The ln
command in Linux is used to create hard or symbolic links to files or directories. A hard link creates a new name for a file or directory, pointing to the same index node (inode) in the file system. A symbolic link creates a new file that contains the path to the original file or directory.
Syntax of the ln
command:
ln [options] source_file/directory target_file/directory
Options for the ln
command:
-s
: create a symbolic link
-f
: overwrite the target file/directory if it already exists
-v
: output detailed information about the link creation process
Creating a hard link:
ln file1.txt file2.txt
This will create a hard link file2.txt
that points to the same file as file1.txt
.
Creating a symbolic link:
ln -s file1.txt file2.txt
This will create a file2.txt
symbolic link that points to file1.txt
.
Creating a directory link:
ln -s /path/to/source_dir /path/to/target_dir
This will create a symbolic link to the source_dir
directory in the target_dir
directory.
Overwriting the target file/directory:
ln -f file1.txt file2.txt
This will create a hard link of file2.txt
to file1.txt
, even if file2.txt
already exists.
Output detailed information:
ln -v file1.txt file2.txt
This will create a hard link of file2.txt
to file1.txt
and output information about the link creation process.