Alex Ruben
How To Display Directory Tree in Terminal on Linux/Ubuntu
How to Visualize Your Directory Structure with the Tree Command in Ubuntu
Getting a good look at how your files and folders are arranged can be a pain, especially if you’re managing a bunch of projects or working deep in directory trees. The tree command is a lifesaver for this — it shows a clear, concise tree view of your folder hierarchy right in the terminal. If it’s not installed yet, or if things seem a bit wonky, this walkthrough can help straightening everything out. Expect to be able to generate pretty folder maps, save them, and even limit how deep it goes into your folder maze. Kinda nerdy, but super handy.
How to Install & Use the Tree Command in Ubuntu
Install the Tree Utility
If you’ve never used tree before, you’ll need to get it from the repositories. It’s not included by default. First, you’ll need to open your terminal. The fastest way is Ctrl + Alt + T. Once it’s open, you wanna update your package list to make sure you’re installing the latest version:
sudo apt updateEnter your password when prompted — note that nothing appears on the screen while you’re typing, so just type carefully and hit Enter. After that, install tree using:
sudo apt install treeWhen prompted to confirm, just hit Y then Enter. Sometimes the install fails the first time, especially on slower connections or if your repo info is out of date, but usually trying again fixes things.
Basic Usage: Generating the Directory Tree
With tree installed, you can just type tree in the terminal and hit Enter. It’ll spit out a pretty ASCII representation of your current directory structure. On some setups, this might be really long if you have nested folders, so you might want to limit the depth.
Display Only Folders (Skip Files)
This is useful if you just want a high-level view of your directories without clutter. Use the -d flag. Type:
tree -dThis will show only directories. Makes it a lot cleaner, especially in messy projects. Another tip — if your directory tree is huge, you might want to limit how many levels it goes into:
tree -L 2Here, -L 2 means “show only two levels deep.” Combine options like tree -d -L 2 to keep things really simple.
Save Your Directory Map to a Text File
Sometimes, it’s easier to review or share your directory structure if it’s in a file. Just redirect the output to a file with >:
tree > directory_structure.txtThis creates a file called directory_structure.txt in your current folder. You can open it with any text editor later — notepad, VSCode, whatever. On one setup I tried, it occasionally failed if permissions were restrictive, so make sure your user has read access to the directories you want to list.
Additional Tips & Common Pitfalls
- If
treedoesn’t show up after installation, double-check if it installed successfully — try runningwhich tree. If it returns nothing, try reinstalling withsudo apt install --reinstall tree. - Want more control? Run
man treeto see all options. There are lots, like-ato include hidden files, or-ffor full paths. - Keep in mind, permissions matter. If certain directories aren’t showing up, it could be because you’re running as a user that doesn’t have read access.
Wrap-up
This whole process is pretty straightforward once you get the hang of it. Installing tree isn’t a big deal, and the command itself is insanely useful for quick-overviews, especially if you’re dealing with complex projects or shared codebases. Plus, saving the output means you’ve got your structure ready for documentation or backups. Not sure why, but on some setups, it works better after a reboot or when running in certain directories, so don’t be surprised if the first run throws a curveball.
Summary
- Install
treeviasudo apt install tree - Use
treeto visualize directories, with options like-dand-L - Save output to a file with
> - Check permissions and manual for more options
Conclusion
Hopefully this shaves off a few hours for someone. The tree command is a simple but powerful way to get a handle on your folder structure quickly. If things act up, double-check the install and permissions. This nifty tool can really boost your terminal game, especially when dealing with projects that have a million nested folders. Good luck exploring those directory forests!