# Symbolic Links

A symbolic link allows you to create what appears to be a new file but which points to an existing file. The command is:

    $ ln -s /path/to/file /path/to/link


This creates a symbolic link `/path/to/link` which points to `/path/to/file`.

It can be very handy to have multiple copies of a file in different places. For example, you might have a binary with a long name, such as python3.8, but it would be easier to call it python. You can use a symbolic link so that /usr/local/bin/python3.8 points /usr/local/bin/python:

    $ doas ln -s /usr/local/bin/python3.8 /usr/local/bin/python


This creates a symbolic link `/usr/local/bin/python` which points to `/usr/local/bin/python3.8`.

If you long list it without following symbolic links:

    $ ls -ld /usr/local/bin/python
    lrwxr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  24 Feb 25 07:13 /usr/local/bin/python -> /usr/local/bin/python3.8


The -> indicates that `/usr/local/bin/python` is a symbolic link.

Symbolic links can be used on folders, too# This can be very handy:

    $ doas ln -s /var/www/htdocs /home/username/htdocs


Now, any files you put in your home folder's htdocs will automatically show up in /var/www/htdocs (the folder for your web server).