Windows Vista added the ability to create symbolic links to files and directories. How do I create a symbolic link and what are the current consumer and server versions of Windows that support it?
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6Can someone highlight the differences between a symbolic link and a shortcut?– tomjedrzMay 12, 2009 at 2:46
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1@tomjedrz: if you are using shortcut, any APIs to open that shortcut will open a text file that contains the path to the target file/folder. if you are using links, any APIs to open that link will open the target file/folder.– Afriza N. AriefFeb 17, 2012 at 3:55
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2Contrary to what all people have said, I confirm that it is possible to use symbolic links in Windows XP. (I use it to install Picasa database on VM shared folder). Just take a look at schinagl.priv.at/nt/hardlinkshellext/hardlinkshellext.html and navigate to section "Symbolic links for Windows XP". HTH– Adam RyczkowskiOct 24, 2012 at 6:48
8 Answers
You can create a symbolic link with the command line utility mklink
.
MKLINK [[/D] | [/H] | [/J]] Link Target
/D Creates a directory symbolic link. Default is a file
symbolic link.
/H Creates a hard link instead of a symbolic link.
/J Creates a Directory Junction.
Link specifies the new symbolic link name.
Target specifies the path (relative or absolute) that the new link
refers to.
Symbolic links via mklink are available since Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. On Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 you can use
fsutil hardlink create <destination filename> <source filename>
According to msdn.microsoft, Symbolic Links are NOT supported on FAT16/32 and exFAT. It seems Windows only supports them from or to NTFS-Partitions. Future Windows operating systems are likely to continue support for mklink.
You can read further information about this new feature on Microsoft TechNet, Junfeng Zhang's blog or howtogeek.com.
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Would be nice to add David's Technet url to your entry for completeness. May 11, 2009 at 18:22
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A Directory Junction a type of directory symbolic link. support.microsoft.com/?kbid=205524 Dec 7, 2009 at 8:09
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1NTFS has been supporting links (with various names) since Windows 2000, but they were only used internally, most notably in the SYSVOL domain shares; some utilities were available for managing them, but were not built-in; Vista introduced the MKLINK tool and the extensive usage of links on default Windows installations.– MassimoMay 9, 2011 at 14:13
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2Would be nice to mention
fsutil
from @sascha's answer below to provide a solution for Windows Server 2003.– PhrogzJul 19, 2011 at 22:13
On Windows XP you can use fsutil
(built into the OS) to create a hardlink
fsutil hardlink create c:\foo.txt c:\bar.txt
Keep in mind fsutil will only work if both are on same drive
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2Good answer. I'm on WinXP / Win2003 and needed mklink, but this solved my issue for me. I usually use junction.exe from sysinternals, but that only handles directories and in this case I needed a file link– s3v1Mar 16, 2011 at 10:37
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A pity a symbolic link cannot be created by fsutil, at least from what I've read elsewhere. This is a hard link and thus not an answer to the question.– VlasecMay 5, 2015 at 12:01
One small thing, if you are using Powershell, mklink does not work directly, run it like this:
PS C:\d\eclipseInstalls> cmd /k mklink /D antRunner 3.4.2
symbolic link created for antRunner <<===>> 3.4.2
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1
Use mklink or junction from Sysinternals (Microsoft). I believe mklink will work in Windows 2000 and above, but I cannot find any hard documentation on that. junction is for Windows 2000 and above.
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1The command mklink is Vista and Server 2008 and up only, as I pointed out above.– user1797May 11, 2009 at 18:12
Didn't see this in any of the answers, but linkd.exe (in the Windows 2003 Resource kit here) allows you to create junctions, which pretty much function as a soft/hard link does in Linux. Junctions are available from Windows 2000 and up, so just copy linkd.exe to the target system and it should work.
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1
If you are still on old Windows, like XP, 2000, 2003, etc., try NTFS Link.
I use it a lot. You get a shell link right click menu option to create a junction point. Excellent stuff.
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This worked great for me on Windows 2003 for creating a symbolic link to a folder on another drive. Thanks!– PhilNov 13, 2011 at 18:54
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Comment from anonymous user, originally edited into the answer: "Note: For XP to work, it has to be using an NTFS partition, not FAT or FAT32. See aumha.org/win5/a/ntfscvt.php for steps on how to convert to NTFS." Aug 17, 2012 at 19:32
See TechNet entry. I believe it is a Vista/Server 2008 and up feature.
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Cool, never known about this feature before, thanks for the link, could be so much usefull!!! May 11, 2009 at 18:11
To make sure your links work you might want to check the configuration of your server. Links can be made but unless you use the symlinkevaluation setting in the following command your links might not work.
fsutil behavior set SymlinkEvaluation L2L:1 R2R:1 L2R:1 R2L:1
See also http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc754077%28v=ws.10%29.aspx. By default only the local options are activated.