`ls': List directory contents
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The `ls' program lists information about files (of any type,
including directories). Options and file arguments can be intermixed
arbitrarily, as usual.
For non-option command-line arguments that are directories, by
default `ls' lists the contents of directories, not recursively, and
omitting files with names beginning with `.'. For other non-option
arguments, by default `ls' lists just the file name. If no non-option
arguments are specified, `ls' lists the contents of the current
directory.
By default, the output is sorted alphabetically. If standard output
is a terminal, the output is in columns (sorted vertically) and control
characters are output as question marks; otherwise, the output is listed
one per line and control characters are output as-is.
Because `ls' is such a fundamental program, it has accumulated many
options over the years. They are described in the subsections below;
within each section, options are listed alphabetically (ignoring case).
The division of options into the subsections is not absolute, since some
options affect more than one aspect of `ls''s operation.
The `-g' option is accepted but ignored, for compatibility with
Unix. Also see Note:Common options.