reln (pronounced ree-L-N) allows the user to copy symlinks to a specified location, and adjust their targets such that they still point to the same files as the original links. The original links may then be removed. This allows the symlinks to be moved and copied in effectively the same way as one would do with the mv and cp commands when moving and copying regular files and directories, without needing to worry about adjusting the targets of the links according to their new location.
reln also provides options for converting relative target paths to absolute ones, and vice versa. Entirely new symlinks can also be created with reln by passing regular files or directories instead of links as positional arguments.
Also see a related tool unln for removing symlinks and their targets.
Video tutorial:
| Version | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0.1.3 | 2024-07-05 |
Fixed incorrect handling of the target argument when only two non-option arguments are passed, and the target argument is a path to a symbolic link that points to a directory. Trailing forward slash can now be used to treat such a symbolic link as a directory; otherwise, it is treated as a regular file. Without a trailing forward slash, the symbolic link will be overwritten, or |
reln was written and tested on Debian 12, and takes advantage of standard utilities that come with the system. In order to run reln on other systems, make sure that the following are installed and available on system's PATH:
- Bash >= 5.2.15
- Enhanced getopt
- GNU coreutils
- GNU sed
-
Clone this repository to a directory of your choice (e.g.
~/repos):cd ~/repos git clone https://github.com/linguisticmind/reln.git
-
Symlink or copy the script file to a directory on your
PATH(e.g.~/bin):cd ~/bin # To symlink: ln -sv ../repos/reln/reln # To copy: cp -av ../repos/reln/reln .
-
(OPTIONAL) Symlink or copy the man page to a directory on your
MANPATH(e.g.~/man):cd ~/man/man1 # The `man` directory should contain subdirectories for different manual sections: `man1`, `man2` etc. # To symlink: ln -sv ../../repos/reln/man/man1/reln.1 # To copy: cp -av ../../repos/reln/man/man1/reln.1 .
A copy of the manual page is also included in this README file.
-
(OPTIONAL) Copy the example config file to the config directory:
mkdir -v ~/.config/reln cp -v ~/repos/reln/config.bash ~/.config/reln
RELN(1) General Commands Manual RELN(1)
NAME
reln - recreate symlinks adjusting paths to their targets
SYNOPSIS
reln [<options>] <link|file> <dir|link>[/]
reln [<options>] <link|file> ... <dir>
DESCRIPTION
reln allows the user to copy symlinks to a specified location, and ad‐
just their targets such that they still point to the same files as the
original links. The original links may then be removed. This allows the
symlinks to be moved and copied in effectively the same way as one
would do with the mv and cp commands when moving and copying regular
files and directories, without needing to worry about adjusting the
targets or the links according to their new location.
reln also provides options for converting relative target paths to ab‐
solute ones, and vice versa. Entirely new symlinks can also be created
with reln by passing regular files or directories instead of links as
non-option arguments.
reln takes one or more links or non-link files as non-option arguments
(<link|file>), while the last non-option argument following all the
<link|file>s is the destination (<dir>, <dir|link>), i.e. the location
for the new link(s).
If two or more <link|file>s are passed, then the destination must be a
directory (<dir>). If only one <link|file> is passed, then the second
and last non-option argument may also point to a new name for the link
to be created (<dir|link>), in which case the provided path may include
a path to a destination directory as well as the filename for the new
link. In either case, the destination directory must exist.
In the case where only one <link|file> is passed, a trailing forward
slash on the second and last non-option argument (<dir|link>) forces
that argument to be treated as a directory (<dir>) rather than a link
name (<link>). It is especially significant if the file passed as the
second argument is a symbolic link pointing to a directory. Without a
trailing forward slash, the symbolic link will be overwritten, or reln
will throw an error - depending on the state of -y, --overwrite / -Y,
--no-overwrite; if a trailing forward slash is added, a new symbolic
link will be put into the directory that the symbolic link passed as
the second non-option argument is pointing to.
OPTIONS
Passing arguments to options
Enhanced getopt syntax applies when passing options. There is one im‐
portant point to highlight when it comes to passing options with re‐
quired vs optional arguments.
In case of a short option, if an option takes a *required* argument,
the argument may be written as a separate parameter, *or* directly af‐
ter the option character. If an option takes an *optional* argument,
however, the argument *must* be written directly after the option char‐
acter.
In case of a long option, if an option takes a *required* argument, the
argument may be written as a separate parameter, *or* directly after
the option name, separated by an equals sign (`=`). If an option takes
an *optional* argument, however, the argument *must* be writtent di‐
rectly after the option name, separated by an equals sign (`=`).
Short option Long option
Required argument -o <value> --option <value>
-o<value> --option=<value>
Optional argument -o[<value>] --option[=<value>]
Options that take optional arguments can be recognized in the options
list below by their <value> and the preceding equals sign being en‐
closed in square brackets:
-o, --option[=<value>]
General
-r, --run
Perform the specified operations instead of simulating them.
-R, --no-run
Simulate the specified operations instead of performing them.
This is the default.
-p, --print-cmd
Print a preview of the commands to be executed.
-P, --no-print-cmd
Do not print a preview of the commands to be executed. This is
the default.
-k, --keep-original
Keep original symlinks.
-K, --no-keep-original
Do not keep original symlinks. Delete them. This is the default.
-y, --overwrite
Overwrite already existing files.
-Y, --no-overwrite
Do not overwrite already existing files. This is the default.
-m, --mode={link|relink}
Mode of operation.
link Create links to specified <link|file>s regardless of
whether they are links or non-link files.
relink (default)
Relink <link|file>s if they are links, and create links
to them if they are non-link files.
-l, --link-type={relative|absolute|auto}
Type of links to create.
relative
Create relative links.
absolute
Create absolute links.
auto (default)
If <link|file> is a link, create a link of the type cor‐
responding to the type of the original link's target
path. If <link|file> is a non-link file, create a link of
the type that is determined by --link-type-auto-files-
method.
--link-type-auto-files-method={fallback|auto}
Method for creating links when -l, --link-type is `auto`, and
<link|file> is a non-link file.
fallback
Create a link of the type determined by --link-type-auto-
files-fallback.
auto Create a link of the type corresponding to type of path
to <file> passed to reln.
--link-type-auto-files-fallback={relative|absolute}
Type of link to <file> when --link-type-auto-files-method is
`fallback`. The default value is `relative`.
-L, --dereference-targets[={<integer>|inf}]
Dereference link targets to a specified level. The default value
is `0`.
The value can be an integer greater than or equal to 0, `inf`,
or no value. Omitting the value is equivalent to passing `inf`.
Other
-c, --color
Colorize the output. This is the default.
-C, --no-color
Disable colorization of the output.
-h, --help
Print help.
-V, --version
Print version information.
EXIT STATUS
0 Success. No errors have occured.
1 A general error has occured.
2 Some links could not be created.
FILES
A configuration file can be used to set default options.
The configuration file's location is $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/reln/config.bash.
If XDG_CONFIG_HOME is not set, it defaults to ~/.config.
AUTHOR
Alex Rogers <https://github.com/linguisticmind>
HOMEPAGE
<https://github.com/linguisticmind/reln>
COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 2024 Alex Rogers. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or
later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
RELN 0.1.3 2024 RELN(1)