What do the symbols displayed by ls -F mean?
I noticed that if I run ls -F on a directory, some of the entries have a * or a @ after them.
spuder@ubuntu:~$ ls -F /sbin
acpi_available* getpcaps* lvmconf* ntfscp* start-stop-daemon*
agetty* getty* lvmdiskscan@ ntfslabel* status@
alsa* halt@ lvmdump* ntfsresize* stop@
alsactl* hdparm* lvmsadc@
spuder@ubuntu:~$ ls -F ~
daq-0.6.1/ examples.desktop noname-cache.lib snort-2.9.1/ Templates/
Desktop/ jpgraph-1.27.1/ noname.sch snortfiles/ Ubuntu One/
Documents/
According to the ls man pages
spuder@ubuntu:~$ man ls
...
-F, --classify
append indicator (one of */=>@|) to entries
...
I'm guessing that @ means symbolic link,
What do these other indicators mean ( */=>@| ) ?
ls
asked Jul 9 '13 at 16:30
spuderspuder
6,6712571106
|
show 5 more comments
I noticed that if I run ls -F on a directory, some of the entries have a * or a @ after them.
spuder@ubuntu:~$ ls -F /sbin
acpi_available* getpcaps* lvmconf* ntfscp* start-stop-daemon*
agetty* getty* lvmdiskscan@ ntfslabel* status@
alsa* halt@ lvmdump* ntfsresize* stop@
alsactl* hdparm* lvmsadc@
spuder@ubuntu:~$ ls -F ~
daq-0.6.1/ examples.desktop noname-cache.lib snort-2.9.1/ Templates/
Desktop/ jpgraph-1.27.1/ noname.sch snortfiles/ Ubuntu One/
Documents/
According to the ls man pages
spuder@ubuntu:~$ man ls
...
-F, --classify
append indicator (one of */=>@|) to entries
...
I'm guessing that @ means symbolic link,
What do these other indicators mean ( */=>@| ) ?
ls
asked Jul 9 '13 at 16:30
spuderspuder
6,6712571106
2
Have you thought of looking at the man page?
– mdpc
Jul 9 '13 at 17:20
20
He has. In fact, he posted an excerpt from the manpage. The fulllsdocumentation, including information about the symbols displayed byls -F, is in a Texinfo manual. (info ls).
– user26112
Jul 9 '13 at 17:33
1
On a side note, since Texinfo manuals generally feel strange and foreign, it's common to keep around functions like these:infos () { info --vi-keys --subnodes -o - "$@" | less; }.
– user26112
Jul 9 '13 at 17:37
1
@EvanTeitelman This is great information, I will keepinfo foo --vi-keysin mind. Unfortunately the syntax you mentioned does not work for me (infos () { info --vi-keys...}
– spuder
Jul 9 '13 at 17:44
1
@spuder: It's a function; you have to call it.infos ls. The$@part passes all of the function's arguments toinfo. You can put this function in your~/.bashrcfile for later use.
– user26112
Jul 9 '13 at 17:56
|
show 5 more comments
I noticed that if I run ls -F on a directory, some of the entries have a * or a @ after them.
spuder@ubuntu:~$ ls -F /sbin
acpi_available* getpcaps* lvmconf* ntfscp* start-stop-daemon*
agetty* getty* lvmdiskscan@ ntfslabel* status@
alsa* halt@ lvmdump* ntfsresize* stop@
alsactl* hdparm* lvmsadc@
spuder@ubuntu:~$ ls -F ~
daq-0.6.1/ examples.desktop noname-cache.lib snort-2.9.1/ Templates/
Desktop/ jpgraph-1.27.1/ noname.sch snortfiles/ Ubuntu One/
Documents/
According to the ls man pages
spuder@ubuntu:~$ man ls
...
-F, --classify
append indicator (one of */=>@|) to entries
...
I'm guessing that @ means symbolic link,
What do these other indicators mean ( */=>@| ) ?
ls
asked Jul 9 '13 at 16:30
spuderspuder
6,6712571106
I noticed that if I run ls -F on a directory, some of the entries have a * or a @ after them.
spuder@ubuntu:~$ ls -F /sbin
acpi_available* getpcaps* lvmconf* ntfscp* start-stop-daemon*
agetty* getty* lvmdiskscan@ ntfslabel* status@
alsa* halt@ lvmdump* ntfsresize* stop@
alsactl* hdparm* lvmsadc@
spuder@ubuntu:~$ ls -F ~
daq-0.6.1/ examples.desktop noname-cache.lib snort-2.9.1/ Templates/
Desktop/ jpgraph-1.27.1/ noname.sch snortfiles/ Ubuntu One/
Documents/
According to the ls man pages
spuder@ubuntu:~$ man ls
...
-F, --classify
append indicator (one of */=>@|) to entries
...
