What is a symbolic link?

A symbolic link (symlink or soft link) is a special file that points to another file or directory by its path — like a shortcut in Windows. It contains only the path to the target, not the data itself. If the target is deleted or moved, the symlink becomes dangling (broken). Create with: ln -s /original/path /link/path. Symlinks show as lrwxrwxrwx in ls -l with an arrow indicating the target. They can cross filesystems and partitions. Common use: /usr/bin/python symlinking to python3, or versioned library files.