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The SortOption enum defines how files should be sorted when listing directory contents.

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Type Definition

public enum SortOption: String, ExpressibleByArgument
Defined in: SwiftListCore/Configuration/SortOption.swift This enum conforms to:
  • String - Raw representable with string values
  • ExpressibleByArgument - Can be used as a command-line argument in Swift Argument Parser

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Cases

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name
SortOption
Sort files alphabetically by name (default).Uses case-insensitive lexicographic comparison. Files are sorted in ascending order (A to Z).
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time
SortOption
Sort files by modification time, most recent first.Files modified most recently appear first in the listing. Files with no modification date are treated as having the oldest possible date.
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size
SortOption
Sort files by size, largest first.Files with the largest size appear first in the listing. Files with no size information are treated as having zero size.

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Usage Examples

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Sort by Name (Default)

import SwiftListCore

let options = DisplayOptions(
    sortBy: .name
)

let listing = try FileManagerHelper.contents(with: options)
print(listing)
// Output: Files listed alphabetically

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Sort by Modification Time

import SwiftListCore

// Show most recently modified files first
let options = DisplayOptions(
    long: true,
    sortBy: .time
)

let listing = try FileManagerHelper.contents(with: options)
print(listing)
// Output: Files listed with newest first

​
Sort by File Size

import SwiftListCore

// Show largest files first
let options = DisplayOptions(
    long: true,
    humanReadable: true,
    sortBy: .size
)

let listing = try FileManagerHelper.contents(with: options)
print(listing)
// Output: Files listed with largest first

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Compare Different Sort Orders

import SwiftListCore

let baseOptions = DisplayOptions(
    long: true,
    humanReadable: true
)

// By name
var options = baseOptions
options.sortBy = .name
print("Sorted by name:")
print(try FileManagerHelper.contents(with: options))

// By time
options.sortBy = .time
print("\nSorted by time:")
print(try FileManagerHelper.contents(with: options))

// By size
options.sortBy = .size
print("\nSorted by size:")
print(try FileManagerHelper.contents(with: options))

​
Interactive Sort Selection

import Foundation
import SwiftListCore

func listDirectory(at path: String, sortedBy sortOption: SortOption) throws {
    let url = URL(fileURLWithPath: path)
    let options = DisplayOptions(
        location: url,
        long: true,
        icons: true,
        humanReadable: true,
        sortBy: sortOption
    )
    
    print("Directory: \(path)")
    print("Sort order: \(sortOption.rawValue)")
    print("---")
    
    let listing = try FileManagerHelper.contents(with: options)
    print(listing)
}

// Use with different sort options
try listDirectory(at: "/usr/local", sortedBy: .name)
try listDirectory(at: "/usr/local", sortedBy: .size)
try listDirectory(at: "/usr/local", sortedBy: .time)

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Find Largest Files

import Foundation
import SwiftListCore

func findLargestFiles(in path: String, limit: Int = 10) throws {
    let url = URL(fileURLWithPath: path)
    let options = DisplayOptions(
        location: url,
        long: true,
        humanReadable: true,
        sortBy: .size  // Sort by size, largest first
    )
    
    let listing = try FileManagerHelper.contents(with: options)
    let lines = listing.split(separator: "\n")
    
    print("Top \(limit) largest files in \(path):")
    for (index, line) in lines.prefix(limit).enumerated() {
        print("\(index + 1). \(line)")
    }
}

try findLargestFiles(in: "/var/log")

​
Find Recently Modified Files

import Foundation
import SwiftListCore

func findRecentFiles(in path: String, limit: Int = 5) throws {
    let url = URL(fileURLWithPath: path)
    let options = DisplayOptions(
        location: url,
        long: true,
        sortBy: .time  // Sort by modification time, newest first
    )
    
    let listing = try FileManagerHelper.contents(with: options)
    let lines = listing.split(separator: "\n")
    
    print("Most recently modified files in \(path):")
    for (index, line) in lines.prefix(limit).enumerated() {
        print("\(index + 1). \(line)")
    }
}

try findRecentFiles(in: FileManager.default.currentDirectoryPath)

​
Recursive Listing with Custom Sort

import SwiftListCore

// Recursively list, sorted by size at each level
let options = DisplayOptions(
    recurse: true,
    depthLimit: 2,
    long: true,
    humanReadable: true,
    icons: true,
    sortBy: .size
)

let listing = try FileManagerHelper.contents(with: options)
print(listing)
// Each directory level will show largest files first

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Raw Values

Since SortOption conforms to String, you can access raw string values: 
print(SortOption.name.rawValue)  // "name"
print(SortOption.time.rawValue)  // "time"
print(SortOption.size.rawValue)  // "size"

// Initialize from string
if let option = SortOption(rawValue: "time") {
    print("Sort by \(option)")  // "Sort by time"
}

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Using with Swift Argument Parser

Since SortOption conforms to ExpressibleByArgument, it can be used directly in command-line argument parsing: 
import ArgumentParser
import SwiftListCore

struct ListCommand: ParsableCommand {
    @Option(name: .shortAndLong, help: "Sort order")
    var sort: SortOption = .name
    
    func run() throws {
        let options = DisplayOptions(
            long: true,
            sortBy: sort
        )
        
        let listing = try FileManagerHelper.contents(with: options)
        print(listing)
    }
}

// Command line usage:
// ./myapp --sort name
// ./myapp -s time
// ./myapp --sort size

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Sorting Behavior Details

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Name Sorting

  • Uses localizedCompare() for natural alphabetical ordering
  • Case-insensitive
  • Numbers sorted naturally (e.g., “file2” comes before “file10”)
  • Ascending order (A to Z)

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Time Sorting

  • Based on file modification date (contentModificationDate)
  • Most recent files first (descending order)
  • Files without modification date treated as oldest

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Size Sorting

  • Based on file size in bytes
  • Largest files first (descending order)
  • Files without size information treated as 0 bytes
  • Directories may show as 0 or small sizes (metadata only)

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