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Quick Overview
Exa is a modern replacement for the traditional Unix ls command. It provides a more colorful, detailed, and user-friendly output for listing directory contents, with additional features like Git integration and extended file attributes.
Pros
- Colorful and visually appealing output, making it easier to distinguish file types and permissions
- Git integration, showing file statuses in repositories
- Extended file information, including file sizes with units and timestamps
- Customizable output with various view options and sorting capabilities
Cons
- Slower than the traditional
lscommand for very large directories - Requires installation and may not be available on all systems by default
- Some users may find the default output too verbose or cluttered
- Learning curve for users accustomed to traditional
lsoptions and flags
Getting Started
To install exa on macOS using Homebrew:
brew install exa
For Ubuntu or Debian-based systems:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install exa
After installation, you can start using exa by replacing ls commands with exa. For example:
exa # List files in the current directory
exa -l # List files in long format
exa -la # List all files (including hidden) in long format
exa --tree # Display files in a tree structure
exa -l --git # Show Git status for files in a Git repository
For more advanced usage and customization options, refer to the exa documentation or run exa --help for a list of available flags and options.
Competitor Comparisons
The next gen ls command
Pros of lsd
- More active development and maintenance
- Supports more icon themes and customization options
- Better performance for large directories
Cons of lsd
- Fewer command-line options and flags
- Less extensive documentation
- Slightly larger binary size
Code Comparison
Both projects are written in Rust and share similar structures. Here's a brief comparison of their main entry points:
exa
fn main() {
let args = Args::parse();
let options = Options::from(&args);
let output = Output::create(&options);
let filter = Filter::from(&args);
let dir_options = DirOptions::from(&args);
// ...
}
lsd
fn main() {
let matches = cli::build_app().get_matches();
let config = Config::from_matches(&matches);
let mut stdout = StandardStream::stdout(config.color_mode);
let mut stderr = StandardStream::stderr(config.color_mode);
// ...
}
Both projects use command-line argument parsing and configuration structures, but lsd's approach appears more streamlined.
A Ruby gem that beautifies the terminal's ls command, with color and font-awesome icons. :tada:
Pros of colorls
- Written in Ruby, making it easier for Ruby developers to contribute
- Offers more customization options for icons and color schemes
- Includes additional features like file/directory tagging and git status integration
Cons of colorls
- Generally slower performance compared to exa, especially for large directories
- Less actively maintained, with fewer recent updates
- May require additional setup for non-Ruby users
Code Comparison
colorls:
def show_files(files, show_almost_all, sort)
files.sort_by! { |f| f.downcase } if sort
files.each do |f|
@count += 1
next if f.start_with?('.') && !show_almost_all
print_file_info(f)
end
end
exa:
fn print_dir_entry(entry: &DirEntry, options: &Options) -> io::Result<()> {
let mut out = String::new();
if options.long {
write_long_view(entry, &mut out, options)?;
} else {
write_short_view(entry, &mut out, options)?;
}
print!("{}", out);
Ok(())
}
Both projects aim to enhance the ls command with color and icons, but they take different approaches. exa, written in Rust, focuses on performance and UNIX-like behavior, while colorls, written in Ruby, emphasizes customization and additional features. The choice between them may depend on your specific needs and development environment preferences.
A modern alternative to ls
Pros of eza
- Active development and maintenance, with regular updates and bug fixes
- Expanded feature set, including additional file information and sorting options
- Improved performance for large directories
Cons of eza
- Potential compatibility issues with existing exa scripts or aliases
- Learning curve for users familiar with exa's specific options and flags
- Slightly larger binary size due to additional features
Code Comparison
exa:
pub fn print_dir(dir: &Dir, options: &Options) -> io::Result<()> {
let mut files = Vec::new();
for entry in dir.files() {
files.push(entry?);
}
// ... (sorting and filtering logic)
}
eza:
pub fn print_dir(dir: &Dir, options: &Options) -> io::Result<()> {
let mut files = Vec::new();
for entry in dir.files() {
files.push(entry?);
}
// ... (enhanced sorting and filtering logic)
// ... (additional file information processing)
}
Both projects share similar core functionality, but eza includes enhancements and optimizations in its codebase. The main differences lie in the implementation details and additional features rather than fundamental structural changes.
