readlink — Show symlink targets

Linux / File and disk management / readlink.html

Prints the target of a symlink, with -f resolving the full path.

Basic Information

What is this command?

readlink reads a symlink and prints its target. With -f it resolves every intermediate link into an absolute path.

It resembles realpath, but by default it shows the link target string as stored.

What problems does it solve?

• You need to see what a link points to
• A script must resolve its own real path
• You need the final target of a link chain
• You are testing whether a path is a link

Key features

Print the target

Shows the stored target string.

• When to use: You inspect link structure
• What you get: The target path string
• Limitations: Relative links appear as relative paths.

Resolve fully

-f follows all links to an absolute path.

• When to use: You need the exact script location
• What you get: A resolved absolute path
• Limitations: A missing final component causes failure.

Normalize only

-m normalizes even if components do not exist.

• When to use: You handle paths not yet created
• What you get: A normalized path
• Limitations: It does not verify actual links.

Installation and usage

Check whether it is installed

readlink --version

sudo apt install coreutils # Debian/Ubuntu sudo dnf install coreutils # Fedora

Real-world examples

Inspect a link

Print the target of the link.

readlink /usr/bin/awk

Real script path

Get the real file path even via a symlink.

SCRIPT=$(readlink -f "$0")
echo "$SCRIPT"

Normalize a path

Normalize even when the path does not exist.

readlink -m ./build/../dist/app.tar.gz