lsd — The Next Gen ls Command with Icons and Colors

Introduction

ls is 50 years old and shows its age: cryptic colors, no icons, no git integration, awkward -h --size=K dance. lsd modernizes it by keeping ls's flag compatibility while adding icons (when a Nerd Font is installed), smart coloring, tree view, and per-file-type icons — all in a fast Rust binary.

What lsd Does

• Lists directories with icons, colors, permission, size, date.
• --tree prints a full directory tree with depth limits.
• --blocks lets you pick which columns to display.
• Preserves most GNU ls flags (-la, -S, -t, -r).
• Respects .gitignore when combined with other tools.

Architecture Overview

lsd wraps the standard libc stat and readdir calls, maps file extensions to icons via a bundled table, and colors output based on type using crossterm. Sort, filter, and tree logic live in a single Rust pipeline for predictable performance on large directories.

Self-Hosting & Configuration

• Install via brew, cargo, apt, dnf, pacman, scoop.
• Config file ~/.config/lsd/config.yaml sets default columns, date format, indent width.
• Icon theme ~/.config/lsd/icons.yaml maps extensions → glyphs.
• Color theme ~/.config/lsd/colors.yaml.
• Needs a Nerd Font in terminal for icons.

Key Features

• GNU ls compat — muscle memory transfers.
• Per-extension icons.
• Tree mode without installing tree.
• Configurable columns — size-first, date-first, etc.
• Portable: Linux, macOS, Windows (PowerShell/WT).

Comparison with Similar Tools

• eza (exa fork) — also Rust; slightly broader feature set (git-aware columns).
• ls — POSIX default.
• tree — dedicated tree viewer; lsd covers both.
• nnn/ranger — interactive file managers, different use case.
• bat — pager for files; complementary.

FAQ

Q: No icons showing? A: Install a Nerd Font (Hack, JetBrainsMono NF, Fira Code NF) and set it in the terminal.

Q: Git indicators? A: --blocks git column.

Q: Windows support? A: Yes, via scoop/winget; Windows Terminal recommended.

Q: Customize colors? A: Edit ~/.config/lsd/colors.yaml.

Sources

• https://github.com/lsd-rs/lsd