# [[symlink]] ![[symlink.svg]] A symlink (symbolic link) is like a shortcut or alias to another file or directory. When a symlink is created for a folder `a` to another folder `b`, the contents of `a` are duplicated in `b`, but in such a way that changing the contents of one changes it in the other. In fact, symlinks make it so that while it appears like there are two copies of the directory, there's actually only one. So symlinks are useful for keeping the same files in multiple places but still preserving a single source of truth. You can create a symlink on the command line like this: ```bash ln -s <source> <destination> ``` Here's an example: ```bash ln -s /usr/local/bin/python3 /usr/bin/python ``` %% # Excalidraw Data ## Text Elements ln -s /a /b ^Id4eQGIi a ^f7Ssef9c a.txt ^YynRkiLK b ^A0v9Iw2W a.txt ^v5U4R15t ## Embedded Files 1eef98ded3ef9bd097ccc2a8be38ea8571562951: [[icon-link.svg]] e8a9c8b32d06d0f74450a7302bb2a808e5df6efc: [[icon-folder.svg]] 591445a885f72b280db385eae1f0ab58a5035592: [[icon-file.svg]] ## Drawing ```compressed-json N4KAkARALgngDgUwgLgAQQQDwMYEMA2AlgCYBOuA7hADTgQBuCpAzoQPYB2KqATLZMzYBXUtiRoIACyhQ4zZAHoFAc0JRJQgEYA6bGwC2CgF7N6hbEcK4OCtptbErHALRY8RMpWdx8Q1TdIEfARcZgRmBShcZQUebQBGADYEmjoghH0EDihmbgBtcDBQMBKIEm4IDgBJAGl4yQ5cAAZUkshYRArCfWikflLMbmceAHYEppGAZkmATh5EnhmFyYAW 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