# The Linux ls command
Inside a folder you can list all the files that the folder contains using the `ls` command:
```bash
ls
```
If you add a folder name or path, it will print that folder's contents:
```bash
ls /bin
```
`ls` accepts a lot of options. One of my favorite combinations is `-al`. Try it:
```bash
ls -al /bin
```
Compared to the plain `ls` command, this returns much more information.
You have, from left to right:
* the file permissions (and if your system supports ACLs, you get an ACL flag as well)
* the number of links to that file
* the owner of the file
* the group of the file
* the file size in bytes
* the file's last modified datetime
* the file name
This set of data is generated by the `l` option. The `a` option instead also shows the hidden files.
Hidden files are files that start with a dot (`.`).
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