DIRlist vs Alternatives: Which Directory Lister Is Best?

What DIRlist does (at a glance)

DIRlist scans filesystem directories and produces navigable listings. Key features typically include:

Recursive directory indexing
Optional generation of static HTML indexes
Lightweight built-in HTTP server for sharing listings
Filtering and pattern matching (include/exclude)
Sorting and formatting options
Optional metadata (sizes, timestamps, checksums)

Installation

System requirements

A POSIX-compatible OS (Linux, macOS, BSD). Windows can usually run DIRlist via WSL or a compatible binary.
A modern version of Python/Go/Rust runtime depending on the DIRlist implementation you use — many implementations are available; check the one you choose for exact requirements.

Install from package manager (example)

Some distributions or package repositories may include DIRlist or similarly named tools. Example commands:

Debian/Ubuntu (if packaged):


sudo apt update sudo apt install dirlist

macOS (Homebrew):
```
brew install dirlist 
```

If DIRlist isn’t in your package manager, install from a binary or source as below.

Install from prebuilt binary

Download the latest release for your OS from the project’s releases page.

Extract and move the binary to a directory in your PATH:


tar -xzf dirlist-vX.Y.Z-linux-amd64.tar.gz sudo mv dirlist /usr/local/bin/ sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/dirlist

Verify installation:
```
dirlist --version 
```

Install from source

(Example for a Go-based implementation)

git clone https://example.org/dirlist.git cd dirlist go build -o dirlist sudo mv dirlist /usr/local/bin/

Quick start — basic commands

Generate a static index of a directory (simple):

dirlist /path/to/folder

This creates an index file (e.g., index.html or listing.json) in the target folder containing the listing.

Serve a directory over HTTP quickly:

dirlist serve /path/to/folder --port 8000

Then open http://localhost:8000 to browse the listing.

Recursively list and output to JSON:

dirlist scan /path/to/folder --recursive --output listing.json

Show help and available options:

dirlist --help

Configuration options (common patterns)

DIRlist implementations vary, but common flags and configuration choices include:

–recursive / -r: Walk subdirectories.
–output / -o: Path to write output (HTML, JSON, CSV).
–format: Choose output format (html, json, csv).
–serve: Start built-in server to serve listing.
–port: Port for the built-in HTTP server.
–sort: Sort by name, size, or time.
–reverse: Reverse sort order.
–exclude / –include: Glob patterns to filter files/directories.
–hidden: Include hidden files.
–template: Specify HTML template file for custom output.
–checksum: Compute and include file checksums (md5/sha256).
–follow-symlinks: Follow symbolic links when scanning.

Use a config file where supported (e.g., dirlist.yaml) to persist settings:

root: /srv/files recursive: true format: html template: /etc/dirlist/template.html serve:   enable: true   port: 8080

Output customization

Templates: Many DIRlist tools accept custom HTML templates. Templates usually expose variables like file name, size, mtime, and relative path.
Styling: Add a CSS file to the generated HTML or embed styles in your template.
Metadata columns: Enable or disable columns such as size, last modified, MIME type, and hash.
Localization: Some implementations support localized date formats or language strings.

Example minimal HTML template variables:

<!doctype html> <html> <head><title>Directory listing for {{ .Path }}</title></head> <body> <h1>{{ .Path }}</h1> <ul> {{ range .Files }}   <li><a href="{{ .RelPath }}">{{ .Name }}</a> — {{ .Size }} — {{ .MTime }}</li> {{ end }} </ul> </body> </html>

Security considerations

Avoid serving sensitive directories. Confirm the root path is correct before using –serve.
Use firewall rules or bind to localhost (127.0.0.1) when testing:
```
dirlist serve /path --bind 127.0.0.1 --port 8000 
```
If exposing on a public network, put DIRlist behind a reverse proxy (nginx/Caddy) with TLS and access controls.
Limit follow-symlinks to prevent escaping chroot or exposing other filesystem areas.
If checksums are computed, be mindful of CPU cost on large datasets.

Advanced usage

1) Integrate with a web server

Generate static indexes during deployment and let nginx serve them. Use a cron job to regenerate periodically:

0 * * * * /usr/local/bin/dirlist /var/www/files --recursive --output /var/www/files/index.html

nginx config snippet:

location /files/ {   root /var/www;   try_files $uri $uri/ /files/index.html; }

2) Searchable JSON API

Produce JSON outputs and expose a small API for searching filenames or metadata. Example flow:

dirlist scan /data --recursive --output /var/www/api/listing.json
A simple frontend or server-side script can query listing.json and filter results.

3) Incremental updates & caching

For very large trees, full rescans are expensive. Use a mode that only updates changed files (if DIRlist supports it) or maintain an external index (e.g., SQLite) with file paths, mtimes, and sizes, updating only where mtimes change.

4) Checksums and integrity verification

Compute SHA256 checksums during indexing for verification or deduplication:

dirlist scan /data --recursive --checksum sha256 --output checksums.csv

Use the CSV/JSON to detect duplicates or verify file integrity.

5) Automation with CI/CD

Generate directory listings as part of release pipelines to produce static artifacts that reflect build outputs.

Performance tips

Exclude large irrelevant directories with –exclude patterns.
Disable checksum calculation unless needed.
Run scans on machines with fast I/O (SSD) and sufficient RAM for large lists.
For very large file sets, stream output to avoid memory pressure:
```
dirlist scan /big --stream --output listing.jsonl 
```
JSONL (one JSON object per line) helps with incremental processing.

Troubleshooting

“Permission denied”: Run with appropriate privileges or adjust directory permissions.
“Port already in use”: Choose another port or stop the conflicting service.
Incomplete listings: Check for filesystem errors and confirm –recursive was used.
Slow scans: Check for network-mounted filesystems (NFS) and limit traversal depth.

Example workflows

Share a folder temporarily:

dirlist serve ~/public --port 8080 --bind 127.0.0.1 # Use SSH tunnel for remote access: ssh -L 8080:127.0.0.1:8080 user@host

Periodic static index for a website:

Cron job regenerates /var/www/files/index.html hourly.
Nginx serves index.html to web visitors.

Build a searchable frontend:

Export JSON listing.
Use a tiny JavaScript app to load and filter results client-side.

Alternatives and when to use them

If you need advanced features such as full-text content indexing, access control lists, or complex search queries, consider combining DIRlist with:

Elasticsearch or MeiliSearch for fast search over many files.
A full file server (Nextcloud, Samba) for user-level access and synchronization.
Rsync/backup tools for replication and archival.

Use case	DIRlist fit
Simple static directory indexes	Good
Lightweight HTTP sharing	Excellent
Complex access control / user auth	Limited (use reverse proxy / external auth)
Large-scale searchable repository	Combine with a search engine