Symbolic Link

Definitions

1. A filesystem entry that contains a path reference to another file or directory rather than actual data. The OS transparently follows the link when accessed, allowing one path to act as an alias for another — unlike a hard link, a symlink can span filesystems and point at directories.

   In plain English: A shortcut file that points to another file or folder, so you can access the same thing from a different location.

   Example: "I symlinked /var/log/app to the mounted EBS volume so logs write to the bigger disk without changing the app config."

Related Terms

• Symlink
• Make
• Makefile
• Network Interface
• Path
• Snap Package
• Standard Error
• Standard Input
• Stderr