I'm guessing that @ means symbolic link,
What do these other indicators mean ( */=>@| ) ?
ls
ls
asked Jul 9 '13 at 16:30
spuderspuder
6,6712571106
asked Jul 9 '13 at 16:30
spuderspuder
6,6712571106
edited Jul 9 '13 at 17:39
user26112
asked Jul 9 '13 at 16:30
spuderspuder
6,6712571106
asked Jul 9 '13 at 16:30
spuderspuder
6,6712571106
asked Jul 9 '13 at 16:30
spuderspuder
6,6712571106
6,6712571106
2
Have you thought of looking at the man page?
– mdpc
Jul 9 '13 at 17:20
20
He has. In fact, he posted an excerpt from the manpage. The fulllsdocumentation, including information about the symbols displayed byls -F, is in a Texinfo manual. (info ls).
– user26112
Jul 9 '13 at 17:33
1
On a side note, since Texinfo manuals generally feel strange and foreign, it's common to keep around functions like these:infos () { info --vi-keys --subnodes -o - "$@" | less; }.
– user26112
Jul 9 '13 at 17:37
1
@EvanTeitelman This is great information, I will keepinfo foo --vi-keysin mind. Unfortunately the syntax you mentioned does not work for me (infos () { info --vi-keys...}
– spuder
Jul 9 '13 at 17:44
1
@spuder: It's a function; you have to call it.infos ls. The$@part passes all of the function's arguments toinfo. You can put this function in your~/.bashrcfile for later use.
– user26112
Jul 9 '13 at 17:56
|
show 5 more comments
2
Have you thought of looking at the man page?
– mdpc
Jul 9 '13 at 17:20
20
He has. In fact, he posted an excerpt from the manpage. The fulllsdocumentation, including information about the symbols displayed byls -F, is in a Texinfo manual. (info ls).
– user26112
Jul 9 '13 at 17:33
1
On a side note, since Texinfo manuals generally feel strange and foreign, it's common to keep around functions like these:infos () { info --vi-keys --subnodes -o - "$@" | less; }.
– user26112
Jul 9 '13 at 17:37
1
@EvanTeitelman This is great information, I will keepinfo foo --vi-keysin mind. Unfortunately the syntax you mentioned does not work for me (infos () { info --vi-keys...}
– spuder
Jul 9 '13 at 17:44
1
@spuder: It's a function; you have to call it.infos ls. The$@part passes all of the function's arguments toinfo. You can put this function in your~/.bashrcfile for later use.
– user26112
Jul 9 '13 at 17:56
2
2
Have you thought of looking at the man page?
– mdpc
Jul 9 '13 at 17:20
Have you thought of looking at the man page?
– mdpc
Jul 9 '13 at 17:20
20
20
He has. In fact, he posted an excerpt from the manpage. The full
ls documentation, including information about the symbols displayed by ls -F, is in a Texinfo manual. (info ls).– user26112
Jul 9 '13 at 17:33
He has. In fact, he posted an excerpt from the manpage. The full
ls documentation, including information about the symbols displayed by ls -F, is in a Texinfo manual. (info ls).– user26112
Jul 9 '13 at 17:33
1
1
On a side note, since Texinfo manuals generally feel strange and foreign, it's common to keep around functions like these:
infos () { info --vi-keys --subnodes -o - "$@" | less; }.– user26112
Jul 9 '13 at 17:37
On a side note, since Texinfo manuals generally feel strange and foreign, it's common to keep around functions like these:
infos () { info --vi-keys --subnodes -o - "$@" | less; }.– user26112
Jul 9 '13 at 17:37
1
1
@EvanTeitelman This is great information, I will keep
info foo --vi-keys in mind. Unfortunately the syntax you mentioned does not work for me (infos () { info --vi-keys...}– spuder
Jul 9 '13 at 17:44
@EvanTeitelman This is great information, I will keep
info foo --vi-keys in mind. Unfortunately the syntax you mentioned does not work for me (infos () { info --vi-keys...}– spuder
Jul 9 '13 at 17:44
1
1
@spuder: It's a function; you have to call it.
infos ls. The $@ part passes all of the function's arguments to info. You can put this function in your ~/.bashrc file for later use.– user26112
Jul 9 '13 at 17:56
@spuder: It's a function; you have to call it.
infos ls. The $@ part passes all of the function's arguments to info. You can put this function in your ~/.bashrc file for later use.– user26112
Jul 9 '13 at 17:56
|
show 5 more comments
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
ls -F appends symbols to filenames. These symbols show useful information about files.
@means symbolic link (or that the file has extended attributes).
*means executable.
=means socket.
|means named pipe.
>means door.
/means directory.
