exa is a Rust command-line program designed as a more featureful, user-friendly replacement for the Unix `ls` utility. It uses color to distinguish file types and metadata, understands symlinks, extended attributes, and Git state, and ships as a single binary for macOS and Linux. Its output modes include grid, long, recursive, and tree layouts, making historical directory listings easier to scan without changing the basic role of `ls`.
Beyond display modes, exa supports sorting by fields such as name, size, extension, and modification time; filters for hidden files, directories, file types, and ignore patterns; and long-view details including permissions, links, users, timestamps, blocks, and Git status. These capabilities made it part of the modern Rust CLI wave, but this page describes the original exa project—not Exa.ai's neural search API, SDKs, or MCP products.
The official repository now states that exa is unmaintained and directs users to the eza fork. It also explains that the repository itself is not archived because the account with archive rights is unreachable, so GitHub's archive badge is not the lifecycle signal to use. For a maintained replacement, readers should choose eza; this exa record remains in the graveyard for historical reference.
