GNU Emacs Manual - Directories

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## File Directories

The file system groups files into directories. A directory listing is a list of all the files in a directory. Emacs provides commands to create and delete directories, and to make directory listings in brief format (file names only) and verbose format (sizes, dates, and authors included). There is also a directory browser called Dired; see section Dired, the Directory Editor.

`C-x C-d dir-or-pattern `RET``
  Display a brief directory listing (`list-directory`).
`C-u C-x C-d dir-or-pattern `RET``
  Display a verbose directory listing.
`M-x make-directory `RET` dirname `RET``
  Create a new directory named dirname.
`M-x delete-directory `RET` dirname `RET``
  Delete the directory named dirname. It must be empty, or you get an error.

The command to display a directory listing is `C-x C-d` (`list-directory`). It reads using the minibuffer a file name which is either a directory to be listed or a wildcard-containing pattern for the files to be listed. For example,

    C-x C-d /u2/emacs/etc RET

lists all the files in directory ``/u2/emacs/etc'`. Here is an example of specifying a file name pattern:

    C-x C-d /u2/emacs/src/*.c RET

Normally, `C-x C-d` prints a brief directory listing containing just file names. A numeric argument (regardless of value) tells it to make a verbose listing including sizes, dates, and authors (like ``ls -l'`).

The text of a directory listing is obtained by running `ls` in an inferior process. Two Emacs variables control the switches passed to `ls`: `list-directory-brief-switches` is a string giving the switches to use in brief listings (`"-CF"` by default), and `list-directory-verbose-switches` is a string giving the switches to use in a verbose listing (`"-l"` by default).

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