lla

Modern, customizable, feature-rich and extensible `ls` replacement.
Documentation · Features · Installation · Display Formats · Command Reference

Overview

lla is a modern ls replacement that transforms how developers interact with their filesystem. Built with Rust's performance capabilities and designed with user experience in mind, lla combines the familiarity of ls with powerful features like specialized views, Git integration, and a robust plugin system with an extensible list of plugins to add more functionality.

Features

Multiple Views: Default clean view, long format, tree structure, table layout, grid display
Git Integration: Built-in status visualization and repository insights
Advanced Organization: Timeline view, storage analysis, recursive exploration
Smart Navigation: Interactive directory jumper with bookmarks and history
Smart Search: complex filtering patterns (OR, AND, NOT, XOR), regex support, content search
Customization: Plugin system, theme manager, custom shortcuts, configurable display
High Performance: Built with Rust, modern UI, clean listings
Smart Sorting: Multiple criteria, directory-first option, natural sorting
Flexible Config: Easy initialization, plugin management, configuration tools
Rich Plugin Ecosystem: File ops and metadata enhancements, code analysis, git tools, and more

Installation

Using Installation Script

The easiest way to install lla is using our installation script:

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/chaqchase/lla/main/install.sh | bash

This script will automatically:

Detect your OS and architecture
Download the appropriate binary
Verify the checksum
Install lla to /usr/local/bin

Using Package Manager

Package Manager / Platform	Command
Cargo	`cargo install lla`
macOS (Homebrew)	`brew install lla`
Arch Linux (paru)	`paru -S lla`
NetBSD (pkgin)	`pkgin install lla`
X-CMD	`x install lla`

Manual Installation

# Manual - Example is for amd64 GNU, replaces the file names if downloading for a different arch.
wget -c https://github.com/triyanox/lla/releases/download/<version>/<lla-<os>-<arch>> -O lla # Example /v0.3.9/lla-linux-amd64
sudo chmod +x lla
sudo chown root:root lla
sudo mv lla /usr/local/bin/lla

Post Installation

After installation, initialize your setup:

# Create default config
lla init

# View your config
lla config

Display Formats

Core Views

Default View

Clean, distraction-free listing for quick directory scans:

lla

Long Format

Rich metadata display for detailed file analysis:

lla -l

Options and tweaks:

Hide the group column (useful on single-user systems):
```
lla -l --hide-group
```
Show relative dates (e.g., "2h ago"):
```
lla -l --relative-dates
```

To make these defaults, add to your config (~/.config/lla/config.toml):

[formatters.long]
hide_group = true
relative_dates = true

Tree Structure

Hierarchical exploration of directory relationships:

lla -t -d 3  # Navigate up to 3 levels deep

Archive Introspection

List archive contents as a virtual directory (no extraction). Supported: .zip, .tar, .tar.gz, .tgz.

lla my_archive.zip -t    # tree view
lla project.tar.gz -l    # long view
lla my_archive.tgz --json
lla my_archive.zip -l -f ".rs"  # filter by extension on internal paths

Single-file Listing

You can pass a single file path to list it directly with any view or machine output:

lla README.md          # default view
lla Cargo.toml -l      # long view
lla src/main.rs --json # machine output

Enhanced Organization

Table Layout

Structured view optimized for data comparison:

lla -T

Grid Display

Space-efficient layout for dense directories:

lla -g                  # Basic grid view
lla -g --grid-ignore    # Grid view ignoring terminal width (Warning: may extend beyond screen)

Note: Grid output no longer appends a trailing blank newline.

Specialized Views

Git Integration

Smart repository insights:

lla -G

Timeline Organization

Chronological file tracking:

lla --timeline

Storage Analysis

Visual disk usage insights:

lla -S # use --include-dirs to calculate directories sizes

Advanced Navigation

Jump-to-Directory (Interactive Directory Jumper)

Quickly navigate to bookmarked or recently visited directories with an interactive keyboard-driven prompt:

# One-time setup for seamless directory jumping
lla jump --setup

# Interactive directory selection
lla jump

# Add directory to bookmarks
lla jump --add ~/projects/my-app

# Remove bookmark
lla jump --remove ~/projects/my-app

# List all bookmarks and recent history
lla jump --list

# Clear history
lla jump --clear-history

Features:

