Examples

Basic Listings

List Current Directory with Visual Enhancements

sls --icons --color

Output:

📁 Documents    📁 Downloads    📁 Pictures    📁 Videos
🎵 Music        📁 Projects     📁 Desktop     📄 README.md

Adding icons and colors makes it easier to distinguish file types at a glance.

View All Files Including Hidden

sls -a

Output:

.              ..             .git           .gitignore
.env           .bashrc        Documents      Downloads
Pictures       README.md

Hidden files (starting with .) often contain important configuration. Use -a to ensure you don’t miss them.

Detailed File Information

Long Format with Human-Readable Sizes

sls -l --human-readable

Output:

drwxr-xr-x  user  staff   5  4.0K  2026-02-28  14:32  Documents
drwxr-xr-x  user  staff   3  4.0K  2026-03-01  09:15  Downloads
-rw-r--r--  user  staff   1  2.0K  2026-02-25  16:20  README.md
-rw-r--r--  user  staff   1  15M   2026-02-20  10:30  video.mp4
-rwxr-xr-x  user  staff   1  128K  2026-03-01  08:00  app

The --human-readable flag converts byte sizes to K, M, G format for easier reading.

Directory Metadata Only

sls -ld ~/Projects

Output:

drwxr-xr-x  user  staff   24  4.0K  2026-02-28  14:32  /home/user/Projects

The -d flag shows information about the directory itself, not its contents.

Sorting Files

Find Recently Modified Files

sls -lt --human-readable

Output:

-rw-r--r--  user  staff   1  2.5K  2026-03-01  09:30  config.json
-rwxr-xr-x  user  staff   1  128K  2026-03-01  08:00  app
drwxr-xr-x  user  staff   5  4.0K  2026-02-28  14:32  Documents
-rw-r--r--  user  staff   1  2.0K  2026-02-25  16:20  README.md
-rw-r--r--  user  staff   1  15M   2026-02-20  10:30  video.mp4

Combining -l, -t, and --human-readable shows recently changed files first with readable sizes.

Use sls -lt | head -n 10 to show only the 10 most recently modified files.

Find Largest Files

sls -lS --human-readable

Output:

-rw-r--r--  user  staff   1  15M   2026-02-20  10:30  video.mp4
-rw-r--r--  user  staff   1  2.8M  2026-02-18  12:15  database.db
-rwxr-xr-x  user  staff   1  128K  2026-03-01  08:00  app
drwxr-xr-x  user  staff   5  4.0K  2026-02-28  14:32  Documents
-rw-r--r--  user  staff   1  2.5K  2026-03-01  09:30  config.json

The -S flag sorts by size, showing largest files first.

Recursive Listings

List All Files Recursively

sls -r

Output:

Documents  Downloads  README.md  Projects

Documents:
report.pdf  notes.txt

Downloads:
archive.zip  installer.dmg

Projects:
src  tests  package.json

Projects/src:
index.js  utils.js

Projects/tests:
test.js

Recursive mode shows all subdirectories and their contents.

Limit Recursion Depth

sls -r -L 2

Output:

Documents  Downloads  README.md  Projects

Documents:
report.pdf  notes.txt

Downloads:
archive.zip  installer.dmg

Projects:
src  tests  package.json

Projects/src:
index.js  utils.js

Projects/tests:
test.js

The -L 2 option limits recursion to 2 levels deep, preventing overly verbose output.

The --depth-limit option requires the -r flag to be set. It has no effect without recursion enabled.

Multiple Paths

Compare Multiple Directories

sls /tmp /var/log ~/Downloads

Output:

/tmp:
tmp.txt      cache        sessions     uploads

/var/log:
system.log   auth.log     error.log    access.log

/home/user/Downloads:
archive.zip  installer.dmg  document.pdf

When listing multiple paths, each directory is labeled with its path.

Advanced Combinations

Full Project Overview

sls -rlaict --human-readable -L 3

This combines:

-r - Recursive listing
-l - Long format
-a - Include hidden files
-i - Show icons
-c - Colorize output
-t - Sort by time
--human-readable - Readable file sizes
-L 3 - Limit to 3 levels deep

This is excellent for getting a comprehensive view of a project structure with all metadata.

