link(1) on Solnix vs Linux and the BSDs
link calls link(2) to create a hard link named FILE2 to an existing FILE1. The published Solnix page is GNU coreutils, but a default Solnix system runs the illumos link at /usr/sbin/link. The only options the GNU page documents are --help and --version; FreeBSD's link takes no options and NetBSD's page lists none.
The manual pages
- Solnix: link(1) from
pkgs.solnix.coreutils - Linux: link(1) coreutils-full-9.11
- FreeBSD: link(1) 15.1-RELEASE
- NetBSD: link(8) 11.0
- Standard: POSIX.1-2024 (IEEE Std 1003.1-2024),
link
What Solnix runs
The published page comes from pkgs.solnix.coreutils (GNU coreutils 9.7). The command on PATH by default is the illumos link at /usr/sbin/link. /usr/xpg4/bin/link is also shipped. The bundle contains no illumos link text, so the illumos options, exit status and the xpg4 difference are not described here. Check the page for the binary you run.
Differences
| Compared with | Topic | What differs |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | same program as the published page | The published Solnix page and the Linux page are the same GNU coreutils text: link FILE1 FILE2, plus --help and --version. The Linux page is from coreutils-full 9.11 and the Solnix page from coreutils 9.7. No behavioural difference is documented between them.Source: Solnix link(1) SYNOPSIS and DESCRIPTION; Linux link(1) SYNOPSIS and DESCRIPTION |
| all four | binary on PATH versus published page | The GNU page is published, but the bundle says the default command on PATH is the illumos link in /usr/sbin. Anything the GNU page says, such as --help and --version, may not hold for /usr/sbin/link. The bundle has no illumos text to confirm either way.Source: Bundle header (default on PATH: illumos at /usr/sbin/link); Solnix link(1) OPTIONS |
| FreeBSD | options accepted | The Solnix GNU page documents --help and --version. FreeBSD link is ln run under the name link: no options may be supplied, and it performs a plain link(2) call on the two arguments.Source: Solnix link(1) SYNOPSIS; FreeBSD link(1) DESCRIPTION (last paragraph) |
| FreeBSD | directory arguments | FreeBSD link requires exactly two arguments, neither of which may be a directory. The GNU page on Solnix says only that it creates a link named FILE2 to an existing FILE1, and does not mention directories. Source: FreeBSD link(1) DESCRIPTION; Solnix link(1) DESCRIPTION |
| FreeBSD | shared with ln | On FreeBSD, link is documented inside ln(1) and is the same program invoked under another name. The Solnix page is separate and its SEE ALSO lists only link(2). ln options such as -s, -f and -v do not apply to link.Source: FreeBSD link(1) NAME and SYNOPSIS; Solnix link(1) SEE ALSO |
| NetBSD | manual section and options | NetBSD documents link as link(8), with the synopsis link file1 file2 and no options. Solnix and Linux document it in section 1 with --help and --version.Source: NetBSD link(8) SYNOPSIS; Solnix link(1) SYNOPSIS |
| NetBSD | exit status documented | NetBSD documents exit 0 on success and >0 on error. The GNU page published for Solnix has no EXIT STATUS section, so the manual does not say what status it returns. Source: NetBSD link(8) EXIT STATUS; Solnix link(1) (no EXIT STATUS section) |
| FreeBSD, NetBSD | stated standards | FreeBSD says the simplified link command conforms to Version 2 of the Single UNIX Specification (SUSv2). NetBSD says link conforms to X/Open Commands and Utilities Issue 5 (XCU5). The GNU page on Solnix and Linux has no standards section. Source: FreeBSD link(1) STANDARDS; NetBSD link(8) STANDARDS; Solnix link(1) |
Standards
- POSIX: link is a POSIX.1-2024 utility.
- FreeBSD: The simplified link command conforms to Version 2 of the Single UNIX Specification (“SUSv2”).
- NetBSD: The link utility conforms to X/Open Commands and Utilities Issue 5 (“XCU5”).
Writing portable scripts
- Call link with exactly two non-directory arguments and no options. That is the only form all the pages in the bundle describe.
- Do not rely on
--helpor--version: only the GNU page documents them, and FreeBSD link accepts no options.
Every difference here is taken from the manual pages linked above: Solnix's published page, Linux (man-pages and the GNU and util-linux manuals), FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD. Each row names its source. Where a manual is silent, this page is too. Compiled 2026-10-26. Found a mistake? Mail hackers@lists.solnix.io.