3.5.1 ls -a

A frequently used option with ls is -a to show all files. Showing all files means including the hidden files. When a file name on a Linux file system starts with a dot, it is considered a hidden file and it doesn’t show up in regular file listings. ^[feedback]

paul@debian8:~$ ls
allfiles.txt  dmesg.txt  services  stuff  summer.txt
paul@debian8:~$ ls -a
.   allfiles.txt   .bash_profile  dmesg.txt   .lesshst  stuff
..  .bash_history  .bashrc        services    .ssh      summer.txt 
paul@debian8:~$