READLINK(1) User Commands READLINK(1)
NAME
readlink - print resolved symbolic links or canonical file names
SYNOPSIS
readlink [OPTION]... FILE...
DESCRIPTION
realpath(1) is a better command for canonicalization functionality.
Print value of a symbolic link or canonical file name
-f, --canonicalize
canonicalize by following every symlink in every component of the
given name recursively; all but the last component must exist
-e, --canonicalize-existing
canonicalize by following every symlink in every component of the
given name recursively; all components must exist
-m, --canonicalize-missing
canonicalize by following every symlink in every component of the
given name recursively, without requirements on components existence
-n, --no-newline
do not output the trailing delimiter
-q, --quiet
-s, --silent
suppress most error messages (on by default if POSIXLY_CORRECT is
not set)
-v, --verbose
report error messages (on by default if POSIXLY_CORRECT is set)
-z, --zero
end each output line with NUL, not newline
--help
display this help and exit
--version
output version information and exit
AUTHOR
Written by Dmitry V. Levin.
REPORTING BUGS
Report bugs to: bug-coreutils@gnu.org
GNU coreutils home page:
General help using GNU software:
Report any translation bugs to
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (C) 2026 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL
version 3 or later .
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There
is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
SEE ALSO
readlink(2), realpath(1), realpath(3)
Full documentation
or available locally via: info '(coreutils) readlink invocation'
GNU coreutils 9.11 April 2026 READLINK(1)