How to create ls in windows command prompt?

Question

I want to use ls in windows command prompt and make it run the dir command.

How can I do that?

Some of the answers are quite interesting, but what exactly is wrong with the 'dir' command? — Matt Donnan, Feb 20 '12 at 14:45
@MattDonnan I'm just used to ls and I make a *funny* face when I make it on windows. Not anymore ^^ — aF., Feb 20 '12 at 14:52
@aF. I'm using Windows 7, but I run ls on any Windows version. I'm not saying that Windows comes with ls, just that it being open source, and having good Windows ports, it's trivial to run it on Windows. Look at GnuWin32. — David Heffernan, Nov 05 '13 at 15:54

score 306 · Answer 1 · edited Feb 13 '18 at 00:13

306

You can solve this question with one simple command:

echo @dir %* > %systemroot%\system32\ls.bat

Make sure you run cmd.exe as admin first if you are on vista and up

edited Feb 13 '18 at 00:13

Cory Charlton

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answered Feb 23 '13 at 17:35

secghost

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This is better because you can still use the dir options. – ajon Nov 12 '13 at 00:03
when i execute it it tells me access denied in windows 10. i gave write access to my user but yet didnt work. any idea? – DragonKnight Dec 02 '15 at 00:49
It works for me in Windows10 (but you have to use a command line that has administrator privilege – Pierre Poliakoff Dec 25 '15 at 22:45
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while you're at it you may also want to add: echo cls %1 > %systemroot%\system32\clear.bat – david.barkhuizen Dec 31 '15 at 16:00
to use clear comand instead cls `echo cls > %systemroot%\system32\clear.bat` – D4ITON Mar 10 '22 at 23:55

score 122 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 20 '12 at 14:32

122

You could:

create a batch file called ls.bat and have it contain the dir command only
add the directory where the ls.bat file exists to your PATH environment variable

You could then execute ls from a command prompt.

answered Feb 20 '12 at 14:32

hmjd

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why not put the ls.bat in system32 folder so you don't have to add the PATH – David 天宇 Wong Jun 25 '13 at 08:03
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@David天宇Wong, it is very possible that the user may not have write access to that folder. – hmjd Jun 25 '13 at 08:08
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does this still work if you use it with args: `ls dir` ? I think you would need to modify the `ls.bat` to handle args... or you could try aliases: http://superuser.com/questions/49170/create-an-alias-in-windows-xp – nicorellius Aug 30 '13 at 17:42
I like: @echo off\ndir /w %1% to get closer to ls format – mrcrowl Apr 12 '15 at 04:37
excellent answer, it shouldn't be possible to comment on this ;-) – SanThee Jun 10 '17 at 19:07
You could also install cygwin and use the ls there :> – information_interchange Jul 08 '18 at 06:14

score 42 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 25 '13 at 08:35

42

Its an old question but for the record:

http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/coreutils.htm

Gives you ls and a whole lot more!

answered Apr 25 '13 at 08:35

sipickles

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+1 `ls *` and `dir *` don't do the same thing, so aliasing dir is a bit pants. – Pete Kirkham May 13 '13 at 15:39
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This is the best answer. Ignore the voting and do this. – demented hedgehog May 22 '14 at 02:26
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don't forget to add `C:\Program Files (x86)\GnuWin32\bin` to your path – omikes Apr 10 '18 at 18:24

varagrawal · Answer 4 · 2017-05-22T23:50:44.307

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Easiest way I have found is:

Install Git for Windows
Add the bin directory of Git to your Path variable. Mine was located in C:\Program Files\Git\usr\bin.
Start a command prompt and enjoy ls in all its glory.

edited May 22 '17 at 23:50

answered Nov 28 '14 at 13:30

varagrawal

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Great suggestion that gives access to full functionality of `ls` and all it's optional arguments. Just a slight update, I have installed the latest version of git for windows and the _ls.exe_ can now be found in C:\Program Files\Git\ **usr** \bin – phil Nov 24 '16 at 06:21
Yes, or just start bash.exe in git folder (instead of cmd) and enjoy a ~complete shell (with ls). – Johan Oct 31 '17 at 11:08
git bash is hideous, i like the path option – omikes Apr 10 '18 at 18:26

score 18 · Answer 5 · edited Mar 20 '17 at 10:04

18

I have a solution but it's dirty:

Create a file named ls.bat containing only "dir".

Put it in C:\windows\system32 (or any directory in PATH env var).

That (should) works!

Edit: Something more consistent: https://superuser.com/questions/49170/create-an-alias-in-windows-xp

edited Mar 20 '17 at 10:04

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answered Feb 20 '12 at 14:32

STM

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score 9 · Answer 6 · answered Feb 27 '16 at 02:58

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If you have Node.js installed on your system, you can install it from Cash, a library I wrote for Linux commands on Windows:

npm install cash-ls -g

answered Feb 27 '16 at 02:58

dthree

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best solution ever for linux user on windows, `npm install cash-global -g` . Would be great to add `ls -l` as `ll` (LL) also. – user2925656 Mar 14 '17 at 07:31
Its a saviour mate – jackD May 16 '17 at 20:40

buster · Answer 7 · 2013-07-04T15:09:24.080

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Windows command prompt for Vista/7 will allow NTFS symbolic links, run cmd.exe as administrator then:

mklink ls %System%\dir.exe

Then set up your PATH environment variable to include the location of the link you just created.

If you want more than just the 'ls' command, you should look into cygwin.

