How to list directory content in reverse in Linux
The ls command displays directory content in the Linux terminal and, by default, sorts the output in alphabetical order. Sometimes you'll need to change the sort order to reverse, and you can do that both from ls itself or by piping the output to an external program.
ls has the sort function built-in, is very flexible, and works well with other ls options. On the other hand, sort is a dedicated external program to sorting output with its advantages.
Steps to list directory content in reverse in Linux:
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Launch terminal.
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List directory content using ls.
$ ls Applications Documents Dropbox Movies Pictures System tmp Desktop Downloads Library Music Public Workspace
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Pipe ls program to sort to display result in reverse.
$ ls | sort -r tmp Workspace System Public Pictures Music Movies Library Dropbox Downloads Documents Desktop Applications
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List directory content in reverse using ls.
$ ls -r tmp System Pictures Movies Dropbox Documents Applications Workspace Public Music Library Downloads Desktop
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List directory content based on access time or other options.
$ ls -lt total 0 drwxr-xr-x 12 user group 384 Jul 21 09:50 Workspace drwx------@ 19 user group 608 Jul 4 15:18 Dropbox drwx------+ 6 user group 192 Jul 4 11:47 Movies drwx------@ 83 user group 2656 Jun 27 14:11 Library drwx------+ 6 user group 192 Jun 25 16:13 Music lrwx------@ 1 user group 41 Jun 25 15:22 Desktop -> Library/CloudStorage/iCloud Drive/Desktop lrwx------@ 1 user group 43 Jun 25 15:22 Documents -> Library/CloudStorage/iCloud Drive/Documents drwx------+ 6 user group 192 Jun 25 15:18 Pictures drwxr-xr-x 3 user group 96 Aug 4 2018 System lrwxr-xr-x 1 user group 28 Jul 10 2018 Downloads -> /Volumes/SD/user/Downloads lrwxr-xr-x 1 user group 22 Jul 10 2018 tmp -> /Volumes/SD/user/tmp drwx------@ 4 user group 128 Jun 28 2018 Applications drwxr-xr-x+ 4 user group 128 Jun 28 2018 Public
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Sort directory content for the specific option in reverse.
$ ls -lrt total 0 drwxr-xr-x+ 4 user group 128 Jun 28 2018 Public drwx------@ 4 user group 128 Jun 28 2018 Applications lrwxr-xr-x 1 user group 22 Jul 10 2018 tmp -> /Volumes/SD/user/tmp lrwxr-xr-x 1 user group 28 Jul 10 2018 Downloads -> /Volumes/SD/user/Downloads drwxr-xr-x 3 user group 96 Aug 4 2018 System drwx------+ 6 user group 192 Jun 25 15:18 Pictures lrwx------@ 1 user group 43 Jun 25 15:22 Documents -> Library/CloudStorage/iCloud Drive/Documents lrwx------@ 1 user group 41 Jun 25 15:22 Desktop -> Library/CloudStorage/iCloud Drive/Desktop drwx------+ 6 user group 192 Jun 25 16:13 Music drwx------@ 83 user group 2656 Jun 27 14:11 Library drwx------+ 6 user group 192 Jul 4 11:47 Movies drwx------@ 19 user group 608 Jul 4 15:18 Dropbox drwxr-xr-x 12 user group 384 Jul 21 09:50 Workspace