How to create ls in windows command prompt?

Question

I want to use ls in windows command prompt and make it run the dir command.

How can I do that?

Answer 1

You could:

• create a batch file called ls.bat and have it contain the dir command only
• add the directory where the ls.bat file exists to your PATH environment variable

You could then execute ls from a command prompt.

Answer 2

Its an old question but for the record:

http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/coreutils.htm

Gives you ls and a whole lot more!

Answer 3

Easiest way I have found is:

1. Install Git for Windows
2. Add the bin directory of Git to your Path variable. Mine was located in C:\Program Files\Git\usr\bin.
3. Start a command prompt and enjoy ls in all its glory.

Answer 4

Surely ls would not work as a unix command for the batches. If you check %1 for -l or -a etc. and all combinations of them, it would work...

Answer 5

you could also use cygwin and just use the ls command directly along with all the other unix command line tools you might be used to.

Answer 6

I recommend the following recipe.

1. Use DOSKEY and $* to create your ls command.
2. Make the command persistent by recording it in a .bat/.cmd file and add the path of the file to registry.

For example, your command may look like
DOSKEY ls=dir
DOSKEY sublime="C:\Program Files\Sublime Text 2\sublime_text" $*
$* is useful for commands that take on arguments. For example, here I like to be able to do sublime my_code.c.

The registry for cmd is at HKEY_CURRENT_USER -> Software -> Microsoft -> Command Processor. Create a string valued entry called AutoRun with the full path of the file (not the containing folder) such as %USERPROFILE%\custom_command.cmd. Then each time cmd is run, your command will be loaded!

You can add more useful stuffs to the batch file too. See here for an example template.