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10.1.3 Sorting the output

These options change the order in which ls sorts the information it outputs. By default, sorting is done by character code (e.g., ASCII order).

-c
--time=ctime
--time=status
If the long listing format (e.g., -l, -o) is being used, print the status change time (the ‘ctime’ in the inode) instead of the modification time. When explicitly sorting by time (--sort=time or -t) or when not using a long listing format, sort according to the status change time.
-f
Primarily, like -U—do not sort; list the files in whatever order they are stored in the directory. But also enable -a (list all files) and disable -l, --color, and -s (if they were specified before the -f).
-r
--reverse
Reverse whatever the sorting method is—e.g., list files in reverse alphabetical order, youngest first, smallest first, or whatever.
-S
--sort=size
Sort by file size, largest first.
-t
--sort=time
Sort by modification time (the ‘mtime’ in the inode), newest first.
-u
--time=atime
--time=access
--time=use
If the long listing format (e.g., --format=long) is being used, print the last access time (the ‘atime’ in the inode). When explicitly sorting by time (--sort=time or -t) or when not using a long listing format, sort according to the access time.
-U
--sort=none
Do not sort; list the files in whatever order they are stored in the directory. (Do not do any of the other unrelated things that -f does.) This is especially useful when listing very large directories, since not doing any sorting can be noticeably faster.
-v
--sort=version
Sort by version name and number, lowest first. It behaves like a default sort, except that each sequence of decimal digits is treated numerically as an index/version number. (See Details about version sort.)
-X
--sort=extension
Sort directory contents alphabetically by file extension (characters after the last ‘.’); files with no extension are sorted first.