Quick Reference Guide — ls-f

A one-page cheat sheet for ls-f users and developers.

🚀 Installation (One Minute)

# User install (no sudo)
./install.sh --user

# System install (requires sudo)
sudo ./install.sh --system

# Or one-liner
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/swadhin-biswas/ls-f/main/install.sh | bash

📖 Quick Commands

lsf              # List files with icons (grid view)
lsf -a           # List all files (including hidden)
lsf -A           # Hidden files without . and ..
lsf -b           # Show names with C-style escapes
lsf -x           # List entries by lines (horizontal)
lsf -T 4         # Align columns with tab width of 4
lsf -Z           # Display SELinux/AppArmor security context
lsf --zero       # Output entries delimited by NUL (for scripting)
lsf -l           # Long format
lsf -la          # Long + all files
lsf -R           # Recursive listing
lsf -t           # Sort by time
lsf -S           # Sort by size
lsf -X           # Sort by extension
lsf --help       # Show help
lsf --version    # Show version
lsf --no-icons   # Disable icons

🎨 Customize Icons

Edit ~/.config/lsf/lsf.conf:

# Python icon
ICONS[".py"]=""
COLORS[".py"]="92"  # Bright green

# Directory icon
ICONS["dir"]=""
COLORS["dir"]="94"  # Bright blue

# JSON icon
ICONS[".json"]=""
COLORS[".json"]="36"  # Cyan

Color Codes: 30-37 (normal), 90-97 (bright), 38;5;N (256-color), 38;2;R;G;B (RGB)

⚙️ Installation Options

🔗 Set Up Alias

Bash (~/.bashrc)

alias ls='lsf'
source ~/.bashrc

Zsh (~/.zshrc)

alias ls='lsf'
source ~/.zshrc

Fish (~/.config/fish/config.fish)

alias ls='lsf'

🔧 Troubleshooting

📚 Documentation

• Website: Open index.html
• Installation: See docs/INSTALLATION.md
• Configuration: See docs/CONFIGURATION.md
• Troubleshooting: See docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md
• Overview: See README.md

🎯 Common Use Cases

Replace system ls

sudo ./install.sh --system --replace-ls
alias ls='lsf'  # Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc

Install for current user only

./install.sh --user
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"  # Add to ~/.bashrc

Customize all Python files purple

# Edit ~/.config/lsf/lsf.conf
ICONS[".py"]=""
COLORS[".py"]="35"  # Magenta/Purple

Use without icons

lsf --no-icons
# OR disable Nerd Fonts permanently:
./install.sh --no-font-check

🛠️ Uninstall

# Remove files
rm ~/.local/bin/lsf ~/.local/bin/column.py        # User
sudo rm /usr/local/bin/lsf /usr/local/bin/column.py  # System

# Remove config
rm -rf ~/.config/lsf/

# Remove alias
# Edit ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc and remove: alias ls='lsf'

📊 File Type Categories Supported

• Programming: .py, .js, .ts, .rs, .go, .c, .java, etc.
• Config: .json, .yaml, .toml, .xml, .env, .conf
• Docs: .md, .txt, .pdf, .doc
• Media: .png, .jpg, .mp4, .mp3, .zip
• Special: package.json, Dockerfile, LICENSE, .gitignore
• And 100+ more!

🚨 Diagnostics

# Check installation
which lsf
lsf --version

# Check fonts
fc-list | grep -i "Nerd Font"

# Check bash version
echo $BASH_VERSION

# Check Python
python3 --version

# Check PATH
echo $PATH | tr ':' '\n'

# Check alias
alias | grep ls

🌐 Platform Support

💡 Tips

1. Keep it simple: Start with default icons, customize later
2. Use colors consistently: Pick a color scheme and stick with it
3. Test changes: Run lsf after editing config
4. Back up config: Save working configurations
5. Check permissions: Use ls -la ~/.local/bin/ to verify

🆘 Getting Help

• GitHub Issues: https://github.com/swadhinbiswas/ls-f/issues
• Documentation: See docs/ folder
• FAQ: Open index.html in browser

📄 License

MIT License — Use freely, modify, and redistribute.

Last updated: October 16, 2025
For latest docs, visit: https://github.com/swadhinbiswas/ls-f