11 ms·

I use `exa` instead of `ls` on Linux

71 points by feross 6y ago

agustif 6y ago
I prefer k, is the new l yo https://github.com/supercrabtree/k https://github.com/supercrabtree/k
pvitz 6y ago
I am honestly not sure if this is a satire or a serious article.
- helsinki 6y ago
  Yeah, no way I’m replacing ls with something that effectively combines ‘ls -ltrh’, ‘tree -L’, and ‘stat’. It appears the efficiency gain provided by this tool’s interface is a marginal improvement in terms of ‘characters typed’. It’s like combining a bicycle, scooter, and moped, but limiting yourself to a few hundred square feet. Confused. If this is a troll post, it worked, as I am irked.
  - gmemstr 6y ago
    On the other hand, I've had `ls` aliased to `exa` for a while now, and there's been no downsides that I can see. It accepts roughly the same flags and has slightly nicer (or more cluttered, depending who you ask) output.
  - selfhoster11 6y ago
    If the goal is to get an idea of what an unfamiliar directory contains, I can see it being useful. It's less useful if you just want to list files, but exa has that too.
- nyanpasu64 6y ago
  I think opensource.com is a content farm (not to be confused with the Open Source Initiative at opensource.org).
  - higerordermap 6y ago
    We joke that they are testing GPT-3 on that site.
- ncmncm 6y ago
  Agree, it is amazing that the example PNGs show dark blue text and ... dark grey? ... on black. This is good how?
forgotpwd16 6y ago
For anyone interested there're a few such tools that are modern alternatives to traditional Unix utilities. Interestingly all written in Rust. grep -> ripgrep (command `rg`) find -> fd sed -> sd diff -> delta ls -> exa && lsd cat -> bat wc -> cw du -> dust ps -> procs top -> ytop (**edit** archived; author recommends `bottom`) They all offer their own modern take but I'll say the first two, which are the only ones I'm using, are the most interesting. Both ripgrep and fd offer easier usage. The ripgrep is also an ack replacement and fd can also replace parallel (even has compatible syntax). The amazing part is that both are an order of magnitude faster their counterparts. The ripgrep dev has extended analysis for how this is achieved on their blog[0]. [0]: https://blog.burntsushi.net/ripgrep/ https://blog.burntsushi.net/ripgrep/
- guiambros 6y ago
  > find -> fd oh, I loved it! Thanks for sharing. For others interested, here [1]. I still need to check others, but find is the one I use the most anyway. btw, it seems ytop [2] is not being maintained anymore. I use gtop [3], which has the same interface, but was developed in Node instead of Rust. [1] https://github.com/sharkdp/fd https://github.com/sharkdp/fd [2] https://github.com/cjbassi/ytop https://github.com/cjbassi/ytop [3] https://github.com/aksakalli/gtop https://github.com/aksakalli/gtop
  - forgotpwd16 6y ago
    >it seems ytop [2] is not being maintained anymore Indeed, author recommends `bottom` instead so noted that in the list. It appears top has a few alternatives. There's also `gotop` that is written in Go and (now that looks cool) `bashtop` written in Bash.
  - franga2000 6y ago
    Any reason nobody is mentioning good old htop here? Since ytop was pitched as an alternative to top...
    - guiambros 6y ago
techbio 6y ago
Apparently it has other features, but I prefer fewer, with short man pages, and "small pieces, loosely joined": exa --tree --level=2 tree -L2
gui77aume 6y ago
I use it too, as an "l" function in fish, like an alias for "exa -lah" I like it so far, nice colors.
Number157 6y ago
Maybe. But often, less is more.
kh_hk 6y ago
Any new tool replacing good old one must be a drop in replacement (this one seems like it might be?), muscle memory is so hard to overcome after years and years of conditioning. It's pretty interesting how tools over time become a language on itself.
- franga2000 6y ago
  Not always, although it's preferable where it makes sense. Something like httpie is much better than curl and wget and it's definitely worth learning its interface. If they tried to make it drop-in, a lot of the benefits eould be lost.
- selfhoster11 6y ago
  Not necessarily. Newbies enter the field all the time, without the entrenched reflexes. Seasoned Vi users cannot imagine their shortcuts changing, but I cannot imagine getting used to them.
- tdy_err 6y ago
  I noticed it at least doesn't mirror `ls -A` because it hides those out of the box. But instead of swallowing -A it throws exit 1
franga2000 6y ago
This just reminded me that I use exa on a daily basis. I seriously forgot! I set up aliases a few years ago, synced to all my devices, and promptly never though about it again. Really useful tool!