Interactive Selection: Arrow keys and Enter to select from bookmarked and recent directories
Smart History: Automatically records directory visits (respects exclude_paths)
Bookmarks: Add favorite directories for quick access
Deduplication: No duplicate entries in history
Shell Integration: Works seamlessly with shell commands like cd

How it works:

Bookmarks (marked with ★) appear first in the selection list
Recent directories follow, showing directory name and full path
Use arrow keys to navigate, Enter to select
The selected path is printed to stdout for shell integration
History is automatically maintained as you navigate directories

Shell Integration Setup:

Since lla runs as a child process, it cannot directly change your shell's working directory. To enable seamless directory jumping, run the automatic setup:

lla jump --setup

This will automatically detect your shell (bash, zsh, or fish) and add the necessary function to your shell configuration file. After setup, restart your terminal or run source ~/.zshrc (or equivalent for your shell).

Then use j to jump to directories interactively!

Examples:

# One-time setup (auto-detects your shell)
lla jump --setup

# shell override
lla jump --setup --shell fish

# Navigate to a frequently used directory (after setup)
j

# Add your project directories to bookmarks
lla jump --add ~/dev/my-project
lla jump --add ~/work/client-app
lla jump --add ~/personal/blog

# View all your saved locations
lla jump --list

Fuzzy Search (Experimental)

Interactive file discovery with multi-select and batch actions:

lla --fuzzy

Keyboard shortcuts:

Space: toggle select
Enter: confirm (returns the highlighted file or all selected files)
y: copy selected path(s) to clipboard
o: open selected file(s) with the system opener (open/xdg-open/start)

Deep Directory Exploration (Recursive)

Comprehensive subdirectory listing:

lla -R
lla -R -d 3  # Set exploration depth

The -R option can be integrated with other options to create a more specific view. For example, lla -R -l will show a detailed listing of all files and directories in the current directory.

Content Search

Powerful ripgrep-backed content search with syntax highlighting and theme integration:

lla --search "TODO"

Features:

Syntax Highlighting: Code snippets are automatically highlighted based on file extension
Match Indicators: Bright yellow carets (^^^) point to exact match locations
Context Control: Configurable context lines around matches (--search-context)
Theme Integration: Colors adapt to your current lla theme
Safe by Default: Uses literal string matching; add regex: prefix for regex patterns
Filter Integration: Honors all existing filters, exclude paths, and dotfile settings

Examples:

# Basic content search
lla --search "main()"

# Search with more context
lla --search "TODO" --search-context 5

# Regex search
lla --search "regex:^func.*\("

# Search in specific file types
lla --search "Error" --filter ".rs"

# Case-sensitive search
lla --search "Error" --case-sensitive

# Machine output formats
lla --search "FIXME" --json
lla --search "TODO" --csv

Output Format:

Each match shows:

File path with themed colors
Syntax-highlighted code snippet with line numbers
Bright yellow carets (^^^) marking exact match positions
Configurable context lines before and after matches

Integration:

Works with all existing filters (--filter, --files-only, etc.)
Respects exclude_paths configuration
Honors dotfile settings (--no-dotfiles, --almost-all)
Supports machine output formats (--json, --ndjson, --csv)

Machine Output

Stable, streaming machine-readable formats are available. These modes keep existing listing filters/sorts/depth behavior; only the output changes.

--json: Output a single JSON array (streamed). Use --pretty to pretty print.
--ndjson: Output newline-delimited JSON, one object per line.
--csv: Output CSV with a header row.

Flags are mutually exclusive. --pretty only affects --json.

JSON/NDJSON schema (stable fields):

{
  "path": "src/main.rs",
  "name": "main.rs",
  "extension": "rs" | null,
  "file_type": "file" | "dir" | "symlink" | "other",
  "size_bytes": 1234,
  "modified": "2024-05-01T12:34:56Z",
  "created": "..." | null,
  "accessed": "..." | null,
  "mode_octal": "0644",
  "owner_user": "mohamed" | null,
  "owner_group": "staff" | null,
  "inode": 1234567 | null,
  "hard_links": 1 | null,
  "symlink_target": "..." | null,
  "is_hidden": false,
  "git_status": "M." | null,
  "plugin": { /* plugin-provided fields, if any */ }
}

CSV columns (v1):

path,name,extension,file_type,size_bytes,modified,created,accessed,mode_octal,owner_user,owner_group,inode,hard_links,symlink_target,is_hidden,git_status

