This is a simple project to test and observe the functioning of symlinks in git.
In some experiments with symbolic links, it is noted that applications often cannot distinguish between files because they access the links transparently through the file system provided by the operating system.
Would the behavior with git be similar to this? Not the case. Git was developed to manage files in a distinct and efficient manner, including symbolic links.
Support for symbolic links has been present in git since its early versions, designed for Unix systems. When a symbolic link is added to the project, git stores information about its path and target, reflecting the correct behavior of the file system. Then, during cloning, git attempts to restore the symbolic link.
In this project, there is a file file.txt and a symbolic link symlink.txt whose target is the file file.txt. You can clone this repository to experiment whether the feature is preserved locally.
It is important to note that this feature may not be fully compatible with all scenarios, depending on the operating system. Symlinks originate from Unix systems. In some cases, it may be necessary to use special git parameters, such as -c core.symlinks=true.
It is known that Windows has supported symbolic links since Vista, although the user still needs specific permissions, usually present in the administrator profile.