ln - make links between files

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LN(1)                                                                                           User Commands                                                                                           LN(1)



NAME
       ln - make links between files

SYNOPSIS
       ln [OPTION]... [-T] TARGET LINK_NAME   (1st form)
       ln [OPTION]... TARGET                  (2nd form)
       ln [OPTION]... TARGET... DIRECTORY     (3rd form)
       ln [OPTION]... -t DIRECTORY TARGET...  (4th form)

DESCRIPTION
       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 DIREC‐
       TORY.  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
              create symbolic 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: <http://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/> Report ln translation bugs to <http://translationproject.org/team/>

AUTHOR
       Written by Mike Parker and David MacKenzie.

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright © 2013 Free Software Foundation, Inc.  License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <http://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.

SEE ALSO
       link(2), symlink(2)

       The full documentation for ln is maintained as a Texinfo manual.  If the info and ln programs are properly installed at your site, the command

              info coreutils 'ln invocation'

       should give you access to the complete manual.



GNU coreutils 8.22                                                                              November 2020                                                                                           LN(1)```