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Identifying Symbolic and Hard Links in Linux

In a Linux environment, it's not uncommon to come across links—either symbolic ( soft) or hard—while browsing through files and directories. These links serve as pointers or references to actual files or folders on the system. Knowing how to identify these links can be crucial for system administrators, developers, and even casual users who wish to understand their system's file structure better. This article delves into methods you can use to identify symbolic and hard links using the Linux terminal.

The -l Option​

One of the simplest ways to identify links is to use the ls command with the -l option, which shows detailed information about files and directories:

ls -l

When you use ls -l, symbolic links are easily recognizable by the l character in the first column of the file permissions field and by the -> symbol followed by the target file path.

For example:

lrwxrwxrwx 1 user user  12 Jul 20 10:30 symlink -> target-file.txt

Here, symlink is a symbolic link pointing to target-file.txt.

Hard links are a bit trickier to spot. They appear as regular files and don't have a distinct identifier like symbolic links. However, you can look at the second column of the ls -l output, which shows the link count for the file. A link count greater than 1 typically indicates a file has one or more hard links:

-rw-r--r-- 2 user user 100 Jul 20 10:20 file.txt

Here, the link count is 2, indicating that file.txt has a hard link somewhere else on the filesystem.

Using file Command​

The file command can provide information about a file, including whether it is a symbolic link.

file symlink

Output:

symlink: symbolic link to 'target-file.txt'

Using stat Command for Advanced Insight​

The stat command provides detailed information about files, including inode numbers which can be helpful in identifying hard links.

stat -c '%N' symlink

Output:

‘symlink’ -> ‘target-file.txt’

To find hard links, you can use the find command with the inode number:

find /path/to/search -inum inode_number

Summary​

Understanding how to identify hard and symbolic links can give you valuable insights into your system's file architecture and help you manage files effectively. Whether you're a system admin or an end-user, knowing your way around these links will undoubtedly prove useful sooner or later. Keep this guide handy, and you'll be well-equipped to identify any type of link you may encounter.

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