Quick Size Check

sls -lS --human-readable | head -n 20

Output:

-rw-r--r--  user  staff   1  15M   2026-02-20  10:30  video.mp4
-rw-r--r--  user  staff   1  2.8M  2026-02-18  12:15  database.db
-rw-r--r--  user  staff   1  1.2M  2026-02-15  14:22  archive.tar.gz
...

Pipe to head to show only the largest files.

Clean List for Scripts

sls -1a

Output:

.
..
.git
.gitignore
.env
Documents
Downloads
README.md

The -1 flag provides one file per line, perfect for piping to other commands or scripts.

File Type Indicators

Using Classify Flag

sls -F

Output:

Documents/    Downloads/    Pictures/    Videos/
Music/        Projects/     app*         README.md

Indicators:

/ - Directory
* - Executable
No indicator - Regular file

Combining Classify with Icons

sls -Fi --color

Output:

📁 Documents/    📁 Downloads/    📁 Pictures/    📁 Videos/
🎵 Music/        📁 Projects/     ⚙️ app*         📄 README.md

Doubles up on visual indicators for maximum clarity.

Common Workflows

Finding recently changed code files

sls -rlt --human-readable src/

Recursively lists all files in src/ directory sorted by modification time.

Identifying space usage

sls -lS --human-readable

Shows files sorted by size to identify what’s taking up space.

Inspecting hidden configuration files

sls -la ~/ | grep "^\."

Lists all files in home directory and filters for hidden files.

Quick directory structure overview

sls -r -L 2 --icons

Shows directory structure up to 2 levels with visual file type indicators.

Checking file permissions

sls -la

Long format with all files shows complete permission information.

Best Practices

Use --human-readable

Always combine -l with --human-readable for easier size interpretation.

Limit recursive depth

When using -r, add -L to prevent overwhelming output in deep directories.

Combine visual flags

Use -ic together (--icons --color) for maximum visual clarity.

Sort intentionally

Use -t for recent files or -S for large files rather than default alphabetical.

Get Started

Command Reference

Configuration

Library API

Development

Basic Listings

List Current Directory with Visual Enhancements

View All Files Including Hidden

Detailed File Information

Long Format with Human-Readable Sizes

Directory Metadata Only

Sorting Files

Find Recently Modified Files

Find Largest Files

Recursive Listings

List All Files Recursively

Limit Recursion Depth

Multiple Paths

Compare Multiple Directories

Advanced Combinations

Full Project Overview

Quick Size Check

Clean List for Scripts

File Type Indicators

Using Classify Flag

Combining Classify with Icons

Common Workflows

Best Practices

Use --human-readable

Limit recursive depth

Combine visual flags

Sort intentionally

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Command Reference

Configuration

Library API

Development

​Basic Listings

​List Current Directory with Visual Enhancements

​View All Files Including Hidden

​Detailed File Information

​Long Format with Human-Readable Sizes

​Directory Metadata Only

​Sorting Files

​Find Recently Modified Files

​Find Largest Files

​Recursive Listings

​List All Files Recursively

​Limit Recursion Depth

​Multiple Paths

​Compare Multiple Directories

​Advanced Combinations

​Full Project Overview

​Quick Size Check

​Clean List for Scripts

​File Type Indicators

​Using Classify Flag

​Combining Classify with Icons

​Common Workflows

​Best Practices

Use --human-readable

Limit recursive depth

Combine visual flags

Sort intentionally

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Basic Listings

List Current Directory with Visual Enhancements

View All Files Including Hidden

Detailed File Information

Long Format with Human-Readable Sizes

Directory Metadata Only

Sorting Files

Find Recently Modified Files

Find Largest Files

Recursive Listings

List All Files Recursively

Limit Recursion Depth

Multiple Paths

Compare Multiple Directories

Advanced Combinations

Full Project Overview

Quick Size Check

Clean List for Scripts

File Type Indicators

Using Classify Flag

Combining Classify with Icons

Common Workflows

Best Practices