https://github.com/bgreenwell/lstr
A fast, minimalist directory tree viewer, written in Rust.
https://github.com/bgreenwell/lstr
cli command-line command-line-tool developer-tools filesystem git ls nerd-fonts rust-lang tree tui
Last synced: about 2 months ago
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A fast, minimalist directory tree viewer, written in Rust.
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/bgreenwell/lstr
- Owner: bgreenwell
- License: mit
- Created: 2025-06-06T16:43:27.000Z (9 months ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2025-09-07T04:09:48.000Z (6 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2026-01-19T22:33:08.513Z (about 2 months ago)
- Topics: cli, command-line, command-line-tool, developer-tools, filesystem, git, ls, nerd-fonts, rust-lang, tree, tui
- Language: Rust
- Homepage: https://crates.io/crates/lstr
- Size: 3.17 MB
- Stars: 1,394
- Watchers: 4
- Forks: 26
- Open Issues: 14
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- Changelog: CHANGELOG.md
- License: LICENSE
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README
# lstr
[](https://github.com/bgreenwell/lstr/actions)
[](https://crates.io/crates/lstr)
[](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)
A fast, minimalist directory tree viewer, written in Rust. Inspired by the command line program [tree](https://github.com/Old-Man-Programmer/tree), with a powerful interactive mode.
*An interactive overview of a project's structure using `lstr`.*
## Philosophy
- **Minimalist:** Provides essential features without the bloat. The core experience is clean and uncluttered.
- **Interactive:** An optional TUI mode for fluid, keyboard-driven exploration.
## Features
- **Classic and interactive modes:** Use `lstr` for a classic `tree`-like view, or launch `lstr interactive` for a fully interactive TUI.
- **Theme-aware coloring:** Respects your system's `LS_COLORS` environment variable for fully customizable file and directory colors.
- **Rich information display (optional):**
- Display file-specific icons with `--icons` (requires a Nerd Font).
- Show file permissions with `-p`.
- Show file sizes with `-s`.
- **Git Integration:** Show file statuses (`Modified`, `New`, `Untracked`, etc.) directly in the tree with the `-G` flag.
- **Smart filtering:**
- Respects your `.gitignore` files with the `-g` flag.
- Control recursion depth (`-L`) or show only directories (`-d`).
## Installation
### With Homebrew (macOS)
The easiest way to install `lstr` on macOS is with Homebrew.
```zsh
brew install lstr
```
### From source (all platforms)
You need the Rust toolchain installed on your system to build `lstr`.
1. **Clone the repository:**
```bash
git clone https://github.com/bgreenwell/lstr.git
cd lstr
```
2. **Build and install using Cargo:**
```bash
cargo install --path .
```
### NetBSD
On NetBSD a package is available from the official repositories. To install it, simply run:
```bash
pkgin install lstr
```
## Usage
```bash
lstr [OPTIONS] [PATH]
lstr interactive [OPTIONS] [PATH]
```
Note that `PATH` defaults to the current directory (`.`) if not specified.
| Option | Description |
| :--------------------- | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `-a`, `--all` | List all files and directories, including hidden ones. |
| `--color ` | Specify when to use color output (`always`, `auto`, `never`). |
| `-d`, `--dirs-only` | List directories only, ignoring all files. |
| `-g`, `--gitignore` | Respect `.gitignore` and other standard ignore files. |
| `-G`, `--git-status` | Show git status for files and directories. |
| `--icons` | Display file-specific icons; requires a [Nerd Font](https://www.nerdfonts.com/). |
| `--hyperlinks` | Render file paths as clickable hyperlinks (classic mode only) |
| `-L`, `--level `| Maximum depth to descend. |
| `-p`, `--permissions` | Display file permissions (Unix-like systems only). |
| `-s`, `--size` | Display the size of files. |
| `--sort ` | Sort entries by the specified criteria (`name`, `size`, `modified`, `extension`). |
| `--dirs-first` | Sort directories before files. |
| `--case-sensitive` | Use case-sensitive sorting. |
| `--natural-sort` | Use natural/version sorting (e.g., file1 < file10). |
| `-r`, `--reverse` | Reverse the sort order. |
| `--dotfiles-first` | Sort dotfiles and dotfolders first (dotfolders → folders → dotfiles → files). |
| `--expand-level `| **Interactive mode only:** Initial depth to expand the interactive tree. |
-----
## Interactive mode
Launch the TUI with `lstr interactive [OPTIONS] [PATH]`.
