How to use the command 'readlink' (with examples)

How to use the command 'readlink' (with examples)

The ‘readlink’ command is used to follow symbolic links and retrieve information about symlinks. It is a part of the GNU Core Utilities and can be used to get the actual file to which a symlink points or to obtain the absolute path to a file.

Code:

readlink path/to/file

Motivation: This use case is useful when you want to determine the actual file that a symlink is pointing to. Symlinks are used to create shortcuts or aliases to files, but sometimes it’s necessary to access the original file directly.

Explanation: In this use case, the ‘readlink’ command is used without any options. It takes the path to a symlink as an argument and returns the path to the actual file that the symlink points to.

Example output: If the symlink ’link’ points to the file ‘file.txt’, running the command ‘readlink link’ would return ‘file.txt’.

Use case 2: Get the absolute path to a file

Code:

readlink -f path/to/file

Motivation: There are situations where you need to obtain the absolute path to a file, which includes the entire path from the root directory. This can be useful for scripting or when you want to reference a file with its full path.

Explanation: In this use case, the ‘-f’ option is used along with the ‘readlink’ command. It takes the path to a file as an argument and returns the absolute path to that file.

Example output: If the file ‘file.txt’ is located at ‘/home/user/Documents/file.txt’, running the command ‘readlink -f file.txt’ would return ‘/home/user/Documents/file.txt’.

Conclusion:

The ‘readlink’ command is a helpful tool for working with symbolic links. It allows you to retrieve information about symlinks, such as the actual file they point to and the absolute path to a file. By understanding the different use cases and options of the command, you can effectively manage and work with symlinks in your system.

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