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.   By  default,
19       each  destination  (name  of  new link) should not already exist.  When
20       creating hard links, each TARGET must exist.  Symbolic links  can  hold
21       arbitrary  text;  if  later resolved, a relative link is interpreted in
22       relation to its parent directory.
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24       Mandatory arguments to long options are  mandatory  for  short  options
25       too.
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27       --backup[=CONTROL]
28              make a backup of each existing destination file
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30       -b     like --backup but does not accept an argument
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32       -d, -F, --directory
33              allow  the  superuser to attempt to hard link directories (note:
34              will probably fail due to  system  restrictions,  even  for  the
35              superuser)
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37       -f, --force
38              remove existing destination files
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40       -i, --interactive
41              prompt whether to remove destinations
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43       -L, --logical
44              dereference TARGETs that are symbolic links
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46       -n, --no-dereference
47              treat  LINK_NAME  as a normal file if it is a symbolic link to a
48              directory
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50       -P, --physical
51              make hard links directly to symbolic links
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53       -r, --relative
54              create symbolic links relative to link location
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56       -s, --symbolic
57              make symbolic links instead of hard links
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59       -S, --suffix=SUFFIX
60              override the usual backup suffix
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62       -t, --target-directory=DIRECTORY
63              specify the DIRECTORY in which to create the links
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65       -T, --no-target-directory
66              treat LINK_NAME as a normal file always
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68       -v, --verbose
69              print name of each linked file
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71       --help display this help and exit
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73       --version
74              output version information and exit
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76       The  backup  suffix  is  '~',  unless  set  with   --suffix   or   SIM‐
77       PLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX.   The version control method may be selected via the
78       --backup option or through the  VERSION_CONTROL  environment  variable.
79       Here are the values:
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81       none, off
82              never make backups (even if --backup is given)
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84       numbered, t
85              make numbered backups
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87       existing, nil
88              numbered if numbered backups exist, simple otherwise
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90       simple, never
91              always make simple backups
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93       Using  -s ignores -L and -P.  Otherwise, the last option specified con‐
94       trols behavior when a TARGET is a symbolic link, defaulting to -P.
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96       GNU  coreutils  online  help:  <http://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
97       Report ln translation bugs to <http://translationproject.org/team/>
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AUTHOR

100       Written by Mike Parker and David MacKenzie.
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103       Copyright  ©  2013  Free Software Foundation, Inc.  License GPLv3+: GNU
104       GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
105       This is free software: you are free  to  change  and  redistribute  it.
106       There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
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SEE ALSO

109       link(2), symlink(2)
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111       The  full  documentation  for ln is maintained as a Texinfo manual.  If
112       the info and ln programs are properly installed at your site, the  com‐
113       mand
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115              info coreutils 'ln invocation'
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117       should give you access to the complete manual.
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121GNU coreutils 8.22               October 2018                            LN(1)
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