71 points by feross 6y ago

agustif 6y ago

I prefer k, is the new l yo https://github.com/supercrabtree/k https://github.com/supercrabtree/k

pvitz 6y ago

I am honestly not sure if this is a satire or a serious article.

helsinki 6y ago
Yeah, no way I’m replacing ls with something that effectively combines ‘ls -ltrh’, ‘tree -L’, and ‘stat’. It appears the efficiency gain provided by this tool’s interface is a marginal improvement in terms of ‘characters typed’. It’s like combining a bicycle, scooter, and moped, but limiting yourself to a few hundred square feet. Confused. If this is a troll post, it worked, as I am irked.
- gmemstr 6y ago
  On the other hand, I've had `ls` aliased to `exa` for a while now, and there's been no downsides that I can see. It accepts roughly the same flags and has slightly nicer (or more cluttered, depending who you ask) output.
- selfhoster11 6y ago
  If the goal is to get an idea of what an unfamiliar directory contains, I can see it being useful. It's less useful if you just want to list files, but exa has that too.
nyanpasu64 6y ago
I think opensource.com is a content farm (not to be confused with the Open Source Initiative at opensource.org).
- higerordermap 6y ago
  We joke that they are testing GPT-3 on that site.
ncmncm 6y ago
Agree, it is amazing that the example PNGs show dark blue text and ... dark grey? ... on black. This is good how?

forgotpwd16 6y ago

For anyone interested there're a few such tools that are modern alternatives to traditional Unix utilities. Interestingly all written in Rust. grep -> ripgrep (command `rg`) find -> fd sed -> sd diff -> delta ls -> exa && lsd cat -> bat wc -> cw du -> dust ps -> procs top -> ytop (**edit** archived; author recommends `bottom`) They all offer their own modern take but I'll say the first two, which are the only ones I'm using, are the most interesting. Both ripgrep and fd offer easier usage. The ripgrep is also an ack replacement and fd can also replace parallel (even has compatible syntax). The amazing part is that both are an order of magnitude faster their counterparts. The ripgrep dev has extended analysis for how this is achieved on their blog[0]. [0]: https://blog.burntsushi.net/ripgrep/ https://blog.burntsushi.net/ripgrep/

guiambros 6y ago
> find -> fd oh, I loved it! Thanks for sharing. For others interested, here [1]. I still need to check others, but find is the one I use the most anyway. btw, it seems ytop [2] is not being maintained anymore. I use gtop [3], which has the same interface, but was developed in Node instead of Rust. [1] https://github.com/sharkdp/fd https://github.com/sharkdp/fd [2] https://github.com/cjbassi/ytop https://github.com/cjbassi/ytop [3] https://github.com/aksakalli/gtop https://github.com/aksakalli/gtop
- forgotpwd16 6y ago
  >it seems ytop [2] is not being maintained anymore Indeed, author recommends `bottom` instead so noted that in the list. It appears top has a few alternatives. There's also `gotop` that is written in Go and (now that looks cool) `bashtop` written in Bash.
- franga2000 6y ago
  Any reason nobody is mentioning good old htop here? Since ytop was pitched as an alternative to top...
  - guiambros 6y ago

techbio 6y ago

Apparently it has other features, but I prefer fewer, with short man pages, and "small pieces, loosely joined": exa --tree --level=2 tree -L2

gui77aume 6y ago

I use it too, as an "l" function in fish, like an alias for "exa -lah" I like it so far, nice colors.

Number157 6y ago

Maybe. But often, less is more.

kh_hk 6y ago

Any new tool replacing good old one must be a drop in replacement (this one seems like it might be?), muscle memory is so hard to overcome after years and years of conditioning. It's pretty interesting how tools over time become a language on itself.

franga2000 6y ago
Not always, although it's preferable where it makes sense. Something like httpie is much better than curl and wget and it's definitely worth learning its interface. If they tried to make it drop-in, a lot of the benefits eould be lost.
selfhoster11 6y ago
Not necessarily. Newbies enter the field all the time, without the entrenched reflexes. Seasoned Vi users cannot imagine their shortcuts changing, but I cannot imagine getting used to them.
tdy_err 6y ago
I noticed it at least doesn't mirror `ls -A` because it hides those out of the box. But instead of swallowing -A it throws exit 1

franga2000 6y ago

This just reminded me that I use exa on a daily basis. I seriously forgot! I set up aliases a few years ago, synced to all my devices, and promptly never though about it again. Really useful tool!