Quick Tip

Tame Your Terminal: Unmask Hidden Files with `ls -A`

Challenge: When listing directory contents with `ls`, hidden files (those starting with a dot `.`) are not shown by default, making it hard to see the complete picture of your files.

The Solution: Use the `-A` (or `–almost-all`) option with the `ls` command.

ls -A

Why it works: The `-A` flag tells `ls` to list all entries except for `.` (current directory) and `..` (parent directory), effectively revealing all hidden files and directories.

Pro-Tip: For an even more visually organized output, pipe the results of `ls -A` to the `tree` command: ls -A | tree

Linux Tips & Tricks | © ngelinux.com | 6/2/2026