EDIT- Just realized dir.exe is not a separate program, so this doesn't really work. But mklink and cygwin are good things to know about.

edited Jul 04 '13 at 15:09

answered Feb 20 '12 at 14:34

buster

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+1, I forgot to say that was windows xp but that is good for windows vista/7 :) – aF. Feb 20 '12 at 14:38

score 5 · Answer 8 · edited Jun 30 '14 at 23:03

5

my ls.bat was below

@dir %*

that can transfer cli args

ls /b
ls /w

put it in %windir% or any directory in your %PATH% variable.

Just make sure you save the file with ANSI encoding :)

edited Jun 30 '14 at 23:03

Community

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answered Dec 12 '13 at 04:01

IlPADlI

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score 5 · Answer 9 · edited Mar 20 '17 at 10:18

+1 on the post above suggesting to install git for windows and add the directory bin to your path variables.

Another way I got touch, ls, and a lot of other UNIX commands working in cmd.exe on my Windows 8 and Windows 7 machines.

Go to the following site to install Cygwin

https://www.cygwin.com/install.html

Install the 32 or 64 bit version for your system. The default settings and packages should include what you need so you don't have to change anything once you get to the packages screen.

After installation, copy the Cygwin folder path to your environment path variables. For example; if you installed cygwin to C:\Cygwin, you will add the following to your environment system path variables:

;C:\Cygwin\bin

On my system I installed the 64bit version and the default folder name and path was C:\cygwin64. So i added the following to my system environment path variables:

;C:\cygwin64\bin

Restart your terminal if it's open. Then type ls and you'll see a directory listing.

See the following if you are not familiar with setting PATH environment variables:

Superuser Link 1

Superuser Link 2

score 5 · Answer 10 · edited Mar 20 '17 at 10:18

5

If you just want to have cmd recognize ls as an alias for dir, you can use the doskey command (from this answer on superuser).

This does not change the original command line parameter handling of the dir command.

edited Mar 20 '17 at 10:18

Community

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answered Feb 20 '12 at 14:34

devio

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score 3 · Answer 11 · answered Sep 14 '20 at 13:15

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The most easiest way is

install git
add C:\Program Files\Git\usr\bin to your path variable

now you can use ls

answered Sep 14 '20 at 13:15

score 3 · Answer 12 · answered Feb 20 '12 at 14:43

3

you could also use cygwin and just use the ls command directly along with all the other unix command line tools you might be used to.

answered Feb 20 '12 at 14:43

Nerdtron

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score 2 · Answer 13 · edited May 23 '17 at 10:31

I recommend the following recipe.

Use DOSKEY and $* to create your ls command.
Make the command persistent by recording it in a .bat/.cmd file and add the path of the file to registry.

For example, your command may look like
DOSKEY ls=dir
DOSKEY sublime="C:\Program Files\Sublime Text 2\sublime_text" $*
$* is useful for commands that take on arguments. For example, here I like to be able to do sublime my_code.c.

The registry for cmd is at HKEY_CURRENT_USER -> Software -> Microsoft -> Command Processor. Create a string valued entry called AutoRun with the full path of the file (not the containing folder) such as %USERPROFILE%\custom_command.cmd. Then each time cmd is run, your command will be loaded!

You can add more useful stuffs to the batch file too. See here for an example template.

score 2 · Answer 14 · answered Dec 19 '17 at 17:40

Another solution that worked for me is to use UnxUtils, which adds multiple utilities from executable files (including ls, sed, and grep).

To use: download source code. Unzip. Add the UnxUtils\usr\local\wbin path to the Windows PATH variable. Start a new CMD instance.

score 1 · Answer 15 · answered Jul 22 '19 at 12:05

Someone who uses Linux Subsystem for Windows could call ls from the Linux bash. The following Command creates the ls Command in System32:

echo @bash -c "ls %*" > %systemroot%\system32\ls.bat

(The Linux Subsystem feature must be enabled/installed first)

score 0 · Answer 16 · answered Jun 30 '17 at 15:24

You could follow this guide: https://gist.github.com/vladikoff/38307908088d58af206b

TL;DR: pass /K path/to/custom/init_cmd.bat to your "shell startup" command.

I'm using ConsoleZ as my shell wrapper, so in my case I can find the setup option in "tabs", then I set the shell path to "C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe "/K C:\cmd_init.bat"" like this.

Where C:\cmd_init.bat is the batch script containing my macros, here's what I would go for:

@echo off

doskey ls=dir /b
rem other macro stuff..

Sorry for formatting and other mistakes, this is my first time answering here. I hope it helps!

score 0 · Answer 17 · answered Nov 25 '20 at 21:07

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Create an alias in .bat or .cmd file using doskey key:

@echo off
title "ls command cmd bar"
doskey ls=echo off $T dir $* $T echo on

Enjoy =)

answered Nov 25 '20 at 21:07

Bk01

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score -1 · Answer 18 · answered Dec 17 '13 at 16:10

-1

Surely ls would not work as a unix command for the batches. If you check %1 for -l or -a etc. and all combinations of them, it would work...

answered Dec 17 '13 at 16:10

docowhocool

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score -3 · Answer 19 · edited Jun 02 '17 at 19:28

-3

Here is my C# source code and binary.

Just add ls.exe somewhere and add the path to the path environment variable.

edited Jun 02 '17 at 19:28

Nathan Tuggy

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answered Jun 02 '17 at 18:48

user3880586

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A binary is unnecessary. Just use a symlink or bat file. – Christopher Schneider Jul 20 '17 at 15:12
!! What a complicated way to go with .. "I need to kill that dumb fly that's been bothering me."-- "OK Frank, lock the doors and seal the windows, I've got a bug bomb, it'll take 8 hours" – Zak Oct 04 '22 at 21:20

How to create ls in windows command prompt?

19 Answers19

The most easiest way is

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