Files

SKILL.mdagentsreferences

Install

Install the containing plugin

/plugin install shared-skills@llm-skills

Invoke this skill after installation

/shared-skills:ln

Download ln-skill.zip

This skill is bundled inside shared-skills. Install the plugin once, then Claude Code can use any of its included skills. Browse the full plugin repository at github.com/alisonaquinas/llm-shared-skills.

SKILL.md

name: ln description: > Create hard links and symbolic links with ln for aliasing files, building path indirection, and managing shared references without duplication. Use when the agent needs to create a symlink to a file or directory, replace a broken link, create a hard link between files on the same filesystem, or safely update a symlink atomically.

ln

Create hard links and symbolic links between files and directories.

Quick Start

Verify availability: ln --version (GNU) or man ln
Create a symlink: ln -s /path/to/target link-name
Inspect the result: ls -l link-name

Intent Router

references/cheatsheet.md — Symlinks vs hard links, common flags, creating and replacing links, verification
references/advanced-usage.md — Relative vs absolute symlinks, atomic replacement, directory links, cross-filesystem constraints
references/troubleshooting.md — Broken links, dangling symlinks, circular references, cross-filesystem hard link errors

Core Workflow

Decide: symlink (-s) for cross-filesystem, directory, or path-indirection use; hard link for same-filesystem file aliasing
Verify the target path exists and is correct before creating the link
Use -v to confirm what was created
Inspect with ls -l to confirm link direction and target
Use readlink -f or realpath to resolve the full target chain

Quick Command Reference

ln -s /path/to/target link-name        # Create a symbolic link
ln -s ../relative/path link-name       # Relative symlink (portable across moves)
ln -sf /new/target existing-link       # Replace (force) an existing symlink
ln -snf /new/target existing-link      # Replace without following if target is a dir
ln -sv /path/to/target link-name       # Verbose: confirm what was created
ln /path/to/source hard-link           # Create a hard link (same filesystem only)
ls -l link-name                        # Inspect link and its target
readlink link-name                     # Print the symlink target
readlink -f link-name                  # Resolve the full canonical path
man ln                                 # Full manual

Safety Notes

Area	Guardrail
Verify target first	Creating a symlink to a non-existent path produces a dangling link. Confirm the target exists with `ls` or `test -e` before linking.
Force flag	`-f` silently removes any existing file or link at the destination. Always check what exists there first with `ls -l`.
Directory symlinks	When a link destination is a directory, `ln -sf dir link` may link inside the directory rather than replace the link. Use `-n` (`--no-dereference`) to treat the link itself as the target.
Hard links and directories	Hard-linking directories is disallowed on most systems to prevent filesystem cycles. Use symlinks for directories.
Cross-filesystem hard links	Hard links cannot span different filesystems or mount points. Use symlinks instead.
Relative vs absolute	Absolute symlinks break when the tree is moved. Prefer relative symlinks for portable layouts.

Source Policy

Treat man ln and ln --help as runtime truth.
Verify with ls -l and readlink after creating links; do not assume success from exit code alone.
Test symlink validity with test -L link && test -e link to distinguish dangling from valid.

ln