Linux readlink Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to readlink on Linux, covering Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions including symbolic link resolution, link target reading, and path resolution.

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Table of Contents

1. readlink Basics
2. Reading Links
3. Canonical Paths
4. Multiple Links
5. Troubleshooting

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readlink Basics

Read Link Target

Basic usage:

# Read link target
readlink symlink

# Shows target of symbolic link

Absolute Path

Full path:

# Absolute path
readlink -f symlink

# -f = canonicalize (follows all links)

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Reading Links

Simple Link

Basic link:

# Read link
readlink /path/to/symlink

# Output: target path

Relative Link

Relative target:

# Relative link
readlink symlink

# Shows relative target path

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Canonical Paths

Follow All Links

Canonical path:

# Follow all links
readlink -f symlink

# -f = canonicalize (resolves all links)

Real Path

Real file path:

# Get real path
readlink -f /path/to/link

# Returns absolute path to real file

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Multiple Links

Chain Resolution

Link chains:

# Follow link chain
readlink -f link1

# Resolves: link1 -> link2 -> target

No Follow

Don't follow:

# Don't follow (default)
readlink symlink

# Shows immediate target only

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Troubleshooting

readlink Not Found

Check installation:

# readlink is part of coreutils
# Usually pre-installed

# Check readlink
which readlink

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Summary

This guide covered readlink usage, symbolic link resolution, and path resolution for Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions.

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Next Steps

• realpath Guide - Absolute path resolution
• ln Guide - Create links
• File Operations - File management
• readlink Documentation: man readlink

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This guide covers Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other Linux distributions. For distribution-specific details, refer to your distribution's documentation.