August 18, 2023

Exclude files and directories when listing with ls

To exlude files from the output of ls run:

$ ls | grep -v pattern

The option -v tells grep to exclude the matches (i.e. to show non-matching lines). pattern is the expression you want to exclude. For example:

$ ls | grep -v '^20*' 

excludes all contents (e.g. files and directories) which names start with the digits 20.

$ ls | grep -v '^202[0-2].*' 

excludes all contents which names start with the digits 2020, 2021 or 2022.

grep is copyleft-licensed and is maintained by Jim Meyering¹. It was first released in 1973.

See also:

• Search multiple files for an expression (e.g. a keyword) with grep

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1. GNU Grep official website.↩︎

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I do self-funded research and I'm writing a book.

> What's the book about?

About technologies and agency.

Meaning, technologies can foster agency. No doubt. But I am also asking:

Can usage of technologies give us a sense of empowerment while in fact undermining our abilities?

I posted a summary of the prologue on the homepage: https://yctct.com/

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