List Files 3 Levels Deep in macOS Terminal

Three options for listing files and directories up to 3 levels deep, ordered by readability.

tree (Best Option)

Install via Homebrew (see Homebrew installation guide if needed):

brew install tree

List everything up to 3 levels deep:

tree -L 3

> .
> ├── Sources
> │   └── MyApp
> │       ├── App.swift
> │       └── ContentView.swift
> └── Tests
>     └── MyAppTests
>         └── MyAppTests.swift

Directories only:

tree -L 3 -d

find with -maxdepth

No install required — works on macOS and Linux:

find . -maxdepth 3

Filter by type:

find . -maxdepth 3 -type d   # directories only
find . -maxdepth 3 -type f   # files only

More scriptable than tree — pipe into grep, xargs, or sort as needed.

ls with Glob Wildcards

No extra tools, pure shell expansion:

ls -d */*/*

Each * represents one level. Shows only items at exactly the third level — intermediate levels are not listed.

Quick Reference

Command	Output Style	Dirs Only	macOS Built-in
tree -L 3	Tree view	tree -L 3 -d	❌ (Homebrew)
find . -maxdepth 3	Flat list	-type d	✅
ls -d */*/*	Flat list	Append /	✅

For Xcode project exploration, tree -L 3 -d gives the most readable folder structure at a glance.