Member Avatar for Grub

Hi,

I would like to know if it is possible to link files to one another. If so how do I go about doing so or better may you point me to some reading material on how it can be done.


Many thanks

  • 2 Contributors
  • 2 Replies
  • 128 Views
  • 3 Months Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by Grub

Dani AI

Generated

Thread note for and future readers: macOS supports three common ways to “link” files — Finder aliases (GUI), symbolic links (POSIX symlinks) and hard links — each with different behavior. asked for specifics earlier; below are the practical differences, how to create them, and common gotchas.

Finder alias
Right-click an item in Finder and choose “Make Alias” (or use File > Make Alias). Finder aliases are Mac-native shortcuts that try to find the target even after renames or moves within the same volume. They’re convenient on the desktop or in the Dock, but they are different from POSIX symlinks and some command-line tools won’t resolve them automatically.

Symbolic links vs hard links (Terminal)
Create a symbolic link (flexible, can cross volumes):

ln -s /path/to/target /path/to/linkname

Create a hard link (another name for the same file; same inode, must be on the same filesystem and applies to files only):

ln /path/to/target /path/to/linkname

Check a symlink target and listing:

readlink /path/to/linkname
ls -l /path/to/linkname
ls -li /path/to/target /path/to/linkname   # compare inode numbers for hard links

Key cautions and troubleshooting

  • Symlinks break if the target is removed or moved; aliases are often more robust for Finder users.
  • Hard links don’t work across different volumes and are not for directories in normal use.
  • To find broken symlinks:
    find /path -type l -exec test ! -e {} \; -print
  • Removing a symlink does not remove the target; removing a hard link removes one name but the file remains until the last link is deleted.

If remembers which method solved the original problem, a short note here would help others choosing the right approach.

Recommended Answers

All 2 Replies

Member Avatar for mesamb1

Can you be a little more specific about what you are trying to do?

Member Avatar for Grub

sorry solved this a long time ago.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.