Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
ln (Unix)
open-in-new
<p>The ln command is a standard <a href="/facts/Unix_command/EEuIsUx9">Unix command</a> utility used to create a <a href="/facts/Hard_link/Twqdfvlt">hard link</a> or a <a href="/facts/Symbolic_link/laB0S68t">symbolic link</a> (symlink) to an existing file or directory. The use of a hard link allows multiple <a href="/facts/Filenames/EGc4tA7n">filenames</a> to be associated with the same <a href="/facts/Computer_file/FjFH3Ufm">file</a> since a hard link points to the <a href="/facts/Inode/Ej7JIzyP">inode</a> of a given file, the data of which is stored on <a href="/facts/Hard_disk_drive/kekLSGSE">disk</a>. On the other hand, symbolic links are special files that refer to other files by <a href="/facts/Filename/EGc4tA7n">name</a>. </p><p>The ln command by default creates hard links, and when called with the <a href="/facts/Command-line_interface/R9JpGmXQ">command line</a> <a href="/facts/Command-line_interface/R9JpGmXQ">parameter</a> ln -s creates symbolic links. Most <a href="/facts/Operating_systems/8XTuvMh2">operating systems</a> prevent hard links to <a href="/facts/Directory_(computing)/VLtLcEXY">directories</a> from being created since such a capability could disrupt the structure of a <a href="/facts/File_system/FdPm90uc">file system</a> and interfere with the operation of other utilities. The ln command can however be used to create symbolic links to non-existent files. </p>