symbolic link
also: symlink, soft link
A symbolic link is a special file that contains a path to another file or directory, acting as a shortcut or alias. When accessed, the system follows the link to the target file.
A symbolic link (or symlink) is a lightweight file that points to another file or directory by storing its path. Unlike hard links, symbolic links can point across filesystems and can reference directories as well as files.
Create a symbolic link with the ln -s command. For example: ln -s /usr/bin/python3 /usr/local/bin/python creates a symlink named python that points to /usr/bin/python3. When you run python, the system follows the link and executes the actual binary.
Symbolic links are displayed with an arrow in ls -l output: lrwxrwxrwx 1 user user 16 Jan 10 10:00 python -> /usr/bin/python3. If the target is deleted or moved, the symlink becomes "broken" and will fail when accessed.