An opinionated Lua code formatter
Pros of StyLua
- Specialized for Lua formatting, offering more tailored options for Lua syntax
- Actively maintained with regular updates and improvements
- Supports configuration through .stylua.toml file for project-specific settings
Cons of StyLua
- Limited to Lua language, while exa is a more versatile file listing tool
- Smaller community and ecosystem compared to exa
- Lacks some advanced features found in exa, such as file metadata display
Code Comparison
StyLua (Lua formatting):
local function example(a, b)
return a + b
end
exa (File listing output):
drwxr-xr-x 10 user group 320B Jun 15 10:00 Documents
.rw-r--r-- 1 user group 14KB Jun 14 09:30 README.md
Summary
StyLua is a specialized Lua formatter, while exa is a modern replacement for the ls command. They serve different purposes, with StyLua focusing on code formatting for Lua and exa providing enhanced file listing capabilities. StyLua offers more Lua-specific features, but exa has a broader application and a larger user base. The choice between them depends on the specific needs of the user - code formatting for Lua projects or improved file system navigation.
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exa is unmaintained, use the fork eza instead.
(This repository isnât archived because the only person with the rights to do so is unreachable).
exa is a modern replacement for the venerable file-listing command-line program ls that ships with Unix and Linux operating systems, giving it more features and better defaults.
It uses colours to distinguish file types and metadata.
It knows about symlinks, extended attributes, and Git.
And itâs small, fast, and just one single binary.
By deliberately making some decisions differently, exa attempts to be a more featureful, more user-friendly version of ls.
For more information, see exaâs website.
Command-line options
exaâs options are almost, but not quite, entirely unlike lsâs.
Display options
- -1, --oneline: display one entry per line
- -G, --grid: display entries as a grid (default)
- -l, --long: display extended details and attributes
- -R, --recurse: recurse into directories
- -T, --tree: recurse into directories as a tree
- -x, --across: sort the grid across, rather than downwards
- -F, --classify: display type indicator by file names
- --colo[u]r: when to use terminal colours
- --colo[u]r-scale: highlight levels of file sizes distinctly
- --icons: display icons
- --no-icons: don't display icons (always overrides --icons)
Filtering options
- -a, --all: show hidden and 'dot' files
- -d, --list-dirs: list directories like regular files
- -L, --level=(depth): limit the depth of recursion
- -r, --reverse: reverse the sort order
- -s, --sort=(field): which field to sort by
- --group-directories-first: list directories before other files
- -D, --only-dirs: list only directories
- --git-ignore: ignore files mentioned in
.gitignore - -I, --ignore-glob=(globs): glob patterns (pipe-separated) of files to ignore
Pass the --all option twice to also show the . and .. directories.
Long view options
These options are available when running with --long (-l):
- -b, --binary: list file sizes with binary prefixes
- -B, --bytes: list file sizes in bytes, without any prefixes
- -g, --group: list each fileâs group
- -h, --header: add a header row to each column
- -H, --links: list each fileâs number of hard links
- -i, --inode: list each fileâs inode number
- -m, --modified: use the modified timestamp field
- -S, --blocks: list each fileâs number of file system blocks
- -t, --time=(field): which timestamp field to use
- -u, --accessed: use the accessed timestamp field
- -U, --created: use the created timestamp field
- -@, --extended: list each fileâs extended attributes and sizes
- --changed: use the changed timestamp field
- --git: list each fileâs Git status, if tracked or ignored
- --time-style: how to format timestamps
- --no-permissions: suppress the permissions field
- --octal-permissions: list each file's permission in octal format
- --no-filesize: suppress the filesize field
- --no-user: suppress the user field
- --no-time: suppress the time field
Some of the options accept parameters:
- Valid --color options are always, automatic, and never.
- Valid sort fields are accessed, changed, created, extension, Extension, inode, modified, name, Name, size, type, and none. Fields starting with a capital letter sort uppercase before lowercase. The modified field has the aliases date, time, and newest, while its reverse has the aliases age and oldest.
- Valid time fields are modified, changed, accessed, and created.
- Valid time styles are default, iso, long-iso, and full-iso.
Installation
exa is available for macOS and Linux. More information on how to install exa is available on the Installation page.