### Keyboard controls
| Key(s) | Action |
| :------ | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `↑` / `k` | Move selection up. |
| `↓` / `j` | Move selection down. |
| `Enter` | **Context-aware action:**\
- If on a file: Open it in the default editor (`$EDITOR`).\
- If on a directory: Toggle expand/collapse. |
| `q` / `Esc` | Quit the application normally. |
| `Ctrl`+`s` | **Shell integration:** Quits and prints the selected path to stdout. |
## Examples
**1. List the contents of the current directory**
```bash
lstr
```
**2. Explore a project interactively, ignoring gitignored files**
```bash
lstr interactive -g --icons
```
**3. Display a directory with file sizes and permissions (classic view)**
```bash
lstr -sp
```
**4. See the git status of all files in a project**
```bash
lstr -aG
```
**5. Get a tree with clickable file links (in a supported terminal)**
```bash
lstr --hyperlinks
```
**6. Start an interactive session with all data displayed**
```bash
lstr interactive -gG --icons -s -p
```
**7. Sort files naturally with directories first**
```bash
lstr --dirs-first --natural-sort
```
**8. Sort by file size in descending order**
```bash
lstr --sort size --reverse
```
**9. Sort by extension with case-sensitive ordering**
```bash
lstr --sort extension --case-sensitive
```
**10. Sort with dotfiles first and directories first**
```bash
lstr --dotfiles-first --dirs-first -a
```
## Piping and shell interaction
The classic `view` mode is designed to work well with other command-line tools via pipes (`|`).
### Interactive fuzzy finding with `fzf`
This is a powerful way to instantly find any file in a large project.
```bash
lstr -a -g --icons | fzf
```
`fzf` will take the tree from `lstr` and provide an interactive search prompt to filter it.
### Paging large trees with `less` or `bat`
If a directory is too large to fit on one screen, pipe the output to a *pager*.
```bash
# Using less (the -R flag preserves color)
lstr -L 10 | less -R
# Using bat (a modern pager that understands colors)
lstr --icons | bat
```
### Changing directories with `lstr`
You can use `lstr` as a visual `cd` command. Add the following function to your shell's startup file (e.g., `~/.bashrc`, `~/.zshrc`):
```bash
# A function to visually change directories with lstr
lcd() {
# Run lstr and capture the selected path into a variable.
# The TUI will draw on stderr, and the final path will be on stdout.
local selected_dir
selected_dir="$(lstr interactive -g --icons)"
# If the user selected a path (and didn't just quit), `cd` into it.
# Check if the selection is a directory.
if [[ -n "$selected_dir" && -d "$selected_dir" ]]; then
cd "$selected_dir"
fi
}
```
After adding this and starting a new shell session (or running `source ~/.bashrc`), you can simply run:
```bash
lcd
```
This will launch the `lstr` interactive UI. Navigate to the directory you want, press `Ctrl+s`, and your shell's current directory will instantly change.
## Color customization
`lstr` respects your terminal's color theme by default. It reads the `LS_COLORS` environment variable to colorize files and directories according to your system's configuration. This is the same variable used by GNU `ls` and other modern command-line tools.
### Linux
On most Linux distributions, this variable is already set. You can customize it by modifying your shell's startup file.
### macOS
macOS does not set the `LS_COLORS` variable by default. To enable this feature, you can install `coreutils`:
```bash
brew install coreutils
````
Then, add the following line to your shell's startup file (e.g., `~/.zshrc` or `~/.bash_profile`):
```bash
# Use gdircolors from the newly installed coreutils
eval "$(gdircolors)"
```
### Windows
Windows does not use the `LS_COLORS` variable natively, but you can set it manually to enable color support in modern terminals like Windows Terminal.
First, copy a standard `LS_COLORS` string, such as this one:
`rs=0:di=01;34:ln=01;36:ex=01;32:*.zip=01;31:*.png=01;35:`. This string defines colors for various file types:
* **Directories:** Displayed in **bold blue**.
* **Executable files:** Displayed in **bold green** (e.g., `.sh` scripts).
* **Symbolic links:** Displayed in **bold cyan**.
* **Archives:** Displayed in **bold red** (e.g., `.zip`, `.tar.gz`).
* **Image files:** Displayed in **bold magenta** (e.g., `.png`, `.jpg`).
* **Other files:** Displayed in the terminal's default text color.
To set it for your current **PowerShell** session, run:
```powershell
$env:LS_COLORS="rs=0:di=01;34:ln=01;36:ex=01;32:*.zip=01;31:*.png=01;35:"
```
To set it for your current **Command Prompt** (cmd) session, run:
```cmd
set LS_COLORS=rs=0:di=01;34:ln=01;36:ex=01;32:*.zip=01;31:*.png=01;35:
```
To make the setting permanent, you can add the command to your PowerShell profile or set it in the system's "Environment Variables" dialog.
After setting the variable and starting a new shell session, `lstr` will automatically display your configured colors.
## Inspiration
The philosophy and functionality of `lstr` are heavily inspired by the excellent C-based [tree](https://github.com/Old-Man-Programmer/tree) command line program. This project is an attempt to recreate that classic utility in modern, safe Rust.
## License
This project is licensed under the terms of the [MIT License](https://www.google.com/search?q=LICENSE).