Subversion (and other RCSs) feature a command to show the status of the files in
the current directory in regard to the repository. Example output from "svn list":

?      foobar
M      config.guess
M      config.sub
A      README

The flags in the left column usually mean something like...

A = added but not yet committed
M = modified compared to the version that is checked in
? = file is not under repository control

Alternatives seem to be "darcs query manifest" and "darcs whatsnew -l" but they
give either an incomplete view or a recursive list of all subdirectories.

A --not-recursive switch to darcs whatsnew might do the job: darcs whatsnew -s
-l --not-recursive summarises changes, looks for adds, but only in the current
directory.

We could make something like darcs show status an alias for this

Actually, better than a --not-recursive switch for darcs whatsnew would be to
simply accept filenames (and directory names) as is done with changes, etc.  So
we could just say

darcs whatsnew .

to get changes in the current directory, or

darcs whatsnew foo.c foo.h

to see only foo-related changes.

> Actually, better than a --not-recursive switch for darcs whatsnew would be to
> simply accept filenames (and directory names) as is done with changes, etc.  So
> we could just say
> 
> darcs whatsnew .

I'm confused: "whatsnew" has accepted file and directory options for a while. 

It seems to me the primary points in this request are the non-recursion, and a
simpler name than 

 darcs whatsnew --look-for-adds --non-recursive --summary .

Having

 "darcs list" 

Would certainly be familiar to SVN users, but for darcs users already used to

 darcs w -ls . 

It would just be noise to have another similar command.

<scratches head> 

I do see the benefit of being able to turn off recursion, which can sometimes
add significantly to hte time required to return a result. 

I think it merits considering adding "darcs list" as an alias for:

 darcs whatsnew --look-for-adds --non-recursive --summary .

My only concern is adding yet-another subcommand. Other opinions? How many
other SCM's have a command like "list" ?

The following patch sent by Eric Kow <kowey@darcs.net> updated issue issue182 with
status=resolved;resolvedin=2.8.0 HEAD

* Resolve issue182: hidden darcs status alias for darcs whatsnew -ls 
Ignore-this: 9ada08c78ea6e877083b56136ad46fd4