Alpine Linux
On Alpine Linux, enable community repository and install the exa package.
apk add exa
Arch Linux
On Arch, install the exa package.
pacman -S exa
Android / Termux
On Android / Termux, install the exa package.
pkg install exa
Debian
On Debian, install the exa package.
apt install exa
Fedora
On Fedora, install the exa package.
dnf install exa
Gentoo
On Gentoo, install the sys-apps/exa package.
emerge sys-apps/exa
Homebrew
If youâre using Homebrew on macOS, install the exa formula.
brew install exa
MacPorts
If you're using MacPorts on macOS, install the exa port.
port install exa
Nix
On nixOS, install the exa package.
nix-env -i exa
openSUSE
On openSUSE, install the exa package.
zypper install exa
Ubuntu
On Ubuntu 20.10 (Groovy Gorilla) and later, install the exa package.
sudo apt install exa
Void Linux
On Void Linux, install the exa package.
xbps-install -S exa
Manual installation from GitHub
Compiled binary versions of exa are uploaded to GitHub when a release is made.
You can install exa manually by downloading a release, extracting it, and copying the binary to a directory in your $PATH, such as /usr/local/bin.
For more information, see the Manual Installation page.
Cargo
If you already have a Rust environment set up, you can use the cargo install command:
cargo install exa
Cargo will build the exa binary and place it in $HOME/.cargo.
To build without Git support, run cargo install --no-default-features exa is also available, if the requisite dependencies are not installed.
Development
exa is written in Rust. You will need rustc version 1.66.1 or higher. The recommended way to install Rust for development is from the official download page, using rustup.
Once Rust is installed, you can compile exa with Cargo:
cargo build
cargo test
-
The just command runner can be used to run some helpful development commands, in a manner similar to
make. Runjust --listto get an overview of whatâs available. -
If you are compiling a copy for yourself, be sure to run
cargo build --releaseorjust build-releaseto benefit from release-mode optimisations. Copy the resulting binary, which will be in thetarget/releasedirectory, into a folder in your$PATH./usr/local/binis usually a good choice. -
To compile and install the manual pages, you will need pandoc. The
just mancommand will compile the Markdown into manual pages, which it will place in thetarget/mandirectory. To use them, copy them into a directory thatmanwill read./usr/local/share/manis usually a good choice. -
exa depends on libgit2 for certain features. If youâre unable to compile libgit2, you can opt out of Git support by running
cargo build --no-default-features. -
If you intend to compile for musl, you will need to use the flag
vendored-opensslif you want to get the Git feature working. The full command iscargo build --release --target=x86_64-unknown-linux-musl --features vendored-openssl,git.
For more information, see the Building from Source page.
Testing with Vagrant
exa uses Vagrant to configure virtual machines for testing.
Programs such as exa that are basically interfaces to the system are notoriously difficult to test. Although the internal components have unit tests, itâs impossible to do a complete end-to-end test without mandating the current userâs name, the time zone, the locale, and directory structure to test. (And yes, these tests are worth doing. I have missed an edge case on many an occasion.)
The initial attempt to solve the problem was just to create a directory of âawkwardâ test cases, run exa on it, and make sure it produced the correct output. But even this output would change if, say, the userâs locale formats dates in a different way. These can be mocked inside the code, but at the cost of making that code more complicated to read and understand.
An alternative solution is to fake everything: create a virtual machine with a known state and run the tests on that. This is what Vagrant does. Although it takes a while to download and set up, it gives everyone the same development environment to test for any obvious regressions.
First, initialise the VM:
host$ vagrant up
The first command downloads the virtual machine image, and then runs our provisioning script, which installs Rust and exaâs build-time dependencies, configures the environment, and generates some awkward files and folders to use as test cases. Once this is done, you can SSH in, and build and test:
host$ vagrant ssh
vm$ cd /vagrant
vm$ cargo build
vm$ ./xtests/run
All the tests passed!
Of course, the drawback of having a standard development environment is that you stop noticing bugs that occur outside of it.
For this reason, Vagrant isnât a necessary development step â itâs there if youâd like to use it, but exa still gets used and tested on other platforms.
It can still be built and compiled on any target triple that it supports, VM or no VM, with cargo build and cargo test.
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