Introduction to List (sls)
List (sls) is a modern replacement for the traditional UNIXls command, providing an enhanced file listing experience with color-coded output, visual file type icons, human-readable sizes, and flexible sorting options.
Built with Swift, List combines speed and simplicity to help you navigate your file system more effectively.
Key features
Color-coded output
Syntax highlighting distinguishes files, directories, executables, and symbolic links at a glance
File type icons
Visual emoji indicators help you quickly identify file types in your listings
Flexible sorting
Sort by name, size, or modification time to find what you need faster
Recursive listing
Explore directory structures with recursive listing and configurable depth limits
Human-readable sizes
File sizes displayed in KB, MB, GB instead of raw bytes for easy comprehension
Cross-platform
Works seamlessly on macOS and Linux systems with Swift runtime
Why List?
While the traditionalls command has served Unix users for decades, List brings modern enhancements that make working with files more intuitive:
- Visual clarity: Color-coded output and icons make it easier to distinguish between file types without reading file extensions
- Better formatting: Human-readable file sizes and flexible display options adapt to your workflow
- Modern architecture: Built with Swift’s type safety and performance characteristics
- Extensible design: Clean modular architecture with SwiftListCore and SwiftListCLI libraries
What’s different from ls?
List offers several improvements over the standardls command:
| Feature | Traditional ls | List (sls) |
|---|---|---|
| Color output | Requires —color flag | Built-in with —color flag |
| File icons | Not available | Emoji icons with —icons flag |
| Sorting options | Limited flags | Clean —sort-time and —sort-size flags |
| Recursive listing | -R flag | —recurse with depth limit support |
| File classification | -F flag | —classify flag with type indicators |
Get started
Ready to try List? Follow these guides to get up and running:Installation
Learn how to install List from source or download pre-built binaries
Quickstart
Get your first listing command running in minutes
Architecture
List is built as a modular Swift command-line tool with three main components:- sls: The executable command-line tool
- SwiftListCLI: Command-line interface and argument parsing using Swift Argument Parser
- SwiftListCore: Core file system operations, display options, and formatting logic