--- name: "lr" section: "1" platform: "linux" package: "lr" version: "1.5.1-3" release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)" platforms: ["linux"] url: "https://new.carta.tech/lr" --- # lr(1) list files, recursively ## NAME **lr** – list files, recursively ## SYNOPSIS **lr** \[**-0** \| **-F** \| **-l** \[**-TA** \| **-TC** \| **-TM**\] \| **-S** \| **-f** *fmt*\]\ \[**-B** \| **-D**\] \[**-H** \| **-L**\] \[**-1AGPQXdhsx**\] \[**-U** \| **-W** \| **-o** *ord*\]\ \[**-e** *regex*\] \[**-t** *test*\] \[**-C** \[*color*:\]*path*\] *path ...* ## DESCRIPTION **lr** is a versatile tool to generate file listings with configurable formatting, ordering and filtering. When no *path* is given or *path* is an empty string, the current directory is used by default. The special *path* argument ‘**-**’ makes **lr** read file names from standard input, instead of traversing *path*. Likewise, the special *path* argument **@***file* makes **lr** read file names from *file*. By default, **lr** traverses directories before their entries. When **-D** is used, the subdirectories (and files) are traversed first. When **-B** is used, each level of depth is traversed before moving deeper. The options are as follows: - **-0** Output filenames separated by NUL bytes. Likewise, read input filenames separated by NUL bytes. - **-1** Don't go below one level of directories. - **-A** Don't list files starting with a dot. - **-B** Use breadth first traversal. For each depth of the directory tree, files are sorted and printed, then the next depth is looked at. - **-C** \[*color*:\]*path* Behaves as if *path* was passed like an ordinary argument, but overrides the color of the file names to the number *color* which must be between 0 and 255( default: 2, green). Implies **-GG**. - **-D** Use depth first traversal. **prune** will not work, but **entries** and **total** are computed on the fly. - **-F** Output filenames and an indicator of their file type( one of ‘\*/=\>@\|’). - **-G** Colorize output to TTY. Use twice to force colorized output. If the environment variable NO\_COLOR is set, colors are never used. - **-H** Only follow symlinks on command line( default: don't follow symlinks). - **-L** Follow all symlinks. - **-P** Quote file names using Austin Group #249 syntax $'...'( implies **-Q**). - **-Q** Quote file names( default for output to TTY). - **-S** Output inspired by BSD [stat(1)](/stat/1.md)( implies **-Q**). - **-TA** With **-l**, print atime. - **-TC** With **-l**, print ctime. - **-TM** With **-l**, print mtime. This is the default. - **-U** Don't sort results, print during traversal. - **-W** Sort results by name and print during traversal.( This is subtly different from sorting by file name with **-on** as it prints directories directly before their contents.) - **-X** Output OSC 8 hyperlinks to TTY. Use twice to force hyperlinks. - **-d** Don't enter directories. - **-e** *regex* Only show files where basename matches the POSIX ERE *regex*. - **-f** *fmt* Custom formatting, see FORMATTING. - **-h** Print human readable size for **-l**( also **%s**). - **-l** Long output a la ‘**ls** **-l**’( implies **-Q**). - **-o** *ord* Sort according to *ord*, see SORT ORDER. - **-s** Strip directory prefix passed on command line. - **-t** *test* Only show files matching the expression *test*, see TESTS. Multiple occurrences of **-t** and **-e** are regarded as a conjunction. - **-x** Don't enter other filesystems. ## FORMATTING **lr** format strings support the following escape sequences: - **\\a**, **\\b**, **\\f**, **\\n**, **\\r**, **\\v** Special characters as in C - **\\***ddd* Byte with one, two or three-digit octal value - **\\x***dd* Byte with one or two-digit hexadecimal value - **%%** A plain ‘%’ - **%s** File