What Does the ‘->’ Symbol Mean After Files When Using the ‘ll’ Command in Linux? How to View the Actual File?

When viewing files in Linux, we often use the <span>ll</span> command (which is actually an alias for <span>ls -l</span>). You may have noticed that sometimes a file or directory is followed by an arrow and a path, for example:

lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root   11 Jun 15 14:32 lib64 -> usr/lib64

What does the -> mean here?

Meaning of the -> Symbol

This symbol indicates that the file is a soft link (symbolic link), similar to a shortcut in Windows systems.

The path after the arrow is the actual target that the soft link points to. In the example above, <span>lib64</span> is a soft link that points to <span>usr/lib64</span>, which is the actual directory. The file type field (the first field) shows as l (as in the example lrwxrwxrwx).

Soft Links vs Hard Links

There are two types of links in Linux:

Characteristics of Soft Links (Symbolic Links):

• It is a special file that stores the path of the target file

• Can span file systems

• Can point to directories

• If the original file is deleted, the soft link becomes invalid (known as a “broken link”)

Characteristics of Hard Links:

• It is another entry for the original file, sharing the same inode number

• Cannot span file systems

• Cannot point to directories

• If the original file is deleted, the hard link can still access the data

Creating a Soft Link

Use the <span>ln -s</span> command:

# Create a soft link
ln -s target_file link_name
# Example: Create a soft link for a frequently accessed directory
# This command creates a symbolic link at /path/to/symlink pointing to /path/to/original/file.
ln -s /path/to/original/file /path/to/symlink

Notes:

1. The permissions of the soft link file itself are usually 777, but the actual permissions are determined by the target file it points to

2. Moving or deleting the target file will cause the soft link to become invalid

3. Using <span>ls -l</span> can show the location the soft link points to

Methods to View the Actual Location of the Link

Method 1: Use the <span><span>ls -l</span></span> Command (Most Common)

This is the most straightforward method. The <span>ls -l</span> (or its alias <span>ll</span>) will directly display the link file and its target in the output. Here, we just need to add the name of the soft link file after the ll command.

# Command format
ls -l filename
# or
ll filename
# Example
ls -l /usr/bin/python
# Terminal output
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 9 Apr  5  2022 /usr/bin/python -> python3.10

Here, the <span>-></span> after the arrow points to <span>python3.10</span>, which is the actual target of the symbolic link <span>/usr/bin/python</span>.

Advantages: Simple and easy to remember, and you can also see file permissions, owner, size, and other information at the same time.Disadvantages: If there is a lot of output, you need to manually search for the <span>-></span> symbol.

Method 2: Use the <span><span>readlink</span></span> Command (Most Professional)

<span>readlink</span> is a command specifically designed to resolve symbolic links, and its output is very clean, showing only the absolute or relative path that the link points to.

# Command
readlink filename
# Example
readlink /usr/bin/python
# Terminal output
python3.10

If you want to always display the absolute path (very useful), you can add the -f (or –canonicalize) option:

# Command
readlink -f filename
# Example
readlink -f /usr/bin/python
# Terminal output
/usr/bin/python3.10

Advantages: Clean output, very suitable for use in scripts or in conjunction with other commands (for example, <span>cd $(readlink -f mylink)</span><span><span>).</span></span><strong><span>Disadvantages:</span></strong><span> Requires remembering an additional command.</span>

Method 3: Use the file Command

The file command is used to determine the file type, and it will also provide clear information for symbolic links.

# Command
file filename
# Example
file /usr/bin/python
# Terminal output
/usr/bin/python: symbolic link to python3.10

Advantages: Clearly tells you that the file type is “symbolic link”.Disadvantages: Output is not as concise as <span>readlink</span><span><span>.</span></span>

Method 4: Directly Use <span><span>cd</span></span> and <span><span>pwd</span></span><code><span><span> (For Directory Links)</span></span>

If you have a symbolic link pointing to a directory and want to directly enter its actual location, you can use the <span>cd</span> command with the <span>-P</span> (Physical) option. This will ignore the symbolic link and switch directly to the physical path.

# Command: cd -P directory_link_name
pwd
# Example: Suppose there is a link mydata -> /media/true_data
cd mydata    # At this point, you will be in the mydata/ directory
pwd          # Output might be /home/user/mydata
cd -P mydata # Using cd -P   pwd          # Output will be /media/true_data

Tips: If the target of the symbolic link no longer exists, these commands will still work normally (ls -l will show a path pointing to a non-existent location, and readlink will also print the invalid path). This situation is known as a “broken link”.

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