If you want this behavior to be the default, add this to your shell configuration: alias ls='ls -F'.
edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:37
Community♦
1
9
do not realias commands, it can break badly written scripts. I have aliasedlto have -F and colour, andllto also have -l
– ctrl-alt-delor
Jun 30 '16 at 11:03
On Android I get a completely two column output. I get the filename or directory name and BEFORE the name there is a minus if it is file, or a "d" if it is a directory, or a "ld" if it is a link. It is a disaster that Linuxes are so inconsistent!
– Elmue
Jun 1 '18 at 16:31
add a comment |
Just to add how I found this info. As indicated at the bottom of man ls:
Full documentation at: https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/ls
or available locally via: info '(coreutils) ls invocation'
Following this, we see
‘-F’ ‘--classify’ ‘--indicator-style=classify’ Append a character to
each file name indicating the file type. Also, for regular files that
are executable, append ‘*’. The file type indicators are ‘/’ for
directories, ‘@’ for symbolic links, ‘|’ for FIFOs, ‘=’ for sockets,
‘>’ for doors, and nothing for regular files. Do not follow symbolic
links listed on the command line unless the --dereference-command-line
(-H), --dereference (-L), or --dereference-command-line-symlink-to-dir
options are specified.
on https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#ls-invocation
answered 5 hours ago
flow2kflow2k
19712
add a comment |
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2 Answers
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2 Answers
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votes
ls -F appends symbols to filenames. These symbols show useful information about files.
@means symbolic link (or that the file has extended attributes).
*means executable.
=means socket.
|means named pipe.
>means door.
/means directory.
If you want this behavior to be the default, add this to your shell configuration: alias ls='ls -F'.
edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:37
Community♦
1
9
do not realias commands, it can break badly written scripts. I have aliasedlto have -F and colour, andllto also have -l
– ctrl-alt-delor
Jun 30 '16 at 11:03
On Android I get a completely two column output. I get the filename or directory name and BEFORE the name there is a minus if it is file, or a "d" if it is a directory, or a "ld" if it is a link. It is a disaster that Linuxes are so inconsistent!
– Elmue
Jun 1 '18 at 16:31
add a comment |
ls -F appends symbols to filenames. These symbols show useful information about files.
@means symbolic link (or that the file has extended attributes).
*means executable.
=means socket.
|means named pipe.
>means door.
/means directory.
If you want this behavior to be the default, add this to your shell configuration: alias ls='ls -F'.
edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:37
Community♦
1
9
do not realias commands, it can break badly written scripts. I have aliasedlto have -F and colour, andllto also have -l
– ctrl-alt-delor
Jun 30 '16 at 11:03
On Android I get a completely two column output. I get the filename or directory name and BEFORE the name there is a minus if it is file, or a "d" if it is a directory, or a "ld" if it is a link. It is a disaster that Linuxes are so inconsistent!
– Elmue
Jun 1 '18 at 16:31
add a comment |
ls -F appends symbols to filenames. These symbols show useful information about files.
@means symbolic link (or that the file has extended attributes).
*means executable.
=means socket.
|means named pipe.
>means door.
/means directory.
If you want this behavior to be the default, add this to your shell configuration: alias ls='ls -F'.
edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:37
Community♦
1
ls -F appends symbols to filenames. These symbols show useful information about files.
@means symbolic link (or that the file has extended attributes).
*means executable.
=means socket.
|means named pipe.
>means door.
/means directory.
If you want this behavior to be the default, add this to your shell configuration: alias ls='ls -F'.
edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:37
Community♦
1
edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:37
Community♦
1
edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:37
Community♦
1
edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:37
Community♦
1
1
answered Jul 9 '13 at 16:34
user26112
9
do not realias commands, it can break badly written scripts. I have aliasedlto have -F and colour, andllto also have -l
– ctrl-alt-delor
Jun 30 '16 at 11:03
On Android I get a completely two column output. I get the filename or directory name and BEFORE the name there is a minus if it is file, or a "d" if it is a directory, or a "ld" if it is a link. It is a disaster that Linuxes are so inconsistent!
– Elmue
Jun 1 '18 at 16:31
add a comment |
9
do not realias commands, it can break badly written scripts. I have aliasedlto have -F and colour, andllto also have -l
– ctrl-alt-delor
Jun 30 '16 at 11:03
On Android I get a completely two column output. I get the filename or directory name and BEFORE the name there is a minus if it is file, or a "d" if it is a directory, or a "ld" if it is a link. It is a disaster that Linuxes are so inconsistent!
– Elmue
Jun 1 '18 at 16:31
9
9
do not realias commands, it can break badly written scripts. I have aliased
l to have -F and colour, and ll to also have -l– ctrl-alt-delor
Jun 30 '16 at 11:03
do not realias commands, it can break badly written scripts. I have aliased
l to have -F and colour, and ll to also have -l– ctrl-alt-delor
Jun 30 '16 at 11:03
On Android I get a completely two column output. I get the filename or directory name and BEFORE the name there is a minus if it is file, or a "d" if it is a directory, or a "ld" if it is a link. It is a disaster that Linuxes are so inconsistent!
