ln

Create a symbolic link to a file or directory

$ ln -s [/path/to/file_or_directory] [path/to/symlink]

$ ln -sf [/path/to/new_file] [path/to/symlink]

$ ln [/path/to/file] [path/to/hardlink]

ln [OPTION]... [-T] TARGET LINK_NAME
ln [OPTION]... TARGET
ln [OPTION]... TARGET... DIRECTORY
ln [OPTION]... -t DIRECTORY TARGET...

In the 1st form, create a link to TARGET with the name LINK_NAME. In the 2nd form, create a link to TARGET in the current directory. In the 3rd and 4th forms, create links to each TARGET in DIRECTORY. Create hard links by default, symbolic links with --symbolic. By default, each destination (name of new link) should not already exist. When creating hard links, each TARGET must exist. Symbolic links can hold arbitrary text; if later resolved, a relative link is interpreted in relation to its parent directory.

Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.

--backup[=CONTROL]

make a backup of each existing destination file

-b

like --backup but does not accept an argument

-d, -F, --directory

allow the superuser to attempt to hard link directories (note: will probably fail due to system restrictions, even for the superuser)

-f, --force

remove existing destination files

-i, --interactive

prompt whether to remove destinations

-L, --logical

dereference TARGETs that are symbolic links

-n, --no-dereference

treat LINK_NAME as a normal file if it is a symbolic link to a directory

-P, --physical

make hard links directly to symbolic links

-r, --relative

with -s, create links relative to link location

-s, --symbolic

make symbolic links instead of hard links

-S, --suffix=SUFFIX

override the usual backup suffix

-t, --target-directory=DIRECTORY

specify the DIRECTORY in which to create the links

-T, --no-target-directory

treat LINK_NAME as a normal file always

-v, --verbose

print name of each linked file

--help

display this help and exit

--version

output version information and exit

The backup suffix is '~', unless set with --suffix or SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX. The version control method may be selected via the --backup option or through the VERSION_CONTROL environment variable. Here are the values:

none, off

never make backups (even if --backup is given)

numbered, t

make numbered backups

existing, nil

numbered if numbered backups exist, simple otherwise

simple, never

always make simple backups

Using -s ignores -L and -P. Otherwise, the last option specified controls behavior when a TARGET is a symbolic link, defaulting to -P.

GNU coreutils online help: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
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Copyright © 2022 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

link(2), symlink(2) Full documentation <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/ln> or available locally via: info '(coreutils) ln invocation'

Written by Mike Parker and David MacKenzie.