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 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

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

AUTHOR

       Written by Mike Parker and David MacKenzie.

REPORTING BUGS

       Report ln bugs to bug-coreutils@gnu.org
       GNU coreutils home page: <http://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
       General help using GNU software: <http://www.gnu.org/gethelp/>
       Report ln translation bugs to <http://translationproject.org/team/>

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright  ©  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 command

              info coreutils 'ln invocation'

       should give you access to the complete manual.

GNU coreutils 8.21                                 March 2016                                              LN(1)