If you are working with a command-line interface, you might need to list all files of a directory at some point. This tutorial will guide you on how to do that in a few simple steps.
Step 1: Open the Terminal
To get started, open the terminal on your computer. The terminal is a command-line interface that allows you to interact with your computer’s operating system using text commands.
Step 2: Navigate to the Directory
Once you have opened the terminal, navigate to the directory that you want to list the files of. You can do this by using the cd command followed by the directory path. For example, if you want to navigate to the Documents directory, you can type:
cd Documents
Step 3: List the Files
Now that you are in the directory you want to list the files of, you can use the ls command to list all the files in the directory. Simply type ls and press enter. This will display a list of all the files in the directory.
ls
Step 4: Display Hidden Files
By default, the ls command does not display hidden files. Hidden files are files that have a dot (.) at the beginning of their filename. To display hidden files, you can use the -a option with the ls command. Simply type ls -a and press enter. This will display a list of all the files in the directory, including hidden files.
ls -a
Step 5: Display Detailed Information
If you want to display more detailed information about the files in the directory, you can use the -l option with the ls command. Simply type ls -l and press enter. This will display a list of all the files in the directory, along with their permissions, size, and modification date.
ls -l
Step 6: Display Detailed Information and Hidden Files
If you want to display both detailed information and hidden files, you can combine the -a and -l options with the ls command. Simply type ls -al and press enter. This will display a list of all the files in the directory, including hidden files, along with their permissions, size, and modification date.
ls -al
Conclusion
Listing all files of a directory is a simple task that can be done using the ls command in the terminal. By default, the ls command displays only the files in the directory, but you can use options like -a and -l to display hidden files and detailed information about the files. With these simple steps, you can easily list all files of a directory in the terminal.