What is a Link in Linux?

A link is a reference to a file. There are two types:

a. Hard Link

• Points directly to the inode (actual data).
• File and hard link are indistinguishable.
• If original is deleted, the data remains (as long as one link exists).
• Cannot span different filesystems or link to directories (by default).

b. Symbolic Link (Soft Link)

• Points to another filename (like a shortcut).
• Can link across filesystems and to directories.
• Breaks if the target is removed or renamed.

Create a Hard Link

Syntax:

ln [source_file] [hard_link_name]

Example:

ln file.txt file_hard.txt

• Creates a hard link named file_hard.txt pointing to the same data as file.txt.

Check link count:

ls -l

• Look at the second column – shows number of links to the file’s inode.

Create a Symbolic (Soft) Link

Syntax:

ln -s [target] [link_name]

Example (file):

ln -s file.txt file_symlink.txt

Example (directory):

ln -s /var/log logs

Verify Links

Use ls -l:

ls -l

Output Example:

-rw-r--r-- 2 user user  512 Jul 22  file.txt
-rw-r--r-- 2 user user  512 Jul 22  file_hard.txt
lrwxrwxrwx 1 user user   9 Jul 22  file_symlink.txt -> file.txt

• Hard link: same inode count, identical size
• Symlink: shows -> pointing to the target

Differences Between Hard and Symbolic Links

Removing Links

• Removing symlink:

  rm file_symlink.txt

• Removing hard link:

  rm file_hard.txt

  (Original data exists as long as at least one link remains)

Summary

Link Commands Summary (Linux)