ln1
Make links between files
Usage
ln [OPTION] ...
[-T]
TARGET
LINK_NAME
ln [OPTION] ...
TARGET
ln [OPTION] ...
TARGET ...
DIRECTORY
ln [OPTION] ...
-t
DIRECTORY
TARGET ...
Overview
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
--backupbut does not accept an argument
-
-d, -F, --directory -
allow the superuser to attempt to hard link directories, if supported by the system
-
-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 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 |
|---|---|
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.
Releases
19 releases since Debian 1.1 (Buzz); the text changed 15 times.
--logical since Debian 6.0 (Squeeze);
--no-target-directory since Debian 4.0 (Etch);
--physical since Debian 6.0 (Squeeze);
--relative since Debian 8 (Jessie);
--target-directory since Debian 2.2 (Potato);
-L since Debian 6.0 (Squeeze);
-P since Debian 6.0 (Squeeze);
-T since Debian 4.0 (Etch);
-r since Debian 8 (Jessie);
-t since Debian 4.0 (Etch).
--version-control until Debian 2.1 (Slink);
-V until Debian 2.1 (Slink).