# Install symlinks with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman Symbolic link maintenance utility. Version 1.4.3 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install symlinks. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:symlinks ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install symlinks ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install symlinks ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: sysutils/symlinks/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add symlinks ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: symlinks from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install symlinks ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: symlinks from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install symlinks ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: symlinks from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#symlinks ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/sy/symlinks/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S symlinks ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: symlinks from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:symlinks - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 1.4.3 - **Source summary:** Symbolic link maintenance utility - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00 ## Executables - symlinks (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 1.4.3 ## Project history and usage symlinks is a small Unix filesystem maintenance utility for scanning and fixing symbolic links. It is classic package-manager material: one C utility, one man page, no service, no config, and a job that is useful on real filesystems. ### Project history The official README says symlinks scans directories for symbolic links and identifies dangling, relative, absolute, messy, and other-filesystem links. It can also convert absolute links to relative links within a filesystem. The project credits Mark Lord as the creator and J. Brandt Buckley as maintainer. Its changelog records incremental Unix-maintenance work such as shortening redundant paths, messy-link fixes, Fedora patches, Mac OS X compatibility, and a later LFS bug fix. ### Adoption history The input package metadata lists symlinks across Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora/DNF, Alpine, Arch, MacPorts, Nix, and other package managers. That breadth fits a small administrative utility: distributions can ship it with minimal policy surface and users can reach for it during filesystem cleanup. ### How it is used The README documents scanning recursively with `symlinks -r`, showing all links with `symlinks -rv`, and converting absolute links to relative links with `symlinks -rc`. It is usually used directly from a shell against a target directory. ### Why package nerds care symlinks matters to package nerds because it helps inspect the kind of filesystem state that package managers create and preserve: trees full of links, relocatable paths, broken build artifacts, and cross-filesystem references. It is also a good example of the tiny, durable Unix utilities that survive because they do one maintenance job clearly. ### Timeline - v1.2: Added link shortening for redundant path elements. - v1.3: Added more messy-link fixes and an `-o` flag for other-filesystem links. - v1.4: Incorporated Fedora patches. - v1.4-1: Added Mac OS X compatibility. - v1.4.3: Fixed an LFS support bug affecting 32-bit systems. ### Related projects - symlinks is adjacent to standard Unix filesystem tools such as `find`, `ln`, and package-manager link farms, but it specializes in reporting and optionally rewriting symbolic links rather than general file traversal. ### Sources - - - input source_facts.package-manager ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - symlinks - 1.4-5+b1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: symlinks from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | scan/change symbolic links - Nix - symlinks: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/sy/symlinks/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Ubuntu apt - symlinks - 1.4-4: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: symlinks from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | scan/change symbolic links - apk - symlinks - 1.4.3-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: symlinks from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Symbolic link maintenance utility | https://github.com/brandt/symlinks - apk - symlinks-doc - 1.4.3-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: symlinks-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Symbolic link maintenance utility (documentation) | https://github.com/brandt/symlinks - dnf - symlinks - 1.7-15.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: symlinks from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | A utility which maintains a system's symbolic links | http://ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/utils/file/ - pacman - symlinks - 1.4.3-4: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: symlinks from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | Symbolic link maintenance utility | https://github.com/brandt/symlinks - MacPorts - symlinks: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: sysutils/symlinks/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/symlinks.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/symlinks.yml) ## Sources - pkg.so package database - Geiger risk classifier - curated package history - pkgdb category and tag curation - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph