The most common type of file is a regular file, which is denoted by f. The -type option tells find which type of files you want to find.To list hidden files, use the -name option with a dot (“.*”) as the argument. The find command can be used to search for files in a directory hierarchy. List hidden files with find command in LinuxĪnother way to list hidden files in Linux is to use the find command with -name and -type option. To view only hidden files, type ls -ld.To view hidden files in a different directory, type ls -a /path/to/directory and press Enter.This will show you all of the files in the current directory, including hidden files. This command will show a long listing of all files in the /etc/ directory, including hidden ones. If you want to see more information about the files, such as file size and when they were last modified, you can use the -l option. The output of this command will show all files in the /etc/ directory, including hidden ones. For example, to list the contents of the /etc/ directory, you would use the following command: If you want to list the contents of a specific directory, you can specify the path to that directory. The output of this command will show all files in the current directory, including hidden ones. This will show all files, including hidden ones. The easiest way to list hidden files in Linux is to use the ls command with the -a option. List hidden files with ls command in Linux If someone else got access to this file, they would be able to see all of your command history. bash_history file mentioned earlier contains a list of all the commands that have been entered in the Bash shell. Some hidden files may contain sensitive information that the user doesn’t want others to see.įor example, the. Or, you may be trying to troubleshoot an issue on your system and need to view log files that are hidden.Īnother reason you might want to list hidden files in Linux is to protect the privacy of the user. For example, you may want to view or edit a configuration file that is normally hidden. There are a few reasons why you might want to list hidden files in Linux. Why would I want to list hidden files in Linux? It’s hidden because it’s a system file and you don’t need to see it unless you’re troubleshooting a problem. This is a file that contains a list of all the commands that have been entered in the Bash shell. The name of the hidden files usually starts with a period(.).Īn example of a hidden file in Linux is the. They are hidden from view for a variety of reasons, such as to protect the privacy of the user or to keep the contents of the file from being accidentally modified. Hidden files are files that are not normally displayed. In this blog post, we will discuss three ways to list hidden files in Linux. By default, Linux does not show hidden files when you list the contents of a directory. Hidden files are those that start with a dot (“.”). In Linux, there are two types of files: regular files and hidden files.

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