.ie \n(.g .ds Aq \(aq
.el .ds Aq '
.TH LN 1 "2026-04-07"
.SH NAME
ln \- Make links between files.
.SH SYNOPSIS
\fBln\fR [\fB\-\-backup\fR] [\fB\-b \fR] [\fB\-f\fR|\fB\-\-force\fR] [\fB\-i\fR|\fB\-\-interactive\fR] [\fB\-n\fR|\fB\-\-no\-dereference\fR] [\fB\-L\fR|\fB\-\-logical\fR] [\fB\-P\fR|\fB\-\-physical\fR] [\fB\-s\fR|\fB\-\-symbolic\fR] [\fB\-S\fR|\fB\-\-suffix\fR] [\fB\-t\fR|\fB\-\-target\-directory\fR] [\fB\-T\fR|\fB\-\-no\-target\-directory\fR] [\fB\-r\fR|\fB\-\-relative\fR] [\fB\-v\fR|\fB\-\-verbose\fR] [\fB\-h\fR|\fB\-\-help\fR] [\fB\-V\fR|\fB\-\-version\fR] <\fIfiles\fR>
.SH DESCRIPTION
Make links between files.
.SH OPTIONS
.TP
\fB\-\-backup\fR[=\fI<CONTROL>\fR]
make a backup of each existing destination file
.TP
\fB\-b\fR
like \-\-backup but does not accept an argument
.TP
\fB\-f\fR, \fB\-\-force\fR
remove existing destination files
.TP
\fB\-i\fR, \fB\-\-interactive\fR
prompt whether to remove existing destination files
.TP
\fB\-n\fR, \fB\-\-no\-dereference\fR
treat LINK_NAME as a normal file if it is a
symbolic link to a directory
.TP
\fB\-L\fR, \fB\-\-logical\fR
follow TARGETs that are symbolic links
.TP
\fB\-P\fR, \fB\-\-physical\fR
make hard links directly to symbolic links
.TP
\fB\-s\fR, \fB\-\-symbolic\fR
make symbolic links instead of hard links
.TP
\fB\-S\fR, \fB\-\-suffix\fR \fI<SUFFIX>\fR
override the usual backup suffix
.TP
\fB\-t\fR, \fB\-\-target\-directory\fR \fI<DIRECTORY>\fR
specify the DIRECTORY in which to create the links
.TP
\fB\-T\fR, \fB\-\-no\-target\-directory\fR
treat LINK_NAME as a normal file always
.TP
\fB\-r\fR, \fB\-\-relative\fR
create symbolic links relative to link location
.TP
\fB\-v\fR, \fB\-\-verbose\fR
print name of each linked file
.TP
\fB\-h\fR, \fB\-\-help\fR
Print help
.TP
\fB\-V\fR, \fB\-\-version\fR
Print version
.TP
<\fIfiles\fR>

.SH EXTRA
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.

The backup suffix is \*(Aq~\*(Aq, unless set with \-\-suffix or SIMPLE_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
.SH VERSION
v(uutils coreutils) 0.8.0