Windows has sym links!

Here is a little known (at least to me) fact about Windows Vista and Windows 7: they support symbolic links!

The command you need to use for this is mklink, and here is the syntax:

Creates a symbolic link.

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.

Here is an example of a soft link for a directory:

>mklink /d linkdir1 dir1
symbolic link created for linkdir1 <<===>> dir1

which comes up clearly noted in a directory listing from the command prompt

09/25/2010 12:59 AM <dir> dir1
09/25/2010 12:59 AM <symlinkd> linkdir1 [dir1]

as well as in the Windows explorer, by means of an icon overlay.

You need admin privileges to create such a link, unless you edit the Local Security Policies and add the Create Symbolic Link privilege.


This is a junction for a directory:

>mklink /j junctiondir1 dir1
Junction created for junctiondir1 <<===>> dir1

Again, clearly noted from the command prompt:

09/25/2010 12:59 AM <dir> dir1
09/25/2010 01:01 AM <junction> junctiondir1 [C:\...\dir1]

and identified in Windows graphical interface by the same icon overlay as the soft link case

A junction is a directory hard link.

Beware to delete directory links with rmdir, as del will delete the contents instead of the link! Also, deleting the original directory breaks both the symlink and the junction!

Here is a soft link for a file:

>mklink linkfile.txt file1.txt
symbolic link created for linkfile.txt <<===>> file1.txt

Showing up in the command prompt as:

09/25/2010 01:22 AM <symlink> linkfile.txt [file1.txt]

and with the same icon overlay as for directories in Windows explorer


And this is a hard link for a file:

>mklink /h hardlinkfile.txt file1.txt
Hardlink created for hardlinkfile.txt <<===>> file1.txt

Notice how you cannot tell from the command prompt:

09/25/2010 01:23 AM 32 hardlinkfile.txt

or from the Windows shell, since there is no icon overlay

Now, deleting the original file will break the soft link but not affect the hard link

So, recapping:

mklink name target

• creates a file soft link
• appears in the cmd prompt as <symlink>
• has an icon overlay (a little arrow as in shortcuts) in the Windows shell

mklink /h name target

• creates a file hard link
• appears in the cmd prompt as any other file (works as full-fledged file and remains if you delete the original)
• has no icon overlay (behaves like any other file)

mklink /d name target

• creates a directory soft link
• appears in the cmd prompt as <symlinkd>
• has an icon overlay (a little arrow as in shortcuts) in the Windows shell

mklink /j name target

• creates a directory hard link (although deleting the original location actually renders the link unsable)
• appears in the cmd prompt as <junction>
• has an icon overlay (a little arrow as in shortcuts) in the Windows shell

One last note (I tried this in Windows Vista): if you move the links (not the original files/directories) to another location, junctions and hard links keep working, while directory and file soft links break.

Enjoy - I know I like this!