Why are some files in bold & others not? [duplicate]

Question

I getting a permission denied when trying to copy my cisco image to the switch and I thought the bold text may indicate something I was unaware of.

Bold files are those with executable bit set (the 'x' flag in the first column). — jimmij
– jimmij, Commented Oct 4, 2018 at 13:57
That's XY.You insist it must be bold has something to do your can't-copy problem, and ask about it, but it's not related to your real problem. — 炸鱼薯条德里克
– 炸鱼薯条德里克, Commented Oct 4, 2018 at 14:05
@神秘德里克 He asked why some files and directories are in bold... . He may not know whether or not it's related to his problem but the question he posted is still valid. — chrips
– chrips, Commented Oct 4, 2018 at 14:10
That would be the "color" output from ls, which has an effect even on a monochrome terminal. See also unix.stackexchange.com/questions/94498/… — JigglyNaga
– JigglyNaga, Commented Oct 4, 2018 at 14:15
I closed this as a duplicate because the answers of the dupe explain that all formatting (including colors and bold) just represents different permissions and/or file types. Specifically, the bold usually means that the file is executable. — terdon
– terdon ♦, Commented Oct 4, 2018 at 14:32

chrips · Accepted Answer · 2018-10-04 14:08:52Z

If the executable bit is set for any of root, group or user: --x--x--x for a file or directory, it will be in bold on some systems.

Don't depened on it though, it may or may not happen depending in the terminal you're using.

1 Answer 1