LN(1)				 User Commands				 LN(1)



NAME
       ln - make links between files

SYNOPSIS
       ln [OPTION]... [-T] TARGET LINK_NAME   (1st form)
       ln [OPTION]... TARGET		      (2nd form)
       ln [OPTION]... TARGET... DIRECTORY     (3rd form)
       ln [OPTION]... -t DIRECTORY TARGET...  (4th form)

DESCRIPTION
       In  the	1st form, create a link to TARGET with the name LINK_NAME.  In
       the 2nd form, create a link to TARGET in the current directory.	In the
       3rd  and	 4th  forms, create links to each TARGET in DIRECTORY.	Create
       hard links by default, symbolic links  with  --symbolic.	  By  default,
       each  destination  (name	 of  new link) should not already exist.  When
       creating hard links, each TARGET must exist.  Symbolic links  can  hold
       arbitrary  text;	 if  later resolved, a relative link is interpreted in
       relation to its parent directory.

       Mandatory arguments to long options are	mandatory  for	short  options
       too.

       --backup[=CONTROL]
	      make a backup of each existing destination file

       -b     like --backup but does not accept an argument

       -d, -F, --directory
	      allow  the  superuser to attempt to hard link directories (note:
	      will probably fail due to	 system	 restrictions,	even  for  the
	      superuser)

       -f, --force
	      remove existing destination files

       -i, --interactive
	      prompt whether to remove destinations

       -L, --logical
	      dereference TARGETs that are symbolic links

       -n, --no-dereference
	      treat  LINK_NAME	as a normal file if it is a symbolic link to a
	      directory

       -P, --physical
	      make hard links directly to symbolic links

       -r, --relative
	      create symbolic links relative to link location

       -s, --symbolic
	      make symbolic links instead of hard links

       -S, --suffix=SUFFIX
	      override the usual backup suffix

       -t, --target-directory=DIRECTORY
	      specify the DIRECTORY in which to create the links

       -T, --no-target-directory
	      treat LINK_NAME as a normal file always

       -v, --verbose
	      print name of each linked file

       --help display this help and exit

       --version
	      output version information and exit

       The  backup  suffix  is	'~',  unless  set  with	  --suffix   or	  SIM-
       PLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX.   The version control method may be selected via the
       --backup option or through the  VERSION_CONTROL	environment  variable.
       Here are the values:

       none, off
	      never make backups (even if --backup is given)

       numbered, t
	      make numbered backups

       existing, nil
	      numbered if numbered backups exist, simple otherwise

       simple, never
	      always make simple backups

       Using  -s ignores -L and -P.  Otherwise, the last option specified con-
       trols behavior when a TARGET is a symbolic link, defaulting to -P.

       GNU  coreutils  online  help:  <http://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
       Report ln translation bugs to <http://translationproject.org/team/>

AUTHOR
       Written by Mike Parker and David MacKenzie.

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright  (C) 2013 Free Software Foundation, Inc.  License GPLv3+: GNU
       GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
       This is free software: you are free  to	change	and  redistribute  it.
       There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

SEE ALSO
       link(2), symlink(2)

       The  full  documentation	 for ln is maintained as a Texinfo manual.  If
       the info and ln programs are properly installed at your site, the  com-
       mand

	      info coreutils 'ln invocation'

       should give you access to the complete manual.



GNU coreutils 8.22		 February 2016				 LN(1)