    If in the owner permissions, the file is exe-
			    cutable and	set-user-ID mode is set.  If in	the
			    group permissions, the file	is executable and set-
			    group-ID mode is set.

		      x	    The	file is	executable or the directory is search-
			    able.

		      -	    The	file is	neither	readable, writable, exe-
			    cutable, nor set-user-ID nor set-group-ID mode,
			    nor	sticky.	 (See below.)

		These next two apply only to the third character in the	last
		group (other permissions).

		      T	    The	sticky bit is set (mode	1000), but not execute
			    or search permission.  (See	chmod(1) or
			    sticky(7).)

		      t	    The	sticky bit is set (mode	1000), and is search-
			    able or executable.	 (See chmod(1) or sticky(7).)

     The next field contains a plus (`+') character if the file	has an ACL, or
     a space (`	') if it does not.  The	ls utility does	not show the actual
     ACL; use getfacl(1) to do this.

ENVIRONMENT
     The following environment variables affect	the execution of ls:

     BLOCKSIZE	     If	this is	set, its value,	rounded	up to 512 or down to a
		     multiple of 512, will be used as the block	size in	bytes
		     by	the -l and -s options.	See The	Long Format subsection
		     for more information.

     CLICOLOR	     Use ANSI color sequences to distinguish file types.  See
		     LSCOLORS below.  In addition to the file types mentioned
		     in	the -F option some extra attributes (setuid bit	set,
		     etc.) are also displayed.	The colorization is dependent
		     on	a terminal type	with the proper	termcap(5) capabili-
		     ties.  The	default	"cons25" console has the proper	capa-
		     bilities, but to display the colors in an xterm(1), for
		     example, the TERM variable	must be	set to "xterm-color".
		     Other terminal types may require similar adjustments.
		     Colorization is silently disabled if the output is	not
		     directed to a terminal unless the CLICOLOR_FORCE variable
		     is	defined	or --color is set to "always".

     CLICOLOR_FORCE  Color sequences are normally disabled if the output is
		     not directed to a terminal.  This can be overridden by
		     setting this variable.  The TERM variable still needs to
		     reference a color capable terminal	however	otherwise it
		     is	not possible to	determine which	color sequences	to
		     use.

     COLORTERM	     See description for CLICOLOR above.

     COLUMNS	     If	this variable contains a string	representing a decimal
		     integer, it is used as the	column position	width for dis-
		     playing multiple-text-column output.  The ls utility cal-
		     culates how many pathname text columns to display based
		     on	the width provided.  (See -C and -x.)

     LANG	     The locale	to use when determining	the order of day and
		     month in the long -l format output.  See environ(7) for
		     more information.

     LSCOLORS	     The value of this variable	describes what color to	use
		     for which attribute when colors are enabled with CLICOLOR
		     or	COLORTERM.  This string	is a concatenation of pairs of
		     the format	fb, where f is the foreground color and	b is
		     the background color.  When the background	color is capi-
		     talized, the text will underlined.

		     The color designators are as follows:

			   a	 black
			   b	 red
			   c	 green
			   d	 brown
			   e	 blue
			   f	 magenta
			   g	 cyan
			   h	 light grey
			   A	 bold or underlined black, usually shows up as
				 dark grey
			   B	 bold or underlined red
			   C	 bold or underlined green
			   D	 bold or underlined brown, usually shows up as
				 yellow
			   E	 bold or underlined blue
			   F	 bold or underlined magenta
			   G	 bold or underlined cyan
			   H	 bold or underlined light grey;	looks like
				 bright	white
			   x	 default foreground or background
			   X	 default foreground or background, with	an un-
				 derline or bold

		     Note that the above are standard ANSI colors.  The	actual
		     display may differ	depending on the color capabilities of
		     the terminal in use.

		     The order of the attributes are as	follows:

			   1.	directory
			   2.	symbolic link
			   3.	socket
			   4.	pipe
			   5.	executable
			   6.	block special
			   7.	character special
			   8.	executable with	setuid bit set
			   9.	executable with	setgid bit set
			   10.	directory writable to others, with sticky bit
			   11.	directory writable to others, without sticky
				bit

		     The default is "exfxcxdxbxegedabagacad", i.e., blue fore-
		     ground and	default	background for regular directories,
		     black foreground and red background for setuid executa-
		     bles, etc.

     LS_COLWIDTHS    If	this variable is set, it is considered to be a colon-
		     delimited list of minimum column widths.  Unreasonable
		     and insufficient widths are ignored (thus zero signifies
		     a dynamically sized column).  Not all columns have
		     changeable	widths.	 The fields are, in order: inode,
		     block count, number of links, user	name, group name,
		     flags, file size, file name.

     LS_SAMESORT     If	this variable is set, the -t option sorts the names of
		     files with	the same modification timestamp	in the same
		     sense as the time sort.  See the description of the -t
		     option for	more details.

     TERM	     The CLICOLOR and COLORTERM	functionality depends on a
		     terminal type with	color capabilities.

     TZ		     The timezone to use when displaying dates.	 See
		     environ(7)	for more information.

EXIT STATUS
     The ls utility exits 0 on success,	and >0 if an error occurs.

EXAMPLES
     List the contents of the current working directory	in long	format:

	   $ ls	-l

     In	addition to listing the	contents of the	current	working	directory in
     long format, show inode numbers, file flags (see chflags(1)), and suffix
     each filename with	a symbol representing its file type:

	   $ ls	-lioF

     List the files in /var/log, sorting the output such that the mostly re-
     cently modified entries are printed first:

	   $ ls	-lt /var/log

COMPATIBILITY
     The group field is	now automatically included in the long listing for
     files in order to be compatible with the IEEE Std 1003.2 ("POSIX.2")
     specification.

SEE ALSO
     chflags(1), chmod(1), getfacl(1), sort(1),	xterm(1), localeconv(3),
     strcoll(3), strftime(3), strmode(3), strverscmp(3), termcap(5),
     maclabel(7), sticky(7), symlink(7), getfmac(8)

STANDARDS
     With the exception	of options -g, -n and -o, the ls utility conforms to
     IEEE Std 1003.1-2001 ("POSIX.1") and IEEE Std 1003.1-2008 ("POSIX.1").
     The options -B, -D, -G, -I, -T, -U, -W, -Z, -b, -h, -v, -w, -y and	-, are
     non-standard extensions.

     The ACL support is	compatible with	IEEE Std 1003.2c ("POSIX.2c") Draft 17
     (withdrawn).

HISTORY
     An	ls command appeared in Version 1 AT&T UNIX.

     The -v option was added in	FreeBSD	14.0.

BUGS
     To	maintain backward compatibility, the relationships between the many
     options are quite complex.

     The exception mentioned in	the -s option description might	be a feature
     that was based on the fact	that single-column output usually goes to
     something other than a terminal.  It is debatable whether this is a de-
     sign bug.

     IEEE Std 1003.2 ("POSIX.2") mandates opposite sort	orders for files with
     the same timestamp	when sorting with the -t option.

FreeBSD	13.0		       October 31, 2022			  FreeBSD 13.0

NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | ENVIRONMENT | EXIT STATUS | EXAMPLES | COMPATIBILITY | SEE ALSO | STANDARDS | HISTORY | BUGS

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