Does Creating a Symlink Change the Original File's Hash?

is creating a symlink to the original file in linux changes the file’s hash value?

Creating a symbolic link (symlink) to a file in Linux does not change the hash value of the original file. A symlink is simply a pointer to the original file, and it does not contain the data of the original file itself.

When you compute the hash (e.g., using md5, sha256, etc.) of the original file, the hash value will remain the same regardless of whether a symlink to that file exists or not. The hash is based solely on the contents of the file, not on how the file is referenced in the filesystem.

However, if you were to compute the hash of the symlink itself (using the -L option with some hash commands), you would get a different result, as the symlink is a separate file with its own metadata and content (which is the path to the original file).

In summary:

• Hash of the original file: remains unchanged by the presence of a symlink.
• Hash of the symlink: will be different, as it represents the path to the original file.