[Bug 2154042] Re: ls: files are not sorted in alphabetical order when using --group-directories-first or if LC_ALL is unset
Harm van Bakel
2154042 at bugs.launchpad.net
Sun May 24 16:30:18 UTC 2026
Actually the issue is more complex. The sorting issues also occur if
LC_ALL is unset.
---
For example, rust-ls is giving the following:
LC_ALL= /usr/bin/ls --color=auto -l
drwxrwxr-x 6 harm harm 4096 Feb 15 2025 CytoscapeConfiguration
drwxr-xr-x 2 harm harm 4096 Dec 20 17:45 Desktop
lrwxrwxrwx 1 harm harm 18 Dec 30 2021 Documents -> Private/Documents/
drwxr-xr-x 22 harm harm 12288 May 23 18:25 Downloads
drwx------+ 9 harm harm 4096 May 23 06:55 Dropbox
drwxrwxr-x 2 harm harm 4096 Nov 10 2023 Invoices
drwxrwxr-x 62 harm harm 4096 Apr 11 18:14 Jupyter
drwxrwxr-x 2 harm harm 4096 Mar 10 2022 Music
drwxrwxr-x 5 harm harm 4096 Sep 2 2024 OneDrive
drwxr-xr-x 6 harm harm 36864 Oct 27 2024 Pictures
drwx------ 16 harm harm 4096 Apr 12 15:18 Private
drwxrwxr-x 3 harm harm 4096 Oct 29 2022 Projects
drwxr-xr-x 2 harm harm 4096 Jul 3 2020 Public
drwxrwxr-x 32 harm harm 4096 May 23 18:14 SynologyDrive
drwxrwxr-x 5 harm harm 4096 Dec 9 07:51 SynologyRibeira
drwxr-xr-x 2 harm harm 4096 Jul 3 2020 Templates
drwxr-xr-x 4 harm harm 4096 Feb 2 2025 Videos
drwxr-xr-x 9 harm harm 4096 Jun 19 2025 analysis
drwxrwxr-x 4 harm harm 20480 May 4 12:44 bin
drwxrwxr-x 2 harm harm 4096 Aug 2 2025 blat
drwxrwxr-x 4 harm harm 4096 May 3 05:33 conda
drwxr-xr-x 3 harm harm 4096 Nov 15 2024 jupyter-metadata-export
drwxrwxr-x 4 harm harm 4096 Feb 13 09:43 manuscript-repositories
drwxrwxr-x 20 harm harm 4096 Apr 12 15:19 miniconda3
drwxr-xr-x 128 harm harm 4096 May 6 19:07 opt
drwxrwxr-x 3 harm harm 4096 Jan 28 2025 pMorpheus
drwxrwxr-x 2 harm harm 4096 Nov 20 2024 recruitment
drwxrwxr-x 15 harm harm 4096 May 11 11:13 reimbursement
drwxrwxr-x 2 harm harm 4096 Sep 5 2024 results
drwx------ 29 harm harm 4096 May 9 16:29 snap
drwxrwxr-x 2 harm harm 4096 May 3 05:38 sources
drwxrwxr-x 36 harm harm 4096 Apr 15 18:41 tmp
---
While gnuls gives the following:
LC_ALL= /usr/bin/gnuls --color=auto -l
drwxr-xr-x 9 harm harm 4096 Jun 19 2025 analysis
drwxrwxr-x 4 harm harm 20480 May 4 12:44 bin
drwxrwxr-x 2 harm harm 4096 Aug 2 2025 blat
drwxrwxr-x 4 harm harm 4096 May 3 05:33 conda
drwxrwxr-x 6 harm harm 4096 Feb 15 2025 CytoscapeConfiguration
drwxr-xr-x 2 harm harm 4096 Dec 20 17:45 Desktop
lrwxrwxrwx 1 harm harm 18 Dec 30 2021 Documents -> Private/Documents/
drwxr-xr-x 22 harm harm 12288 May 23 18:25 Downloads
drwx------ 9 harm harm 4096 May 23 06:55 Dropbox
drwxrwxr-x 2 harm harm 4096 Nov 10 2023 Invoices
drwxrwxr-x 62 harm harm 4096 Apr 11 18:14 Jupyter
drwxr-xr-x 3 harm harm 4096 Nov 15 2024 jupyter-metadata-export
drwxrwxr-x 4 harm harm 4096 Feb 13 09:43 manuscript-repositories
drwxrwxr-x 20 harm harm 4096 Apr 12 15:19 miniconda3
