tree Command in Linux

Syntax of tree Command in Linux

The basic syntax of the tree command in Linux is as follows:

Where:

• options: These are optional and represent the flags used to alter the behavior of the tree command. Examples include -a (all files), -d (directories only), -l (follow symbolic links), etc.
• directory: This is the starting point for the tree command. If not specified, the tree command starts from the current directory.

Options in tree Command in Linux

1. -a: Displays all files, including hidden ones.

   For example -

   Output:

   By default, tree does not display hidden files. The -a option instructs tree to also include these in the output.

2. -d: Displays directories only.

   For example -

   Output:

   This option is used when the user is only interested in the directory structure, ignoring individual files.

3. -L level: Limits the depth of the directory tree to 'level'.

   For example -

   Output:

   This command is handy when dealing with deeply nested directories and you only want to see a limited depth.

Example Usages

• Display the directory structure for the current directory:

  Output:

  Explanation: Without any arguments, tree will output the entire directory and file structure for the current directory.

• Display the directory structure for a specific directory:

  Output:

  Explanation: By specifying a directory, tree will output the directory and file structure for that directory.

Advanced Use Cases of tree Command in Linux

• Display the size of files and directories:

  Output:

  Explanation: The --du option calculates the size of each directory as the accumulation of sizes of its containing files and sub-directories. The -h option ensures sizes are presented in a 'human-readable' format (e.g., KB, MB).

• Filter the tree command output by a pattern:

  Output:

  Explanation: The -P option allows you to filter the output by a pattern. In this case, only .txt files are displayed in the output.

• Using tree command with file report:

  Output:

  Explanation: The -D option prints the last modification time for files and directories, -f prints the full path prefix for each file, -i makes tree not print the indentation lines, and --filelimit does not descend directories containing more than the specified number of files.