diff --git a/src/ls/main.cpp b/src/ls/main.cpp
index f83f6b0d1..d320ea001 100644
--- a/src/ls/main.cpp
+++ b/src/ls/main.cpp
@@ -18,13 +18,20 @@ usage(std::ostream& os, const char* name, int code){
   exit(code);
 }
 
+// context as configured on the command line
+struct lsContext {
+  bool longlisting;
+  bool recursedirs;
+  bool directories;
+  bool dereflinks;
+};
+
 static int
-handle_path(const char* p, bool longlisting, bool recursedirs,
-            bool directories, bool dereflinks, bool toplevel);
+handle_path(const char* p, const lsContext& ctx, bool toplevel);
 
 // handle a single inode of arbitrary type
 static int
-handle_inode(const char* p, const struct stat* st, bool longlisting){
+handle_inode(const char* p, const struct stat* st, const lsContext& ctx){
   std::cout << p << std::endl; // FIXME handle symlink (dereflinks)
   return 0;
 }
@@ -33,12 +40,11 @@ handle_inode(const char* p, const struct stat* st, bool longlisting){
 // if |recursedirs| or |toplevel| is set, we will recurse, passing false as
 // toplevel (but preserving |recursedirs|).
 static int
-handle_dir(const char* p, const struct stat* st, bool longlisting,
-           bool recursedirs, bool directories, bool toplevel){
-  if(directories){
-    return handle_inode(p, st, longlisting);
+handle_dir(const char* p, const struct stat* st, const lsContext& ctx, bool toplevel){
+  if(ctx.directories){
+    return handle_inode(p, st, ctx);
   }
-  if(!recursedirs && !toplevel){
+  if(!ctx.recursedirs && !toplevel){
     return 0;
   }
   DIR* dir = opendir(p);
@@ -49,7 +55,7 @@ handle_dir(const char* p, const struct stat* st, bool longlisting,
   struct dirent* dent;
   int r = 0;
   while(errno = 0, (dent = readdir(dir))){
-    r |= handle_path(dent->d_name, longlisting, recursedirs, directories, false, false);
+    r |= handle_path(dent->d_name, ctx, false);
   }
   if(errno){
     std::cerr << "Error reading from " << p << ": " << strerror(errno) << std::endl;
@@ -61,60 +67,65 @@ handle_dir(const char* p, const struct stat* st, bool longlisting,
 }
 
 static int
-handle_deref(const char* p, const struct stat* st, bool longlisting,
-             bool recursedirs, bool directories){
+handle_deref(const char* p, const struct stat* st, const lsContext& ctx){
   // FIXME dereference and rerun on target
   return 0;
 }
 
+// handle some path, either absolute or relative to the current directory.
+// toplevel is true iff the path was directly listed on the command line.
+// recursedirs, directories, longlisting, and dereflinks are all based off
+// command-line parameters.
 static int
-handle_path(const char* p, bool longlisting, bool recursedirs,
-            bool directories, bool dereflinks, bool toplevel){
+handle_path(const char* p, const lsContext& ctx, bool toplevel){
   struct stat st;
   if(stat(p, &st)){
     std::cerr << "Error running stat(" << p << "): " << strerror(errno) << std::endl;
     return -1;
   }
   if((st.st_mode & S_IFMT) == S_IFDIR){
-    return handle_dir(p, &st, longlisting, recursedirs, directories, toplevel);
+    return handle_dir(p, &st, ctx, toplevel);
   }else if((st.st_mode & S_IFMT) == S_IFLNK){
-    if(toplevel && dereflinks){
-      return handle_deref(p, &st, longlisting, recursedirs, directories);
+    if(toplevel && ctx.dereflinks){
+      return handle_deref(p, &st, ctx);
     }
   }
-  return handle_inode(p, &st, longlisting);
+  return handle_inode(p, &st, ctx);
 }
 
+// these are our command line arguments. they're the only paths for which
+// handle_path() gets toplevel == true.
 static int
-list_paths(const char* const * argv, bool longlisting, bool recursedirs,
-           bool directories, bool dereflinks){
+list_paths(const char* const * argv, const lsContext& ctx){
   int ret = 0;
   while(*argv){
-    ret |= handle_path(*argv, longlisting, recursedirs, directories, dereflinks, true);
+    ret |= handle_path(*argv, ctx, true);
     ++argv;
   }
   return ret;
 }
 
 int main(int argc, char* const * argv){
-  bool longlisting = false;
-  bool recursedirs = false;
-  bool directories = false;
-  bool dereflinks = false;
+  lsContext ctx = {
+    .longlisting = false,
+    .recursedirs = false,
+    .directories = false,
+    .dereflinks = false,
+  };
   int c;
   while((c = getopt(argc, argv, "dhlLR")) != -1){
     switch(c){
       case 'd':
-        directories = true;
+        ctx.directories = true;
         break;
       case 'l':
-        longlisting = true;
+        ctx.longlisting = true;
         break;
       case 'L':
-        dereflinks = true;
+        ctx.dereflinks = true;
         break;
       case 'R':
-        recursedirs = true;
+        ctx.recursedirs = true;
         break;
       case 'h':
         usage(std::cout, argv[0], EXIT_SUCCESS);
@@ -125,7 +136,6 @@ int main(int argc, char* const * argv){
     }
   }
   static const char* const default_args[] = { ".", nullptr };
-  list_paths(argv[optind] ? argv + optind : default_args, longlisting,
-             recursedirs, directories, dereflinks);
+  list_paths(argv[optind] ? argv + optind : default_args, ctx);
   return EXIT_SUCCESS;
 }