exa Cheatsheet¶

Installation¶

Platform	Command
Ubuntu 20.10+	`sudo apt update && sudo apt install exa`
Debian/Ubuntu (older)	`cargo install exa`
Arch Linux	`sudo pacman -S exa`
Fedora	`sudo dnf install exa`
RHEL/CentOS	`sudo dnf install epel-release && sudo dnf install exa`
openSUSE	`sudo zypper install exa`
macOS (Homebrew)	`brew install exa`
macOS (MacPorts)	`sudo port install exa`
Windows (Scoop)	`scoop install exa`
Universal (Cargo)	`cargo install exa`

Verify Installation:

exa --version

Basic Commands¶

Command	Description
`exa`	List files in current directory (replaces `ls`)
`exa -l`	Long format with permissions, size, and timestamps
`exa -a`	Show all files including hidden (`.` files)
`exa -la`	Long format with all files including hidden
`exa -lh`	Long format with human-readable sizes (KiB, MiB, GiB)
`exa -lH`	Long format with decimal sizes (KB, MB, GB)
`exa -1`	One file per line (useful for scripting)
`exa -R`	Recursive listing of directories
`exa -F`	Add file type indicators (/, @, \|, =, >)
`exa --grid`	Grid layout (default terminal view)
`exa --across`	Horizontal flow layout
`exa -D`	List only directories
`exa -f`	List only files (exclude directories)
`exa --color=always`	Force color output
`exa --color=never`	Disable color output

Advanced Usage¶

Command	Description
`exa --tree`	Display directory structure as tree (replaces `tree`)
`exa --tree --level=2`	Tree view limited to 2 levels deep
`exa -l --git`	Show Git status for files (tracked, modified, untracked)
`exa --git-ignore`	Respect `.gitignore` and show only tracked files
`exa -l --sort=modified`	Sort by modification time (newest first)
`exa -l --sort=size`	Sort by file size (largest first)
`exa -l --sort=extension`	Sort by file extension
`exa -l --reverse`	Reverse sort order
`exa -l --icons`	Display file type icons (requires Nerd Fonts)
`exa -l --extended`	Show extended attributes (SELinux, ACLs)
`exa -l@`	Short form for extended attributes
`exa -li`	Show inode numbers
`exa -ls`	Show block sizes
`exa -l --octal-permissions`	Display permissions in octal format (755)
`exa -l --numeric`	Show numeric user/group IDs instead of names
`exa -l --time-style=iso`	ISO format timestamps
`exa -l --time-style=relative`	Relative time (e.g., "2 hours ago")
`exa -l --modified`	Show modification time (default)
`exa -l --accessed`	Show last access time
`exa -l --created`	Show creation time
`exa --ignore-glob="*.tmp"`	Ignore files matching pattern
`exa -lZ`	Show SELinux security context
`exa --tree --git --icons`	Tree view with Git status and icons
`exa -R --level=3`	Recursive listing limited to 3 levels

Configuration¶

Shell Aliases¶

Add these to your ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, or ~/.config/fish/config.fish:

# Basic replacements
alias ls='exa'
alias l='exa -l'
alias la='exa -la'
alias ll='exa -l'
alias lt='exa --tree'

# Advanced aliases
alias lg='exa -l --git'
alias lgi='exa -l --git --git-ignore'
alias lt2='exa --tree --level=2'
alias lta='exa -la --tree'

# Comprehensive view
alias lx='exa -lah --git --icons --group --time-style=long-iso'

# Sorting shortcuts
alias lm='exa -l --sort=modified --reverse'  # Most recent first
alias lz='exa -l --sort=size --reverse'      # Largest first

# Tree with Git
alias ltg='exa --tree --git --level=3'

Color Customization¶

Set custom colors using the EXA_COLORS environment variable:

# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
export EXA_COLORS="da=38;5;245:sb=38;5;204:sn=38;5;43:uu=38;5;245:un=38;5;241"

# Color codes:
# da = date
# sb = file size
# sn = size number
# uu = user (you)
# un = user (other)
# gu = group (you)
# gn = group (other)

Default Options¶

Create a function wrapper for default options:

# Add to shell configuration
exa() {
    command exa --icons --group-directories-first "$@"
}

Common Use Cases¶

Use Case: Inspecting Git Repository¶

# Show all files with Git status and icons
exa -la --git --icons

# Tree view of repository with Git status (ignore node_modules)
exa --tree --git --ignore-glob="node_modules|.git" --level=3

