NAME
ln - make links between files
SYNOPSIS
ln [OPTION]... [-T] TARGET LINK_NAME (1st form) ln [OPTION]... TARGET (2nd form) ln [OPTION]... TARGET... DIRECTORY (3rd form) ln [OPTION]... -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. 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 superuser) | |
| -f, --force | |
| remove existing destination files | |
| -n, --no-dereference | |
| treat destination that is a symlink to a directory as if it were a normal file | |
| -i, --interactive | |
| prompt whether to remove destinations | |
| -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 | |
| -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 | |
AUTHOR
Written by Mike Parker and David MacKenzie.
REPORTING BUGS
Report ln bugs to bug-coreutils@gnu.org GNU coreutils home page: <http://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/> General help using GNU software: <http://www.gnu.org/gethelp/>
COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 2009 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
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' | |
