https://packetslave.github.io/experiments/blog/tags/filesystems/Recent content in filesystems on NotesHugoen-usThu, 13 Aug 2026 00:38:00 +0000https://packetslave.github.io/experiments/blog/posts/symbolic-and-hard-links/Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:38:00 +0000https://packetslave.github.io/experiments/blog/posts/symbolic-and-hard-links/<p>Unix file systems support 2 kinds of link: hard links and symbolic links. Both come from the same command, <code>ln</code>, but they work in very different ways. This post explains how each kind works. It then covers where Linux and the BSDs, including macOS, disagree.</p> <h2 id="inodes-first">Inodes first</h2> <p>A file on disk is not really a name. It is an inode: a numbered record that holds the file&rsquo;s metadata and points to its data blocks. The inode stores the owner, the permissions, the timestamps, and the size. It does not store the file name.</p>