The ls command is essential when navigating a file system. ls displays files and directories in a given file system path. Yet, there’s a nuance when displaying files using the plain ls command: it’s not listing dotfiles.

Dotfiles are the “hidden” files on your hard disk that start with a dot. Typically, a file explorer hides such files. A common dotfile is the .bashrc file, or a directory example is the .git folder in a git repository.

This tutorial shows you how to display all files and folders in a directory, including dotfiles.

Ubuntu/Debian Series Overview

Display All Files and Folders

Use ls -a to display all files and folders in a file path. The -a flag is an alias for the —all flag and tells ls not to hide dotfiles:

ls -a

# or with full flag name
ls --all  

Example: Show All Files and Folders in Columns

Here’s an example showing all files and folders in a project directory. We’ve reduced the number of files and folders for a better overview. You can see that the ls -a command displays dotfiles like .gitignore and also hidden directories like .project. Also, it shows the implicit . and .. paths:

$ ls -a
.                  .gitignore         package.json
..                 .project           vite.config.ts

All Files and Folders as a List

Instead of printing them in columns, you can also list the files and folders. Append the -l flag or combine them in a single flag to ls -al. Notice, ls -la is the same as ls -al. You can change the order of flags as you want.

$ ls -al
.
..
.gitignore
package.json  
.project
vite.config.ts  

Display Almost All Files and Folders

The ls -a flag displays the implicit . and .. paths. The ls command offers the —almost-all flag to hide these paths. You may also use the -A alias instead of the full —almost-all:

ls -A

# or with full flag name
ls --almost-all  

Almost All Files and Folders in Columns

Displaying almost all files and folders in a given file path surfaces the dotfiles and hides the implicit . and .. paths.

$ ls -A
.gitignore         package.json
.project           vite.config.ts

Almost All Files and Folders as a List

You can also print the files and folders as a list. Append the -l flag to print the listing in combination with almost all files and folders:

$ ls -Al
.gitignore
package.json  
.project
vite.config.ts  

That’s it!