eza ls Replacement

eza cheatsheet — list files with git status, icons, tree view. eza -la --git, eza --tree --level=3, eza --icons. The modern ls replacement with color and context.

4 min read

What it is

eza is a modern replacement for the standard ls command, offering enhanced features like Git integration, syntax highlighting, and tree views.

Installation

Linux (using package managers):

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt update && sudo apt install eza

# Fedora
sudo dnf install eza

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S eza

Linux (using Cargo):

cargo install eza

Mac (using Homebrew):

brew install eza

Windows (using Scoop):

scoop install eza

Windows (using Cargo):

cargo install eza

Commands / Usage

Listing Files and Directories

List files and directories in the current directory:
```
eza
```
Lists files and directories with default formatting.
List all files, including hidden ones:
```
eza -a
```
Shows all entries, including those starting with a dot (.).
List files with details (permissions, size, owner, date):
```
eza -l
```
Provides a long listing format.
List files with human-readable file sizes:
```
eza -lh
```
Displays sizes in KB, MB, GB, etc.
List files recursively (show subdirectories):
```
eza -R
```
Lists contents of subdirectories as well.
List files in a tree-like format:
```
eza --tree
```
Displays directory structure in a visual tree.
List files sorted by modification time (newest first):
```
eza -lt
```
Sorts output by time.
List files sorted by size (largest first):
```
eza -lS
```
Sorts output by file size.
List files sorted by extension:
```
eza -lX
```
Sorts output alphabetically by file extension.
List files with Git status:
```
eza -lg
```
Shows Git status for files in a Git repository.
List files with Git status and highlight unread files:
```
eza -lgh
```
Combines Git status with highlighting for new/modified files.
List files with specific color themes:
```
eza --color=always
```
Forces color output, useful for piping.
```
eza --color=auto
```
Enables color output when outputting to a terminal.
```
eza --color=never
```
Disables color output.
List files with icons:
```
eza -G
```
Displays icons next to files and directories (requires a Nerd Font).

Filtering and Searching

List only directories:
```
eza -d
```
Shows only directories.
List only files:
```
eza -f
```
Shows only files.
List files matching a pattern:
```
eza "*.txt"
```
Lists all files ending with .txt.
List files larger than a specific size:
```
eza -l --size +1M
```
Lists files larger than 1 megabyte.
List files modified within a specific time frame:
```
eza -l --time-days 7
```
Lists files modified in the last 7 days.

Display Options

Show file permissions as octal:
```
eza -lo
```
Displays permissions in numeric (octal) format.
Show file permissions as symbolic links:
```
eza -l --links
```
Displays symbolic links with their target.
Show file owner and group:
```
eza -lug
```
Displays the user and group owner of files.
Show file inode number:
```
eza -li
```
Displays the inode number for each file.
Display file type indicators:
```
eza -F
```
Appends symbols to indicate file types (e.g., / for directories, * for executables).
Control displayed columns:
```
eza -l --columns 3
```
Displays output in 3 columns.
Hide specific file types:
```
eza -a --ignore-glob="*.log"
```
Lists all files except those ending with .log.

Aliases and Configuration

Create an alias for common eza usage: Add this to your shell’s configuration file (e.g., ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc):
```
alias ls='eza --icons'
alias ll='eza -l --icons'
alias la='eza -la --icons'
alias lt='eza --tree --icons'
```
This allows you to use ls, ll, etc., with eza’s features.

Common Patterns

Get a detailed, human-readable, and iconized listing of all files in the current directory:
```
eza -lahG
```
This is a very common and informative way to view directory contents.
See the Git status of your project’s files:
```
eza -lg
```
Quickly identify modified, added, or untracked files in a Git repository.
Find the largest files in a directory:
```
eza -lSh | head
```
Lists files by size (largest first) and shows the top 10.
View a directory’s structure in a tree format with icons:
```
eza --tree -G
```
Great for understanding nested directories.
Pipe eza output to other commands:
```
eza -l | grep "myfile"
```
Find a specific file within a detailed listing.
```
eza -a | wc -l
```
Count the total number of files and directories (including hidden ones).

Gotchas

Nerd Fonts Required for Icons: The -G (or --icons) flag relies on Nerd Fonts being installed and your terminal emulator configured to use them. If you don’t see icons, this is likely the reason.
Default ls Behavior: If you alias ls to eza, be aware that some scripts might explicitly call the original ls command and expect its exact output format.
Git Integration Requires Git: The Git-related flags (-g, --git) only work within a Git repository and require Git to be installed.
Color Output with Pipes: When piping eza’s output to another command, colors might be included by default, which can sometimes interfere with parsing. Use --color=never or --color=auto (if the receiving command handles it) to manage this.
--time-days vs. --time-seconds: Be mindful of the time units when filtering by time. --time-days is relative to the current day, while --time-seconds is a strict timestamp comparison.