drwxrwxr-x 2 harm harm 4096 Mar 10 2022 Music
drwxrwxr-x 5 harm harm 4096 Sep 2 2024 OneDrive
drwxr-xr-x 128 harm harm 4096 May 6 19:07 opt
drwxr-xr-x 6 harm harm 36864 Oct 27 2024 Pictures
drwxrwxr-x 3 harm harm 4096 Jan 28 2025 pMorpheus
drwx------ 16 harm harm 4096 Apr 12 15:18 Private
drwxrwxr-x 3 harm harm 4096 Oct 29 2022 Projects
drwxr-xr-x 2 harm harm 4096 Jul 3 2020 Public
drwxrwxr-x 2 harm harm 4096 Nov 20 2024 recruitment
drwxrwxr-x 15 harm harm 4096 May 11 11:13 reimbursement
drwxrwxr-x 2 harm harm 4096 Sep 5 2024 results
drwx------ 29 harm harm 4096 May 9 16:29 snap
drwxrwxr-x 2 harm harm 4096 May 3 05:38 sources
drwxrwxr-x 32 harm harm 4096 May 23 18:14 SynologyDrive
drwxrwxr-x 5 harm harm 4096 Dec 9 07:51 SynologyRibeira
drwxr-xr-x 2 harm harm 4096 Jul 3 2020 Templates
drwxrwxr-x 36 harm harm 4096 Apr 15 18:41 tmp
drwxr-xr-x 4 harm harm 4096 Feb 2 2025 Videos
** Summary changed:
- ls: files are not sorted in alphabetical order when using --group-directories-first
+ ls: files are not sorted in alphabetical order when using --group-directories-first or if LC_ALL is unset
--
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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/2154042
Title:
ls: files are not sorted in alphabetical order when using --group-
directories-first or if LC_ALL is unset
Status in rust-coreutils:
Unknown
Status in rust-coreutils package in Ubuntu:
New
Bug description:
Since upgrading from Noble 24.04 to Resolute 26.04, files and folders
are not sorted in proper alphabetical order when running ls --group-
directories-first in Ptyxis. The sort order appears roughly
alphabetical but with many exceptions, and there is no obvious pattern
to explain the deviations. Casing does not appear to be a factor
either.
I tried switching locales but the following give incorrect sort
results:
LC_ALL=C /usr/bin/ls -hlF --group-directories-first
LC_ALL=en_US.UTF-8 /usr/bin/ls -hlF --group-directories-first
Switching to gnuls restores proper alphabetical sorting.
---
ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 26.04
Package: rust-coreutils 0.8.0-0ubuntu3
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 7.0.0-17.17-generic 7.0.2
Uname: Linux 7.0.0-17-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.34.0-0ubuntu2
Architecture: amd64
CasperMD5CheckResult: unknown
CurrentDesktop: ubuntu:GNOME
Date: Fri May 22 14:10:52 2026
InstallationDate: Installed on 2020-07-06 (2146 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS "Focal Fossa" - Release amd64 (20200423)
ProcEnviron:
LANG=en_US.UTF-8
PATH=(custom, no user)
SHELL=/bin/bash
TERM=xterm-256color
XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set>
SourcePackage: rust-coreutils
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to resolute on 2026-05-06 (16 days ago)
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