1LN(1)                            User Commands                           LN(1)
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NAME

6       ln - make links between files
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SYNOPSIS

9       ln [OPTION]... [-T] TARGET LINK_NAME   (1st form)
10       ln [OPTION]... TARGET                  (2nd form)
11       ln [OPTION]... TARGET... DIRECTORY     (3rd form)
12       ln [OPTION]... -t DIRECTORY TARGET...  (4th form)
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DESCRIPTION

15       In  the  1st form, create a link to TARGET with the name LINK_NAME.  In
16       the 2nd form, create a link to TARGET in the current directory.  In the
17       3rd  and  4th  forms, create links to each TARGET in DIRECTORY.  Create
18       hard links by default, symbolic links with --symbolic.   When  creating
19       hard  links, each TARGET must exist.  Symbolic links can hold arbitrary
20       text; if later resolved, a relative link is interpreted in relation  to
21       its parent directory.
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23       Mandatory  arguments  to  long  options are mandatory for short options
24       too.
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26       --backup[=CONTROL]
27              make a backup of each existing destination file
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29       -b     like --backup but does not accept an argument
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31       -d, -F, --directory
32              allow the superuser to attempt to hard link  directories  (note:
33              will  probably  fail  due  to  system restrictions, even for the
34              superuser)
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36       -f, --force
37              remove existing destination files
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39       -i, --interactive
40              prompt whether to remove destinations
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42       -L, --logical
43              make hard links to symbolic link references
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45       -n, --no-dereference
46              treat destination that is a symlink to a directory as if it were
47              a normal file
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49       -P, --physical
50              make hard links directly to symbolic links
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52       -s, --symbolic
53              make symbolic links instead of hard links
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55       -S, --suffix=SUFFIX
56              override the usual backup suffix
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58       -t, --target-directory=DIRECTORY
59              specify the DIRECTORY in which to create the links
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61       -T, --no-target-directory
62              treat LINK_NAME as a normal file
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64       -v, --verbose
65              print name of each linked file
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67       --help display this help and exit
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69       --version
70              output version information and exit
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72       The   backup   suffix   is  `~',  unless  set  with  --suffix  or  SIM‐
73       PLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX.  The version control method may be selected via  the
74       --backup  option  or  through the VERSION_CONTROL environment variable.
75       Here are the values:
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77       Using -s ignores -L and -P.  Otherwise, the last option specified  con‐
78       trols behavior when the source is a symbolic link, defaulting to -P.
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80       none, off
81              never make backups (even if --backup is given)
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83       numbered, t
84              make numbered backups
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86       existing, nil
87              numbered if numbered backups exist, simple otherwise
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89       simple, never
90              always make simple backups
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AUTHOR

93       Written by Mike Parker and David MacKenzie.
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REPORTING BUGS

96       Report ln bugs to bug-coreutils@gnu.org
97       GNU coreutils home page: <http://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
98       General help using GNU software: <http://www.gnu.org/gethelp/>
99       Report ln translation bugs to <http://translationproject.org/team/>
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102       Copyright  ©  2010  Free Software Foundation, Inc.  License GPLv3+: GNU
103       GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
104       This is free software: you are free  to  change  and  redistribute  it.
105       There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
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SEE ALSO

108       link(2), symlink(2)
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110       The  full  documentation  for ln is maintained as a Texinfo manual.  If
111       the info and ln programs are properly installed at your site, the  com‐
112       mand
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114              info coreutils 'ln invocation'
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116       should give you access to the complete manual.
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120GNU coreutils 8.5                November 2010                           LN(1)
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