dircolors:tldr:43e9e

The dircolors --bourne-shell command is used to generate shell commands that configure the colorized output of the ls command in a Bourne-like shell (e.g., Bash).

The dircolors command provides a way to customize the colorization of file names in the output of the ls command. It reads a configuration file, usually located at /etc/DIR_COLORS or ~/.dircolors, to determine how file types and extensions should be displayed in different colors.

When you run dircolors --bourne-shell, it generates a series of shell commands that can be used to set the LS_COLORS environment variable in your Bourne-like shell. The LS_COLORS variable contains the color codes and rules that define how file types and extensions are colored in ls output.

By running the generated shell commands, you enable the customized color scheme for file listings in your shell. The colors can help visually distinguish different types of files, such as directories, executables, or compressed files, making it easier to identify them at a glance.

Note that the generated shell commands may look like a series of assignments to environment variables, like LS_COLORS='.... These assignments need to be executed in your shell to take effect. One way to achieve this is by using the eval command, e.g., eval "$(dircolors --bourne-shell)".

In summary, the dircolors --bourne-shell command generates shell commands to configure the colorized output of the ls command in a Bourne-like shell. These commands set the LS_COLORS environment variable to customize the colors based on file types and extensions.