ln

ln [options] target link_name

The following examples use this directory structure.

Create a symbolic link to a file.

ln -s original.txt link.txt
ls -l link.txt
lrwxrwxrwx 1 user staff 12 Mar  5 10:00 link.txt -> original.txt

Create a symbolic link to a directory.

ln -s /var/www/html /home/user/www
ls -l /home/user/www
lrwxrwxrwx 1 user staff 13 Mar  5 10:00 /home/user/www -> /var/www/html

Create a symbolic link in a directory on your PATH so you can run the command from anywhere.

ln -s /usr/local/bin/node /usr/bin/node

Create a hard link. Both file names share the same inode number, so they both point to the same data.

ln original.txt hardlink.txt
ls -i original.txt hardlink.txt
123456 hardlink.txt
123456 original.txt

Forcibly overwrite an existing link.

ln -sf config/settings.conf link.txt
ls -l link.txt
lrwxrwxrwx 1 user staff 21 Mar  5 10:05 link.txt -> config/settings.conf

Creating a hard link increases the link count. Even if you delete the original file, the data remains accessible as long as at least one link still exists.

ls -la original.txt
-rw-r--r-- 1 user staff 42 Mar  5 10:00 original.txt
ln original.txt hardlink.txt
ls -la original.txt hardlink.txt
-rw-r--r-- 2 user staff 42 Mar  5 10:00 hardlink.txt
-rw-r--r-- 2 user staff 42 Mar  5 10:00 original.txt
rm original.txt
cat hardlink.txt
(original file contents are displayed)

Use -L to check whether a symbolic link's target exists. This is useful for detecting dangling symlinks.

ln -s missing_file.txt broken.txt
ls -l broken.txt
lrwxrwxrwx 1 user staff 16 Mar  5 10:10 broken.txt -> missing_file.txt
[ -L broken.txt ] && echo "link exists" || echo "no link"
link exists
[ -e broken.txt ] && echo "target exists" || echo "target missing (dangling symlink)"
target missing (dangling symlink)

Create a symbolic link using a relative path. When the link target is specified as a relative path, the relationship is preserved even if the entire directory is moved.

cd config
ln -s ../original.txt local_link.txt
ls -l local_link.txt
lrwxrwxrwx 1 user staff 15 Mar  5 10:15 local_link.txt -> ../original.txt

Use -v to print information about each created link. Handy for verification and debugging in scripts.

ln -sv original.txt verbose_link.txt
'verbose_link.txt' -> 'original.txt'

Common Mistake 1: Using an absolute path in a symlink breaks it after moving the directory

A symbolic link with an absolute path points to a fixed location. If the directory tree is moved (e.g., to another machine or mount point), the link breaks.

ln -s /home/user/project/config.conf /etc/myapp/config.conf
（after moving to another server, /home/user/project/ may not exist）

Use a relative path so the link stays valid when the directory tree is moved.

cd /etc/myapp
ln -s ../../home/user/project/config.conf config.conf

Common Mistake 2: Forgetting -s creates a hard link instead of a symlink

Without -s, ln creates a hard link. A hard link shares the same inode as the original, so changes in one are reflected in both. Deleting one does not affect the other, which can cause confusion.

ln original.txt hardlink.txt
（this is a hard link, not a symbolic link）

Use -s to create a symbolic link.

ln -s original.txt symlink.txt

If the target of a symbolic link is deleted, the link becomes a broken link (dangling symlink). Hard links, on the other hand, keep the data accessible even after the original file is deleted — the data is only removed once the reference count drops to zero.

Symbolic links can point to directories, but hard links to directories are not allowed for regular users. To change file permissions, see chmod / chown / chgrp.