– Elmue
Jun 1 '18 at 16:31
On Android I get a completely two column output. I get the filename or directory name and BEFORE the name there is a minus if it is file, or a "d" if it is a directory, or a "ld" if it is a link. It is a disaster that Linuxes are so inconsistent!
– Elmue
Jun 1 '18 at 16:31
add a comment |
Just to add how I found this info. As indicated at the bottom of man ls:
Full documentation at: https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/ls
or available locally via: info '(coreutils) ls invocation'
Following this, we see
‘-F’ ‘--classify’ ‘--indicator-style=classify’ Append a character to
each file name indicating the file type. Also, for regular files that
are executable, append ‘*’. The file type indicators are ‘/’ for
directories, ‘@’ for symbolic links, ‘|’ for FIFOs, ‘=’ for sockets,
‘>’ for doors, and nothing for regular files. Do not follow symbolic
links listed on the command line unless the --dereference-command-line
(-H), --dereference (-L), or --dereference-command-line-symlink-to-dir
options are specified.
on https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#ls-invocation
answered 5 hours ago
flow2kflow2k
19712
add a comment |
Just to add how I found this info. As indicated at the bottom of man ls:
Full documentation at: https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/ls
or available locally via: info '(coreutils) ls invocation'
Following this, we see
‘-F’ ‘--classify’ ‘--indicator-style=classify’ Append a character to
each file name indicating the file type. Also, for regular files that
are executable, append ‘*’. The file type indicators are ‘/’ for
directories, ‘@’ for symbolic links, ‘|’ for FIFOs, ‘=’ for sockets,
‘>’ for doors, and nothing for regular files. Do not follow symbolic
links listed on the command line unless the --dereference-command-line
(-H), --dereference (-L), or --dereference-command-line-symlink-to-dir
options are specified.
on https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#ls-invocation
answered 5 hours ago
flow2kflow2k
19712
add a comment |
Just to add how I found this info. As indicated at the bottom of man ls:
Full documentation at: https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/ls
or available locally via: info '(coreutils) ls invocation'
Following this, we see
‘-F’ ‘--classify’ ‘--indicator-style=classify’ Append a character to
each file name indicating the file type. Also, for regular files that
are executable, append ‘*’. The file type indicators are ‘/’ for
directories, ‘@’ for symbolic links, ‘|’ for FIFOs, ‘=’ for sockets,
‘>’ for doors, and nothing for regular files. Do not follow symbolic
links listed on the command line unless the --dereference-command-line
(-H), --dereference (-L), or --dereference-command-line-symlink-to-dir
options are specified.
on https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#ls-invocation
answered 5 hours ago
flow2kflow2k
19712
Just to add how I found this info. As indicated at the bottom of man ls:
Full documentation at: https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/ls
or available locally via: info '(coreutils) ls invocation'
Following this, we see
‘-F’ ‘--classify’ ‘--indicator-style=classify’ Append a character to
each file name indicating the file type. Also, for regular files that
are executable, append ‘*’. The file type indicators are ‘/’ for
directories, ‘@’ for symbolic links, ‘|’ for FIFOs, ‘=’ for sockets,
‘>’ for doors, and nothing for regular files. Do not follow symbolic
links listed on the command line unless the --dereference-command-line
(-H), --dereference (-L), or --dereference-command-line-symlink-to-dir
options are specified.
on https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#ls-invocation
answered 5 hours ago
flow2kflow2k
19712
answered 5 hours ago
flow2kflow2k
19712
answered 5 hours ago
flow2kflow2k
19712
answered 5 hours ago
flow2kflow2k
19712
19712
add a comment |
add a comment |
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2
Have you thought of looking at the man page?
– mdpc
Jul 9 '13 at 17:20
20
He has. In fact, he posted an excerpt from the manpage. The full
lsdocumentation, including information about the symbols displayed byls -F, is in a Texinfo manual. (info ls).– user26112
Jul 9 '13 at 17:33
1
On a side note, since Texinfo manuals generally feel strange and foreign, it's common to keep around functions like these:
infos () { info --vi-keys --subnodes -o - "$@" | less; }.– user26112
Jul 9 '13 at 17:37
1
@EvanTeitelman This is great information, I will keep
info foo --vi-keysin mind. Unfortunately the syntax you mentioned does not work for me (infos () { info --vi-keys...}– spuder
Jul 9 '13 at 17:44
1
@spuder: It's a function; you have to call it.
infos ls. The$@part passes all of the function's arguments toinfo. You can put this function in your~/.bashrcfile for later use.– user26112
Jul 9 '13 at 17:56