Similarities and differences, how to make each in the Finder and Terminal, how much space they use, and how they work in APFS.
aliases
The Finder is happy to create aliases to most files and folders, provided they aren’t immediately inside a bundle or package. Then it gets all fussy. But why?
Which should you use, and what are their strengths and drawbacks? Symbolic links, hard links, aliases and bookmarks explained – oh, and a mention of firmlinks too.
Now shows the space taken on disk, which makes it easy to identify sparse files.
How can you create and resolve Finder Aliases at the command line? And two further utilities you may find helpful for working with Aliases.
Finder alias repair utility, now runs native on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.
This has minor improvements to work better with Big Sur, and now runs native on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.
They’re Base-64 encoded data which is related to the Finder Alias. Here’s how to resolve them in an app, at the command line, and in code.
How can you refer to an important file or directory, no matter where it’s moved on a volume, even when it’s renamed?
A quick tour of this unique utility, and a recommended update for it which brings control over text size, auto-updates, and more.
The Eclectic Light Company 