Examples:

lla --json --pretty
lla --ndjson
lla --csv

Command Reference

Display Options

Basic Views

Command	Short	Description	Example
(default)		List current directory	`lla`
`--long`	`-l`	Detailed file information with metadata	`lla -l`
`--tree`	`-t`	Hierarchical directory visualization	`lla -t`
`--table`	`-T`	Structured data display	`lla -T`
`--grid`	`-g`	Organized grid layout you can use `-g --grid-ignore` to ignore terminal width (Warning: may extend beyond screen)	`lla -g`

Advanced Views

Command	Short	Description	Example
`--sizemap`	`-S`	Visual representation of file sizes	`lla -S` `lla -S --include-dirs`
`--timeline`		Group files by time periods	`lla --timeline`
`--git`	`-G`	Show git status and information	`lla -G`
`--fuzzy`	`-F`	Interactive fuzzy finder (Experimental)	`lla --fuzzy`
`--recursive`	`-R`	Recursive listing format	`lla -R` `lla -R -d 3`

Navigation Commands

Command	Description	Example
`lla jump --setup`	Auto-setup shell integration	`lla jump --setup`
`lla jump`	Interactive directory jumper	`j` (after setup)
`lla jump --add`	Add directory to bookmarks	`lla jump --add ~/projects/my-app`
`lla jump --remove`	Remove bookmark	`lla jump --remove ~/projects/my-app`
`lla jump --list`	List bookmarks and recent history	`lla jump --list`
`lla jump --clear-history`	Clear directory history	`lla jump --clear-history`

Display Modifiers

Command	Description	Example
`--icons`	Show icons for files and directories	`lla --icons`
`--no-icons`	Hide icons for files and directories	`lla --no-icons`
`--no-color`	Disable all colors in the output	`lla --no-color`
`--permission-format`	Set the format for displaying permissions (symbolic, octal, binary, verbose, compact)	`lla --permission-format octal`

Sort & Filter Options

Sorting

Command	Short	Description	Example
`--sort`	`-s`	Sort files by criteria	`lla -s name` `lla -s size` `lla -s date`
`--sort-reverse`	`-r`	Reverse the sort order	`lla -s size -r`
`--sort-dirs-first`		List directories before files	`lla --sort-dirs-first`
`--sort-case-sensitive`		Enable case-sensitive sorting	`lla --sort-case-sensitive`
`--sort-natural`		Natural number sorting (2.txt before 10.txt)	`lla --sort-natural`

Basic Filtering

Command	Short	Description	Example
`--filter`	`-f`	Filter files by pattern	`lla -f "test"` `lla -f ".rs"`
`--case-sensitive`	`-c`	Enable case-sensitive filtering	`lla -f "test" -c`
`--depth`	`-d`	Set the depth for tree listing	`lla -t -d 3` `lla -d 2`

Content Search

Command	Description	Example
`--search`	Search file contents for pattern (ripgrep)	`lla --search "TODO"`
`--search-context`	Number of context lines (default: 2)	`lla --search "TODO" --search-context 3`

Content search uses literal string matching by default (safe for special characters). Use regex: prefix for regex patterns:

# Literal search (default) - safe for any characters
lla --search "main()"
lla --search "TODO: fix bug"

# Regex search - use regex: prefix
lla --search "regex:^func.*\("

# Search in specific file types
lla --search "TODO" --filter ".rs"

# Case-sensitive search
lla src/ --search "Error" --case-sensitive

# Search with machine output
lla --search "FIXME" --json

Advanced Filtering Patterns

Filter Type	Example	Description
OR Operation	`lla -f "test,spec"`	Match files containing either "test" or "spec"
AND Operation	`lla -f "+test,api"`	Match files containing both "test" and "api"
Regular Expression	`lla -f "regex:^test.*\.rs$"`	Rust files starting with "test"
Glob Pattern	`lla -f "glob:*.{rs,toml}"`	Match .rs or .toml files
Composite AND	`lla -f "test AND .rs"`	Logical AND operation
Composite OR	`lla -f "test OR spec"`	Logical OR operation
Composite NOT	`lla -f "NOT test"`	Logical NOT operation
Composite XOR	`lla -f "test XOR spec"`	Logical XOR operation

View Filters

Show Only Filters

Command	Description	Example
`--dirs-only`	Show only directories	`lla --dirs-only`
`--files-only`	Show only regular files	`lla --files-only`
`--symlinks-only`	Show only symbolic links	`lla --symlinks-only`
`--dotfiles-only`	Show only dot files and directories	`lla --dotfiles-only`

