List All Files Including Dotfiles

A dotfile is a file whose names begin with a .. These are normally hidden by ls and not listed unless requested.

For example the following output of ls:

$ ls
bin  pki

The -a or --all option will list all files, including dotfiles.

$ ls -a
.   .ansible       .bash_logout   .bashrc  .lesshst  .puppetlabs  .viminfo
..  .bash_history  .bash_profile  bin      pki       .ssh

The -A or --almost-all option will list all files, including dotfiles, but does not list implied . and ... Note that . is the current directory and .. is the parent directory.

$ ls -A 
.ansible       .bash_logout   .bashrc  .lesshst  .puppetlabs  .viminfo
.bash_history  .bash_profile  bin      pki       .ssh