dircolors

color scheme configurator for ls

TLDR

Output shell commands to set LS_COLORS

$ dircolors

Use a specific database file

$ dircolors [/path/to/dircolors.db]

Output for Bourne shell

$ dircolors -b

Output for C shell

$ dircolors -c

Print default database

$ dircolors -p

dircolors outputs shell commands to set the LS_COLORS environment variable, which controls the colors used by ls and other tools. It reads a configuration file that maps file types and extensions to colors.Typically invoked in shell configuration files: eval "$(dircolors)".

PARAMETERS

-b, --sh, --bourne-shell

Output Bourne shell commands.

-c, --csh, --c-shell

Output C shell commands.

-p, --print-database

Print the default database.

CONFIGURATION

~/.dircolors or ~/.dir_colors

User-specific color configuration database mapping file types and extensions to colors.

/etc/DIR_COLORS

System-wide default color configuration.

INSTALL

sudo apt install coreutils

sudo dnf install coreutils

sudo pacman -S coreutils

sudo apk add coreutils

sudo zypper install coreutils

brew install coreutils

nix profile install nixpkgs#coreutils

CAVEATS

Output must be evaluated by the shell (e.g., `eval "$(dircolors)"`) to take effect. The default database covers common file types; customize with `dircolors -p > ~/.dircolors` and edit. Only affects tools that read LS_COLORS (primarily GNU ls and compatible tools).

HISTORY

dircolors is part of GNU coreutils and has been included in Linux distributions since the early days of colorized terminal output.