coreutils: Sorting the output
10.1.3 Sorting the output
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These options change the order in which ‘ls’ sorts the information it
outputs. By default, sorting is done by character code (e.g., ASCII
order).
‘-c’
‘--time=ctime’
‘--time=status’
If the long listing format (e.g., ‘-l’, ‘-o’) is being used, print
the status change timestamp (the ctime) instead of the mtime. When
explicitly sorting by time (‘--sort=time’ or ‘-t’) or when not
using a long listing format, sort according to the ctime. ⇒
File timestamps.
‘-f’
Primarily, like ‘-U’—do not sort; list the files in whatever order
they are stored in the directory. But also enable ‘-a’ (list all
files) and disable ‘-l’, ‘--color’, and ‘-s’ (if they were
specified before the ‘-f’).
‘-r’
‘--reverse’
Reverse whatever the sorting method is—e.g., list files in reverse
alphabetical order, youngest first, smallest first, or whatever.
‘-S’
‘--sort=size’
Sort by file size, largest first.
‘-t’
‘--sort=time’
Sort by modification timestamp (mtime) by default, newest first.
The timestamp to order by can be changed with the ‘--time’ option.
⇒File timestamps.
‘-u’
‘--time=atime’
‘--time=access’
‘--time=use’
If the long listing format (e.g., ‘--format=long’) is being used,
print the last access timestamp (the atime). When explicitly
sorting by time (‘--sort=time’ or ‘-t’) or when not using a long
listing format, sort according to the atime. ⇒File
timestamps.
‘--time=birth’
‘--time=creation’
If the long listing format (e.g., ‘--format=long’) is being used,
print the file creation timestamp if available. When explicitly
sorting by time (‘--sort=time’ or ‘-t’) or when not using a long
listing format, sort according to the birth time. ⇒File
timestamps.
‘-U’
‘--sort=none’
Do not sort; list the files in whatever order they are stored in
the directory. (Do not do any of the other unrelated things that
‘-f’ does.) This is especially useful when listing very large
directories, since not doing any sorting can be noticeably faster.
‘-v’
‘--sort=version’
Sort by version name and number, lowest first. It behaves like a
default sort, except that each sequence of decimal digits is
treated numerically as an index/version number. (⇒Version
sort ordering.)
‘-X’
‘--sort=extension’
Sort directory contents alphabetically by file extension
(characters after the last ‘.’); files with no extension are sorted
first.