lxa

lxa is a Linux-first file listing and inspection tool focused on extended attributes, especially XDG metadata (user.xdg.tags, user.xdg.comment, etc).

Why lxa?

You already have ls, but ls doesn't expose XDG metadata well. lxa isn't designed to be a better general ls. It's optimized specifically for answering: "Which files here have XDG metadata, and what is it?"

It provides a compact, readable, terminal-width-aware output emphasizing XDG tags and comments.

Features

• XDG Focus: Easily see XDG tags and comments alongside files.
• Filtering: Powerful expressions to find files (e.g. has:tags and not has:comment, tag:urgent).
• Width-Aware: Intelligently truncates tags and comments to fit your terminal.
• Inspect Mode: Detailed view of all user.xdg.* and other extended attributes.
• JSON Output: Structured, parseable JSON for scripting.
• No Dependencies: Pure Go, native Linux syscalls, no shelling out to getfattr.
• Customizable Output: Long listing formats (-l, -o, -g), multi-column output (-C), toggle headers (--header), toggle hidden files (-a, -A), advanced sorting (-S, -t, -v), rendering layouts (-m, -x, -1), symlink dereferencing (-L, -H), indicators (-F, -p), specialized xattr columns (--author, --creator, --origin, --checksum, --selinux, --samba, --capabilities, --acl), and broad GNU ls flag compatibility.
• First-class Metadata Mutation: Edit, set, add, remove, and clear metadata such as tags, comments, and ratings directly from the CLI without awkward subcommands (--set-tags, --add-tags, --set-comment, --set-rating, etc).

Installation

Build from source

go install github.com/lxa-project/lxa/cmd/lxa@latest

Usage

Basic List

List files with XDG metadata prominently displayed:

$ lxa
Generic.TV.Show.S02E01.mkv [tags: Seen] [comment: Watched 90% at 21:18]
Generic.TV.Show.S02E02.mkv
Generic.TV.Show.S02E03.mkv [tags: Seen] [comment: Watched 90% at 21:19]
Generic.TV.Show.S02E04.mkv [tags: Seen] [comment: Watched 90% at 21:19]

Long Listing

List files with detailed attributes including XDG metadata:

$ lxa -l --header
PERMISSIONS  NODE  OWNER  GROUP  SIZE  MODIFIED      FILENAME                    TAGS  COMMENTS
-rw-rw-rw-   1     user   user   1.6G  Jun 12  2025  Generic.TV.Show.S02E01.mkv  Seen  Watched 90% at 21:18
-rw-rw-rw-   1     user   user   1.6G  Jun 12  2025  Generic.TV.Show.S02E02.mkv
-rw-rw-rw-   1     user   user   1.6G  Jun 12  2025  Generic.TV.Show.S02E03.mkv  Seen  Watched 90% at 21:19
-rw-rw-rw-   1     user   user   1.6G  Jun 12  2025  Generic.TV.Show.S02E04.mkv  Seen  Watched 90% at 21:19

Modes

Show only files with XDG metadata, tags, or comments specifically using the --mode flag:

$ lxa --mode tags
file2.txt [tags: projectX] [comment: needs review]

Mutation Operations

Easily add, set, remove, or clear XDG metadata tags, comments, and ratings:

$ lxa --add-tags=urgent,projectX myfile.txt
$ lxa --set-comment="Needs review by Friday" myfile.txt
$ lxa --set-rating=5 myfile.txt
$ lxa --clear-tags myfile.txt

Recursive traversal

lxa -R

Filtering Expressions

Use expressions to find specific files. Supported logic: and, or, not, ().

$ lxa --filter "(tag:urgent or tag:projectX) and has:comment"
file2.txt [tags: projectX] [comment: needs review]

Inspect Mode

Inspect detailed xattrs for a specific file:

$ lxa inspect myfile.txt
Path: myfile.txt
  Type: -rw-r--r--
  Size: 2048
  XDG Metadata:
    tags: projectX, review
    comment: urgent task

  Other xattrs:
    user.custom: info

JSON Output

$ lxa --json myfile.txt
[
  {
    "metadata": {
      "All": {
        "user.xdg.tags": "cHJvamVjdFgsIHJldmlldw=="
      },
      "Comment": "",
      "HasCmnt": false,
      "HasTags": true,
      "HasXDG": true,
      "Tags": [
        "projectX",
        "review"
      ],
      "XDG": {
        "user.xdg.tags": "cHJvamVjdFgsIHJldmlldw=="
      }
    },
    "path": "myfile.txt",
    "size": 2048,
    "type": "-rw-r--r--"
  }
]

Supported Filters

Filters allow composing powerful searches:

• xdg - Has any user.xdg.* metadata
• has:tags - Has user.xdg.tags
• has:comment - Has user.xdg.comment
• tag:foo - Has tag containing "foo"
• xdg:key - Has specific XDG key user.xdg.key
• xattr:key - Has arbitrary xattr key

Examples:

lxa --filter '(tag:urgent or tag:projectX) and has:comment'

List files that have not been seen:

lxa --filter 'not tag:Seen'