Warning: This script needs help, don’t use it :)
I started on this thinking this would be an easy task. See, I can never remember the order I have to do a link (ln -s file/folder location-to), so I decided to build a script that would give me usage and display the link once it’s been made. This turned out to be a pretty good task as: ‘ln’ needs a path if trying to link a file in the current directory, getting a full path isn’t readily available and considering names that have spaces in them.
Anyways, enough of the chatter. Here’s ‘lnk’. It will display usage if no arguments are given, display the link when done, and check to see if the name already exists.
You’ll need likely to install ‘realpath‘ as it isn’t installed on most distributions by default.
#!/bin/bash
# lnk - link files/folders without broken links and feedback
# Author: Gen2ly
# Text color variables
TXTBLD=$(tput bold) # Bold
TXTUND=$(tput sgr 0 1) # Underline
TXTRED=$(tput setaf 1) # Red
TXTGRN=$(tput setaf 2) # Green
TXTYLW=$(tput setaf 3) # Yellow
TXTBLU=$(tput setaf 4) # Blue
TXTPUR=$(tput setaf 5) # Purple
TXTCYN=$(tput setaf 6) # Cyan
TXTWHT=$(tput setaf 7) # White
TXTRST=$(tput sgr0) # Reset
# Display usage if full argument if isn't given.
if [[ -z "$2" ]]; then
echo " lnk <file-or-folder> <link-to-location>"
exit
fi
# Check if file or folder exists
if [[ ! -f $1 ]] && [[ ! -d $1 ]]; then
echo " File/folder does not exist"
exit
fi
# Variables to check if link points to a folder or to a new link
LINKDIR=${2%/}/${1##*/}
LINKNEW=$2
# Check if the link name matches another link
if [[ -L $LINKDIR ]] || [[ -L $LINKNEW ]]; then
echo " Link already exists:"
if [[ -L $LINKDIR ]]; then
echo " $(ls -la --color=always $LINKDIR | awk '{printf $8" "$9" "$10}')"
fi
if [[ -L $LINKNEW ]]; then
echo " $(ls -la --color=always $LINKNEW | awk '{printf $8" "$9" "$10}')"
fi
exit
fi
# Check if link name matches a file name
if [[ -f $LINKDIR ]] || [[ -f $LINKNEW ]]; then
echo " File already exists with that name:"
if [[ -f $LINKDIR ]]; then
echo " $(ls -la --color=always $LINKDIR | awk '{printf $1" "$8}')"
fi
if [[ -f $LINKNEW ]]; then
echo " $(ls -la --color=always $LINKNEW | awk '{printf $1" "$8}')"
fi
exit
fi
# Create symbolic link
#'ln' needs path argument for linking a file in the current directory
# realpath extracts '\'s before spaces
FPATH=`realpath "$1" | sed -e 's: :\\ :g'`
ln -s "$FPATH" $2
# Display colors for full file path, link same path, link new path
FPATHDIS=${TXTBLD}${TXTGRN}$FPATH${TXTRST}
LINKDIRDIS="${TXTBLD}${TXTCYN}$(realpath -s "$LINKDIR")${TXTRST}"
LINKNEWDIS="${TXTBLD}${TXTCYN}$(realpath -s $LINKNEW)${TXTRST}"
# Display linked file
if [[ -L $LINKDIR ]]; then
echo " $FPATHDIS -> $LINKDIRDIS"
fi
if [[ -L $LINKNEW ]]; then
echo " $FPATHDIS -> $LINKNEWDIS"
fi
# Limitations
# because lnk must check if the link points to a folder or a new linkname
# if creating a link of a file that has the same name as a directory
# and the link has the same name as a link in that directory, lnk will
# fail from a link check
