If you are planning to use symlinks a lot, there is a way to streamline the process by adding an option to the contextual menu that appears as you right-click any file or folder. Symbolic links are created using the ln -s command line argument. This, in turn, requires that you know the accurate strings for both the original file location and that of the destination spot on your Mac where you want the new object to appear. Making a symlink is a bit more tedious than that – you’ll need to execute a specific command in Terminal. Those of you familiar with aliases know that they can be created using the regular Finder menu. But all the files end up where you want, with zero lagging and errors. From the perspective of the program, nothing changes. This way, every time the app tries to access its default directory, macOS will reroute it to the new one. It’s as simple as creating a symlink that reassigns the file storage flow from the program’s original folder to a new place. This can be very useful if you want to change the folder that a specific application uses to save its data. Metaphorically, it’s like reducing background noise in audio recordings to get a clearly discernible output.

That said, a symbolic link denotes the actual linked-to entity to a much greater extent than a simple shortcut. Things get smooth if you create a symlink, because the system will then redirect and handle all the associated workflows and data in an absolutely frictionless fashion. One of the scenarios where this peculiarity plays into your hands is when an app acts finicky with a garden-variety alias, which isn’t a rare situation. Unlike aliases, which are in essence primitive shortcuts for files or programs, they can operate seamlessly at the level of any application on your Mac, including advanced command-line utilities such as Terminal. This principle is similar to the way aliases work, but symlinks have more functionality under the hood. What is a symlink on Mac?Ī symlink (symbolic link) is a file that the operating system interprets exactly as another file or folder located in a different place. This article explains what a symlink is and provides a step-by-step guide on the different ways to create and remove symlinks on Mac.

Add a Finder menu option to create symlinks in one click.

How to create file on mac