macls.py v1.0.0

First public release of macls.py — a dependency-free, single-file Python 3 script that's a drop-in colorized replacement for macOS's ls.

Highlights

Modification-time gradient — a name's foreground color fades along a recency gradient (5 min / 30 min / 1 hour / 2 hours / 1 day / 1 week / 1 month / older), so the file you're mid-edit on jumps out at a glance.
Finder tags as background color — tag a file in Finder, see it colored in the terminal (--tag=bg/dot/str).
Compact columns that don't collapse — --columns=compact (the default) lets one long filename span multiple column slots instead of stretching every column.
Striped columns — --stripe tints alternating columns (or rows, in -l/-1) for easier scanning.
Inline image thumbnails — -I shows a thumbnail next to image files using iTerm2's inline image protocol.
Clickable filenames — every name is an OSC 8 hyperlink to its file:// URL.
Suffix coloring — --suffix-color=type colors -F's / @ * = | indicators by file type.
Quoting — --quote wraps names with spaces/shell metacharacters in shell-safe quotes.
GNU-style option/path ordering: options and paths can be freely mixed, e.g. macls.py file.txt -l.
Falls straight back to the real /bin/ls for any option it doesn't support.

Python 3.9+ (macOS's built-in /usr/bin/python3 works)
macOS (Finder tags and -I thumbnails are macOS/iTerm2-only; basic listing and coloring also work on Linux, including WSL2)
iTerm2 recommended, for -I thumbnails and clickable filenames

chmod +x macls.py

Put it on your PATH, or alias it in your shell config:

alias ls='/path/to/macls.py -BF --stripe --suffix-color=type --fg-mode=date --tag=bg --quote'

Full option and color reference: macls.md.

MIT — see LICENSE.