LN(1) User Commands LN(1)
NAME
ln - make links between files
SYNOPSIS
ln [OPTION]... [-T] TARGET LINK_NAME
ln [OPTION]... TARGET
ln [OPTION]... TARGET... DIRECTORY
ln [OPTION]... -t DIRECTORY TARGET...
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[=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 su-
peruser)
-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 SIM-
PLE_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 con-
trols behavior when a TARGET is a symbolic link, defaulting to -P.
AUTHOR
Written by Mike Parker and David MacKenzie.
REPORTING BUGS
GNU coreutils online help: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
Report any translation bugs to <https://translationproject.org/team/>
COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 2023 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.
SEE ALSO
link(2), symlink(2)
Full documentation <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/ln>
or available locally via: info '(coreutils) ln invocation'
GNU coreutils 9.4 June 2025 LN(1)
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