size in bytes - **%S** File size, with human readable unit - **%b** File size in 512-byte blocks - **%k** File size in 1024-byte blocks - **%d** Path depth - **%D** Device number( *stat.st\_dev*) - **%R** Device ID for special files( *stat.st\_rdev*) - **%i** Inode number - **%I** One space character for every depth level - **%p** Full path( **%P** if **-s** is used) - **%P** Full path without command line argument prefix - **%l** Symlink target - **%n** Number of hardlinks - **%F** File indicator type symbol( one of ‘\*/=\>@\|’) - **%f** File basename( everything after last /) - **%A-**, **%C-**, **%T-** relative age for atime/ctime/mtime. - **%A***x*, **%C***x*, **%T***x* result of [strftime(3)](/strftime/3.md) for **%***x* on atime/ctime/mtime - **%m** Octal file permissions - **%M** ls-style symbolic file permissions - **%y** ls-style symbolic file type( ‘bcdfls’) - **%g** Group name - **%G** Numeric gid - **%u** User name - **%U** Numeric uid - **%e** Number of entries in directories - **%t** Total size used by accepted files in directories( only with **-D**) - **%Y** Type of the filesystem the file resides on - **%x** Linux-only: Print a combination of ‘#’ for files with security capabilities, ‘+’ for files with an ACL, ‘@’ for files with other extended attributes ## SORT ORDER Sort order is string consisting of the following letters. Uppercase letters reverse sorting. Default sort order is ‘**n**’. - **a** atime - **c** ctime - **d** path depth - **e** file extension - **i** inode number - **m** mtime - **n** file name - **p** directory name - **s** file size - **t** file type. This sorts all directories before other files. - **v** file name as version numbers( sorts ‘2’ before ‘10’) E.g. ‘**Sn**’ sorts first by size, smallest last, and then by name( in case sizes are equal). ## TESTS **lr** tests are given by the following EBNF: ``` ::= || -- disjunction | && -- conjunction | ? : -- ternary operator | ! -- negation | ( | | | | | prune -- do not traverse into subdirectories | print -- always true value | skip -- always false value | color -- always true value, override 256-color ::= atime | ctime | mtime ::= depth | dev | entries | gid | inode | links | mode | rdev | size | total | uid ::= <= | < | >= | > | == | = | != ::= "./path" -- mtime of relative path | "/path" -- mtime of absolute path | "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS" | "YYYY-MM-DD" -- at midnight | "HH:MM:SS" -- today | "HH:MM" -- today | "-[0-9]+d" -- n days ago at midnight | "-[0-9]+h" -- n hours before now | "-[0-9]+m" -- n minutes before now | "-[0-9]+s" -- n seconds before now | [0-9]+ -- absolute epoch time ::= [0-9]+ ( c -- *1 | b -- *512 | k -- *1024 | M -- *1024*1024 | G -- *1024*1024*1024 | T )? -- *1024*1024*1024*1024 ::= fstype | group | name | path | target | user | xattr ::= == | = | != -- string (in)equality | === | !=== -- case insensitive string (in)equality | ~~ | !~~ -- glob (fnmatch) | ~~~ | !~~~ -- case insensitive glob (fnmatch) | =~ | !=~ | !~ -- POSIX Extended Regular Expressions | =~~ | !=~~ -- case insensitive POSIX Extended Regular Expressions ::= " ([^"] | "")+ " -- use "" for a single " inside " | $[A-Za-z0-9_]+ -- environment variable ::= type ( == | = | != ) ( b | c | d | p | f | l ) ::= mode ( == | = -- exact permissions | & -- check if all bits of set | | -- check if any bit of set ) | mode = "" -- check if symbolic mode is satisfied ::= [0-7]+ ::= (, )+ ::= [guoa]* [+-=] [rwxXstugo]* -- see chmod(1) ``` ## EXIT STATUS The **lr** utility exits 0 on success, and \>0 if an error occurs. ## SEE ALSO [du(1)](/du/1.md), [find(1)](/find/1.md), [ls(1)](/ls/1.md), [stat(1)](/stat/1.md), tw(1) ## AUTHORS Leah Neukirchen ⟨*leah@vuxu.org*⟩ ## LICENSE **lr** is licensed under the terms of the MIT license.