[Symlink vs Alias] Symlinks and Aliases both display as a folder with a redirect arrow. But there are key differences in the way that they behave. #macos #terminal

symlink-vs-alias.md

Symlink vs Alias

Created: 2017.07.11

Alias

Aliases are useful for organising the MacOS filesystem.

In Mac OS System 7 and later, an alias is a small file that represents another object in a local, remote, or removable1 file system. It is similar to the Unix symbolic link, but with the added benefit of working even if the target file moves to another location on the same disk - Alias (Mac OS)

However, when using the shell command line, Mac OS X aliases are not recognized: for example, you cannot use the cd command with the name of an alias file. This is because an alias is implemented as a file on the disk that must be interpreted by Mac API - Alias (Mac OS)

Symlink (Symbolic Link)

Symlinks are useful for moving large files out of repositories:

links are implemented within the filesystem and are thus functional at any level of the OS - Alias (Mac OS)

If it is not provided as the last argument, the symlinked folder name is used as the symlink name:

# link       OriginalSourceFile    NewLinkFile
ln [-fhinsv] OriginalSourceFile... NewLinkFile

### explicit
ln -s /foo/bar/baz baz

### implicit
ln -s /foo/bar/baz

### implicit with new name of README.md
ln -s /foo/bar/baz README.md

Move local WordPress uploads to a cloud-synched external drive

cd wp-content
ln -s /Volumes/DanBackup/path/to/LargeFiles/domain.ext/wp-content/uploads

Reference a plugin under development from within a WordPress installation

cd wp-content/plugins
ln -s /Volumes/DanBackup/Websites/wp-my-plugin

Move system Downloads folder to an external drive (macOS)

sudo rm -rf from Slim down your SSD with symbolic links

cd /Users/Dan
sudo rm -rf Downloads
ln -s Volumes/DanBackup/Downloads

Verify existing symlinks

ls -la

Remove a symlink

unlink symlinkName