# Symlink

A symlink (symbolic link) is a \"normal\" file, which contains a pointer
to another filename. Since it really only points to another **filename**
it can

-   reference filenames on other filesystems
-   reference filenames that don\'t actually exist
-   save a reference to the name of a directory

## See also

-   [hardlink](/dict/terms/hardlink)
-   [filesystem](/dict/terms/filesystem)
-   [directory](/dict/terms/directory)