# Let's revisit the ls command thanks to eza
> Tired of typing ls -alh? Discover eza, the modern, feature-rich replacement for the basic Linux ls command. Learn how to install it and set up a powerful new alias for a better command-line experience.
---
**TL;DR**
This article introduces `eza`, a modern replacement for the `ls` command (formerly known as `exa`), offering better defaults, icons, and formatting. It shows how to install it with `apt-get` and set up an alias with a useful combination of flags (`--all --long --group --group-directories-first --icons --header --time-style long-iso`) so `ls` automatically uses `eza` with a richer file listing.
Which CLI command would you say you use most on Linux? Most definitely `ls` to display the list of files in the current directory.
> **I don't know about you, but I rarely use `ls` without any parameters. Almost without thinking, I add `-alh` every time. It's become mechanical.:**
And then you'll say to me, well, all you have to do is create an alias `alias ls="ls -alh"`; of course, but let's go further and revisit this basic command and add some functionality to it.
`eza` is a modern replacement for `ls` as stated on their website: .
*It belongs to the same family of "modern rewrites of the classics" as [ripgrep](/blog/ripgrep) (for `grep`) and [delta](/blog/git-delta) (for `git diff`). While you're customizing your console, [Customize your Linux prompt with Powerlevel10k](/blog/powerlevel10k_sandbox) is worth ten minutes too.*
> **eza was first called exa:**
>
> is abandoned; see [this issue](https://github.com/ogham/exa/issues/1243).
>
> **exa is now eza**:
## Result
Once `ls` is aliased to `eza` with a few flags, this is what a plain `ls` looks like:
## Seeing It in Action with Docker
Before touching your `~/.bashrc`, try the alias in a throwaway container with a small, varied
folder already set up — a hidden file, a sub-folder or two, files of different sizes — so the
listing actually has something to show off.
> **Why Docker first?:**
>
> The Dockerfile below installs `eza`, sets up the exact `ls` alias from this article, and builds a
> demo folder for you. Nothing changes on your own machine.
**Dockerfile**
```docker
FROM ubuntu:24.04
ENV DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
RUN apt-get update && \
apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
curl \
ca-certificates && \
rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
# Install eza from a prebuilt release (avoids adding eza's own apt repository
# just for a demo). Pin the version so this image keeps building the same
# way; bump it during a /freshness pass.
RUN curl -fsSL \
https://github.com/eza-community/eza/releases/download/v0.23.5/eza_x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz \
| tar -xz -C /usr/local/bin
# Recreate the exact alias from the article
RUN echo "alias ls='eza --all --long --group --group-directories-first --icons --header --time-style long-iso'" \
>> /root/.bashrc
# Build a small, varied playground so the listing actually looks interesting:
# sub-folders, a dotfile, a text file and a binary-ish file of a different size
RUN mkdir -p /root/demo/src /root/demo/docs && \
touch /root/demo/.env && \
echo "# Notes" > /root/demo/README.md && \
printf 'console.log("hi")\n' > /root/demo/src/index.js && \
dd if=/dev/zero of=/root/demo/docs/report.pdf bs=1024 count=200 status=none
WORKDIR /root/demo
# Signal clearly that this shell runs inside a container
RUN echo "PS1='\n\e[0;33m🐳 \e[0;36m\$(whoami)\e[0m \w # '" >> /root/.bashrc
CMD ["/bin/bash", "-i"]
```
Build and run it:
```bash
$ docker build -t eza-demo .
[+] Building 14.2s (7/7) FINISHED
✔ exporting to image
$ docker run --rm -it eza-demo
🐳 root ~/demo # ls
Permissions Size User Date Modified Name
drwxr-xr-x - root 2026-08-22 docs
drwxr-xr-x - root 2026-08-22 src
.rw-r--r-- 0 root 2026-08-22 .env
.rw-r--r-- 8 root 2026-08-22 README.md
```
That's `ls` — really `eza` under the hood, thanks to the alias baked into the image. Icons,
grouped folders first, human-readable dates: the same result as the screenshot above, without
having installed anything on your own machine yet.
## Install eza
The installation is simple, you just need to run `sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install eza`; nothing more.
From now, simply run `eza` on the command line and you'll get the list of files with all the defaults presets.
On my computer, I've chosen for this list of parameters: `--all --long --group --group-directories-first --icons --header --time-style long-iso` and, for sure, I've updated my `~/.bashrc` file by adding an alias (if you're on ZSH, [give that alias its own file](/blog/modular-zsh-workflow) rather than growing a monolithic `.zshrc`):
```bash
$ alias ls='eza --all --long --group --group-directories-first --icons --header --time-style long-iso'
```
And, now, by just typing `ls`, you'll get the listing shown above.