Hide Filters

Command	Description	Example
`--no-dirs`	Hide directories	`lla --no-dirs`
`--no-files`	Hide regular files	`lla --no-files`
`--no-symlinks`	Hide symbolic links	`lla --no-symlinks`
`--no-dotfiles`	Hide dot files and directories	`lla --no-dotfiles`

Combined Filters

Description	Example
Show only dot directories	`lla --dirs-only --dotfiles-only`
Show only regular files, excluding dot files	`lla --files-only --no-dotfiles`

Plugin Management

Installation

Command	Description	Example
`install`	Install from latest prebuilt release (default)	`lla install`
`install --prebuilt`	Install from latest prebuilt release	`lla install --prebuilt`
`install --git`	Install from Git repository	`lla install --git https://github.com/user/plugin`
`install --dir`	Install from local directory	`lla install --dir path/to/plugin`

Plugin Controls

Command	Description	Example
`use`	Interactive plugin manager	`lla use`
`--enable-plugin`	Enable specific plugins	`lla --enable-plugin name`
`--disable-plugin`	Disable specific plugins	`lla --disable-plugin name`
`update`	Update plugins	`lla update` `lla update file_tagger`
`plugin`	Run plugin actions	`lla plugin --name file_tagger --action add-tag --args README.md "important"`

Shortcut Management

Command	Description	Example
`shortcut add`	Add a new shortcut	`lla shortcut add find file_finder search -d "Quick file search"`
`shortcut remove`	Remove a shortcut	`lla shortcut remove find`
`shortcut list`	List all shortcuts	`lla shortcut list`

Configuration & Setup

Command	Description	Example
`init`	Initialize the configuration file	`lla init`
`config`	View or modify configuration	`lla config`
`theme`	Interactive theme manager	`lla theme`
`theme pull`	Pull the built-in themes	`lla theme pull`
`theme install`	Install theme from file/directory	`lla theme install /path/to/theme.toml` `lla theme install /path/to/themes/`
`completion`	Generate shell completion scripts	`lla completion bash`
`clean`	Clean up invalid plugins	`lla clean`

General Options

Command	Short	Description
`--help`	`-h`	Print help information
`--version`	`-V`	Print version information

Note For detailed usage and examples of each command, visit the lla documentation.

Excluding Paths (macOS iCloud and others)

You can exclude heavy or virtualized directories from listings via the config key exclude_paths.

Example (~/.config/lla/config.toml):

# Paths to exclude from listings (tilde is supported)
exclude_paths = [
  "~/Library/Mobile Documents", # iCloud Drive
  "~/Library/CloudStorage"      # Other cloud providers
]

Notes:

Tilde ~ is expanded to your home directory.
Exclusions are honored in recursive listings and top-level listings.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 478 Commits
.github/workflows		.github/workflows
completions		completions
lla		lla
lla_plugin_interface		lla_plugin_interface
lla_plugin_utils		lla_plugin_utils
plugins		plugins
scripts		scripts
themes		themes
.envrc		.envrc
.gitignore		.gitignore
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
Cargo.lock		Cargo.lock
Cargo.toml		Cargo.toml
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
default.nix		default.nix
flake.lock		flake.lock
flake.nix		flake.nix
install.sh		install.sh
nfpm.yaml		nfpm.yaml
plugins.md		plugins.md
rust-toolchain.toml		rust-toolchain.toml
shell.nix		shell.nix

License

chaqchase/lla

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lla

Overview

Features

Installation

Using Installation Script

Using Package Manager

Manual Installation

Post Installation

Display Formats

Core Views

Default View

Long Format

Tree Structure

Archive Introspection

Single-file Listing

Enhanced Organization

Table Layout

Grid Display

Specialized Views

Git Integration

Timeline Organization

Storage Analysis

Advanced Navigation

Jump-to-Directory (Interactive Directory Jumper)

Fuzzy Search (Experimental)

Deep Directory Exploration (Recursive)

Content Search

Machine Output

Command Reference

Display Options

Basic Views

Advanced Views

Navigation Commands

Display Modifiers

Sort & Filter Options

Sorting

Basic Filtering

Content Search

Advanced Filtering Patterns

View Filters

Show Only Filters

Hide Filters

Combined Filters

Plugin Management

Installation

Plugin Controls

Shortcut Management

Configuration & Setup

General Options

Excluding Paths (macOS iCloud and others)

License

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