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JP Silvashy
Asked: 2010-02-21 18:18:43 +0800 CST

ZSH `--color=auto` doesn't work

  • 772

For some reason when I execute the following:

ls --color=auto

Results with:

ls: illegal option -- -
usage: ls [-ABCFGHLOPRSTUWabcdefghiklmnopqrstuwx1] [file ...]

Not sure why this is happening, I'm wondering if anyone else has had the same issue.

shell zsh

2 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    Depending on the OS, ls doesn't always have the functionalities.

    There are two different versions of ls :

    • One from the BSD world (for example Mac OS X version) :

    The --color=auto doesn't work, use -G instead.

    • One from the Free Software Foundation (Linux for example) :

    You can use the --color=auto and the -G option does not list group.

    By the way, this has nothing to do with zsh, except if you assign custom PATH in your .zshrc.

    EDIT :

    If you want the FSF version of ls, simply download the latest coreutils (8.4 now) and compile them.

    This will allow you to use the this version. ls-color

    • 10

  2. What kind of system are you using? Solaris/BSD ls don't support --color.

    • 0