Note: This article was originally published in 2014. Some steps, commands, or software versions may have changed. Check the current Man Pages documentation for the latest information.

General Commands Manual: ln

NAME

       ln - make links between files

SYNOPSIS

       **ln** ...  TARGET LINK_NAME   (1st form)
       **ln** ... TARGET                  (2nd form)
       **ln** ... TARGET... DIRECTORY     (3rd form)
       **ln** ... -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 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**
              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**.

AUTHOR

       Written by Mike Parker and David MacKenzie.

REPORTING BUGS

       Report ln bugs to (<mailto:[email protected]>)
       GNU coreutils home page: <<http://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>>
       General help using GNU software: <<http://www.gnu.org/gethelp/>>
       Report ln translation bugs to <<http://translationproject.org/team/>>
       Copyright © 2012 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

       (<http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/saucy/man2/link.2.html>)(2), (<http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/saucy/man2/symlink.2.html>)(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.

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