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Asked: 2022-12-01 03:31:43 +0800 CST

How can I list files in category - with streaming, so command starts showing something quickly also if folder has millions of files

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I have folder that apparently has millions of files inside it.

As result, dir command is running for minutes already without displaying anything.

I checked dir --help and tried to search for solution.

How can I list files in category - with streaming, so command starts showing something quickly also if folder has millions of files?

I have no idea what is in the affected folder.

command-line

1 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    ls will sort its output alphabetically by default, so it needs to read the content of the whole directory, before it is shown.

    You can avoid sorting by running ls with -U.

    But, ls will also read the type of each file/directory to be able to color it. This has also an impact on the performance. Avoid this with -f flag.

    -f     do not sort, enable -aU, disable -ls --color

    I usually use

    ls -1f

    See also

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