# Only show modified files
exa -l --git | grep -E "M|A|D"

Use Case: Finding Large Files¶

# List files by size, largest first
exa -l --sort=size --reverse

# Recursive search for large files with human-readable sizes
exa -lRh --sort=size --reverse | head -20

# Show only files (no directories) sorted by size
exa -lf --sort=size --reverse

Use Case: Auditing File Permissions¶

# Show permissions in octal format with extended attributes
exa -l@ --octal-permissions

# Show all permission details with numeric IDs
exa -la --numeric --octal-permissions

# Check SELinux contexts
exa -lZ /var/www/html

Use Case: Analyzing Directory Structure¶

# Tree view with file sizes and modification times
exa -l --tree --level=3 --time-style=iso

# Show directory structure with Git awareness
exa --tree --git --icons --level=4 --ignore-glob=".git"

# List only directories in tree format
exa -D --tree --level=2

Use Case: Quick File Browsing¶

# Grid view with icons for visual scanning
exa --icons --grid

# Long format with all metadata
exa -lah --icons --git --time-style=relative

# Show recent changes (last 24 hours)
exa -l --sort=modified --reverse --time-style=relative | head -20

Best Practices¶

Use aliases: Set up shell aliases to replace ls with exa for consistent experience across your workflow
Install Nerd Fonts: For full icon support, install a Nerd Font (e.g., FiraCode Nerd Font, Hack Nerd Font) in your terminal
Combine with Git: Always use --git flag in repositories to see file status at a glance without running git status
Leverage tree view: Use exa --tree instead of installing separate tree command, especially with --level to control depth
Configure colors: Customize EXA_COLORS to match your terminal theme for better readability
Use time-style options: Choose --time-style=relative for recent files or --time-style=iso for precise timestamps
Script-friendly output: Use -1 (one per line) and --color=never when piping to other commands or scripts
Respect gitignore: In large repositories, use --git-ignore to avoid listing thousands of build artifacts or dependencies
Combine sorting options: Chain --sort with --reverse to get exactly the order you need (newest, largest, etc.)
Performance in large directories: For directories with thousands of files, basic exa is faster than exa -l --git --icons

Troubleshooting¶

Issue	Solution
Icons not displaying correctly	Install a Nerd Font and configure your terminal to use it. Download from nerdfonts.com
`exa: command not found`	Ensure installation completed successfully. Check `$PATH` includes `/usr/local/bin` or `~/.cargo/bin`
Git status not showing	Verify you're in a Git repository (`git status`). Use `exa -l --git` explicitly
Colors not working in pipes	Use `exa --color=always` when piping to `less` or other commands: `exa --color=always \\| less -R`
Slow performance on network drives	Disable Git integration (`--no-git`) and avoid extended attributes (`--no-extended`) on slow filesystems
Permission denied errors	Some extended attributes require elevated privileges. Use `sudo exa -l@` or skip with regular `exa -l`
Tree view truncated	Increase depth with `--level=N` or remove limit with no level flag (caution: may be slow on large trees)
Alias conflicts with system `ls`	Use `\ls` to call original `ls`, or `unalias ls` temporarily. Check aliases with `alias \\| grep ls`
Icons showing as boxes/squares	Terminal doesn't support Unicode properly. Update terminal emulator or disable icons with `--no-icons`
Different output than `ls`	`exa` sorts and displays differently by default. Use `--sort=name` and adjust flags to match `ls` behavior

Quick Reference: Time Options¶

Flag	Description	Example Output
`--modified` or `-m`	Modification time (default)	`2024-01-15 14:30`
`--accessed` or `-u`	Last access time	`2024-01-15 09:15`
`--created` or `-U`	Creation time	`2024-01-10 08:00`
`--time-style=iso`	ISO format	`2024-01-15 14:30`
`--time-style=long-iso`	Long ISO format	`2024-01-15 14:30:45`
`--time-style=full-iso`	Full ISO with timezone	`2024-01-15 14:30:45.123456789 +0000`
`--time-style=relative`	Relative time	`2 hours ago`

Quick Reference: Sort Options¶

Sort Key	Description	Usage
`name`	Alphabetical by name (default)	`exa -l --sort=name`
`size`	File size	`exa -l --sort=size`
`extension`	File extension	`exa -l --sort=extension`
`modified`	Modification time	`exa -l --sort=modified`
`accessed`	Access time	`exa -l --sort=accessed`
`created`	Creation time	`exa -l --sort=created`
`type`	File type (dir, file, link)	`exa -l --sort=type`
`inode`	Inode number	`exa -l --sort=inode`
`oldest`	Oldest first (reverse modified)	`exa -l --sort=oldest`

Add --reverse to any sort to invert the order.