How to check if a symlink exists

Question

I\'m trying to check if a symlink exists in bash. Here\'s what I\'ve tried.

mda=/usr/mda
if [ ! -L $mda ]; then
  echo \"=> File doesn\'t exist\"
fi


mda         


        

Answer 1

Is the file really a symbolic link? If not, the usual test for existence is -r or -e.

See man test.

Answer 2

1. first you can do with this style:

   mda="/usr/mda"
   if [ ! -L "${mda}" ]; then
     echo "=> File doesn't exist"
   fi
   

2. if you want to do it in more advanced style you can write it like below:

   #!/bin/bash
   mda="$1"
   if [ -e "$1" ]; then
       if [ ! -L "$1" ]
       then
           echo "you entry is not symlink"
       else
           echo "your entry is symlink"
       fi
   else
     echo "=> File doesn't exist"
   fi
   

the result of above is like:

root@linux:~# ./sym.sh /etc/passwd
you entry is not symlink
root@linux:~# ./sym.sh /usr/mda 
your entry is symlink
root@linux:~# ./sym.sh 
=> File doesn't exist