linux tree command limit number of files displayed in each directory

Question

I want to use tree (or similar) to see the directory structure of a given directory as well as whether each subdirectory has files in it. So, how could I use tree but limit the maximum number of files to display in a given subdirectory?

If it can't be done with tree, how could it be done by modifying the Python code from this site?

Solution 1

Here's a working example with the python code you cited:

Usage: tree.py -f [file limit] <directory>

If a number is specified for -f [file limit] then ... <additional files> is printed and the other files are skipped. Additional directories should not be skipped however. If the file limit is set to 10000 (default) this acts as no limit

#! /usr/bin/env python
# tree.py
#
# Written by Doug Dahms
# modified by glallen @ StackExchange
#
# Prints the tree structure for the path specified on the command line

from os import listdir, sep
from os.path import abspath, basename, isdir
from sys import argv

def tree(dir, padding, print_files=False, limit=10000):
    print padding[:-1] + '+-' + basename(abspath(dir)) + '/'
    padding = padding + ' '
    limit = int(limit)
    files = []
    if print_files:
        files = listdir(dir)
    else:
        files = [x for x in listdir(dir) if isdir(dir + sep + x)]
    count = 0
    for file in files:
        count += 1
        path = dir + sep + file
        if isdir(path):
            print padding + '|'
            if count == len(files):
                tree(path, padding + ' ', print_files, limit)
            else:
                tree(path, padding + '|', print_files, limit)
        else:
            if limit == 10000:
                print padding + '|'
                print padding + '+-' + file
                continue
            elif limit == 0:
                print padding + '|'
                print padding + '+-' + '... <additional files>'
                limit -= 1
            elif limit <= 0:
                continue
            else:
                print padding + '|'
                print padding + '+-' + file
                limit -= 1

def usage():
    return '''Usage: %s [-f] [file-listing-limit(int)] <PATH>
Print tree structure of path specified.
Options:
-f          Print files as well as directories
-f [limit]  Print files as well as directories up to number limit
PATH        Path to process''' % basename(argv[0])

def main():
    if len(argv) == 1:
        print usage()
    elif len(argv) == 2:
        # print just directories
        path = argv[1]
        if isdir(path):
            tree(path, ' ')
        else:
            print 'ERROR: \'' + path + '\' is not a directory'
    elif len(argv) == 3 and argv[1] == '-f':
        # print directories and files
        path = argv[2]
        if isdir(path):
            tree(path, ' ', True)
        else:
            print 'ERROR: \'' + path + '\' is not a directory'
    elif len(argv) == 4 and argv[1] == '-f':
        # print directories and files up to max
        path = argv[3]
        if isdir(path):
            tree(path, ' ', True, argv[2])
        else:
            print 'ERROR: \'' + path + '\' is not a directory'
    else:
        print usage()

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

When run, it should produce output similar to:

user@host /usr/share/doc $ python /tmp/recipe-217212-1.py -f 2 . | head -n 40
+-doc/
  |
  +-libgnuradio-fft3.7.2.1/
  | |
  | +-copyright
  | |
  | +-changelog.Debian.gz
  |
  +-libqt4-script/
  | |
  | +-LGPL_EXCEPTION.txt
  | |
  | +-copyright
  | |
  | +-... <additional files>
  |
  +-xscreensaver-gl/
  | |
  | +-copyright
  | |
  | +-changelog.Debian.gz
  | |
  | +-... <additional files>

Solution 2

One can use tree --filelimit=N to limit number of subdirectories/file to display. Unfortunately, this will not open directory which has more than N sub-directories and files.

For simple cases, when you have multiple directories and most have too many(say > 100) files, you can use tree --filelimit=100.

.
├── A1
│   ├── A2
│   ├── B2
│   ├── C2 [369 entries exceeds filelimit, not opening dir]
│   └── D2 [3976 entries exceeds filelimit, not opening dir]
├── B1
│   └── A2
│       ├── A3.jpeg
│       └── B3.png
└── C1.sh

Note, if A1/C2 has a sub-directory A3, it will not be shown.

P.S. This is not a complete solution but will be quicker for few.

Comments

[bagustris]

This will be nice if the option --filelimit is included in native Unix/Linux tree command.

[saurabheights]

4 years later, searching for my own answer :D