ln command in Linux: symbolic and hard links, examples

Q: A broken (dangling) symlink

The target was moved or deleted. ls -l shows it in red, readlink -f returns empty or an error. Find every broken one: find /path -xtype l.

Q: A relative symlink "broke" after a move

A relative path is resolved from the link's own directory, not the current one. If you move the link, recompute the target or use an absolute path.

Q: ln -s into an existing directory created the link INSIDE it

If name is an existing directory, ln -s target dir drops the link at dir/target. To replace the symlinked directory itself, add -n (ln -sfn target dir).

Overview

A link is a second name for a file. There are two kinds:

Symbolic (symlink, ln -s) — a pointer to a path. It can point to a directory, to another filesystem, and can be "hanging" (broken, if the target was removed). This is the common case.
Hard link — another name for the same inode (the same data). Only within one filesystem, only for files. The file exists as long as at least one name remains.

Options

6

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-s is the one option that makes a symlink instead of a hard link; without it ln creates a hard link. -f overwrites an existing link name — without confirmation, so it's risky with someone else's or important files. -n matters specifically when replacing a symlink that points to a directory: without it, ln -sf target dir drops the new link inside dir instead of replacing dir itself.

Option	What it does	Example
`-s` `--symbolic`	Create a symbolic link instead of a hard one.	`ln -s target link`
`-f` `--force`	Remove an existing destination file and recreate the link. dangerous	`ln -sf target link`
`-n` `--no-dereference`	When replacing a symlink to a directory, do not follow it — replace the symlink itself.	`ln -sfn target linkdir`
`-v` `--verbose`	Print each link that is created.	`ln -sv target link`
`-r` `--relative`	Create a symbolic link with a path relative to the link's location.	`ln -sr target link`
`-T` `--no-target-directory`	Treat the destination as a normal file, even if it is a directory.	`ln -sT target name`

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Recipes

2

Examples

bash

ln -s /opt/app/current/bin/app /usr/local/bin/app   # symlink (target → link name)
ln -s ../shared config                              # a relative symlink
ln -sf /new/target link                             # -f: recreate an existing link
ln -sfn /new/dir linkdir                            # -n: don't "step into" a symlinked directory when replacing it
readlink link                                       # where the symlink points
readlink -f link                                    # the absolute path after all symlinks
ls -l link                                          # shows the arrow: link -> target

# a hard link (same content, same inode):
ln file hardname
stat -c '%i %h' file hardname                       # same inode, link count 2

Argument order is like cp: target first, then the link name (ln -s target name).

Symlink vs hard

	Symlink (`-s`)	Hard link
Points to a directory	yes	no
Across filesystems	yes	no
Target deleted	a "broken" symlink	data survives as long as any name remains
Shown in `ls -l`	`-> target`	looks like a regular file
Own inode	yes (separate)	no (the same as the file's)

For configs, app versions, systemd's /etc/...wants/ — it's almost always symlinks.

Troubleshooting

3

A broken (dangling) symlink

The target was moved or deleted. ls -l shows it in red, readlink -f returns empty or an error. Find every broken one: find /path -xtype l.

A relative symlink "broke" after a move

A relative path is resolved from the link's own directory, not the current one. If you move the link, recompute the target or use an absolute path.

`ln -s` into an existing directory created the link INSIDE it

If name is an existing directory, ln -s target dir drops the link at dir/target. To replace the symlinked directory itself, add -n (ln -sfn target dir).

ln — symbolic and hard links

Cheat sheet