How APFS is the first Mac native file system to have true inodes and inode numbers. What they are, and how you can use them in volume groups and different types of file link.
symlink
Three different ways to link to files, and two for folders. Which should you use, and how well do they cope with changes in that volume?
Distinguishing conventional copies, clone files, symlinks, hard links and Finder aliases can be confusing. Here’s how to tell them apart with using Terminal.
Symlinks are popular but prove fragile when folders get renamed or moved. Hard links don’t support directories and can’t cross volumes. The alias works best overall, but isn’t supported in Terminal.
Overview of clone files, dataless files, sparse files, symbolic links, and firmlinks, and how used and free space is accounted for in APFS.
Similarities and differences, how to make each in the Finder and Terminal, how much space they use, and how they work in APFS.
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.
Links – hard links, symlinks, and Finder Aliases – are the most complex and confusing of simple concepts in computing. Do they get any better after research?
Diagram summarising how Finder Aliases work, including their resolution. And how to confuse QuickLook thumbnails.
Finder Aliases can update their path information when they are resolved. Also some differences between Aliases and Bookmarks.
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