LS_COLORS
The format of this variable is reminiscent of the termcap(5) file format; a
colon-separated list of expressions of the form "xx=string", where "xx" is a
two-character variable name. The variables with their associated defaults are:
no - 0 - Normal (non-filename) text
fi - 0 - Regular file
di - 01;34 - Directory
ln - 01;36 - Symbolic link
pi - 33 - Named pipe (FIFO)
so - 01;35 - Socket
bd - 01;33 - Block device
cd - 01;32 - Character device
ex - 01;32 - Executable file
mi - (none) - Missing file (defaults to fi)
or - (none) - Orphaned symbolic link (defaults to ln)
lc - ^[[ - Left code
rc - m - Right code
ec - (none) - End code (replaces lc+no+rc)
You need to include only the variables you want to change from the default.
File names can also be colorized based on filename extension. This is specified
in the LS_COLORS variable using the syntax "*ext=string". For example, using
ISO 6429 codes, to color all C-language source files blue you would specify
"*.c=34". This would color all files ending in .c in blue (34) color.
Control characters can be written either in C-style-escaped notation, or in
stty-like ^-notation. The C-style notation adds ^[ for Escape, \_ for a normal
space character, and ? for Delete. In addition, the ^[ escape character can be
used to override the default interpretation of ^[, ^, : and =.
Each file will be written as <lc> <color-code> <rc> <filename> <ec>. If the <ec>
code is undefined, the sequence <lc> <no> <rc> will be used instead. This is
generally more convenient to use, but less general. The left, right and end
codes are provided so you don't have to type common parts over and over again
and to support weird terminals; you will generally not need to change them at
all unless your terminal does not use ISO 6429 color sequences but a different
system.
If your terminal does use ISO 6429 color codes, you can compose the type codes
(i.e., all except the lc, rc, and ec codes) from numerical commands separated by
semicolons. The most common commands are:
0 - to restore default color
1 - for brighter colors (i.e. text in bold)
4 - for underlined text
5 - for flashing text (really annoying; never recommended)
7 - for reverse field
8 - for hidden field (where did those files go?)
30 - for black foreground
31 - for red foreground
32 - for green foreground
33 - for yellow (or brown) foreground
34 - for blue foreground
35 - for purple foreground
36 - for cyan foreground
37 - for white (or gray) foreground
40 - for black background
41 - for red background
42 - for green background
43 - for yellow (or brown) background
44 - for blue background
45 - for purple background
46 - for cyan background
47 - for white (or gray) background
Not all commands will work on all systems or display devices.
A few terminal programs do not recognize the default end code properly. If all
text gets colorized after you do a directory listing, try changing the no and fi
codes from 0 to the numerical codes for your standard fore- and background
colors.
