{"id":478527,"date":"2022-07-27T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-27T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/the-complete-guide-to-creating-symbolic-links-aka-symlinks-on-windows\/"},"modified":"2022-07-27T23:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-07-27T20:00:00","slug":"the-complete-guide-to-creating-symbolic-links-aka-symlinks-on-windows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-complete-guide-to-creating-symbolic-links-aka-symlinks-on-windows\/","title":{"rendered":"#The Complete Guide to Creating Symbolic Links (aka Symlinks) on Windows"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a28a85750473\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a28a85750473\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-complete-guide-to-creating-symbolic-links-aka-symlinks-on-windows\/#%E2%80%9CThe_Complete_Guide_to_Creating_Symbolic_Links_aka_Symlinks_on_Windows%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;The Complete Guide to Creating Symbolic Links (aka Symlinks) on Windows&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-complete-guide-to-creating-symbolic-links-aka-symlinks-on-windows\/#What_Are_Symbolic_Links\" >What Are Symbolic Links?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-complete-guide-to-creating-symbolic-links-aka-symlinks-on-windows\/#How_to_Create_Symbolic_Links_with_mklink\" >How to Create Symbolic Links with mklink<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-complete-guide-to-creating-symbolic-links-aka-symlinks-on-windows\/#How_to_Create_Symbolic_Links_with_a_Graphical_Tool\" >How to Create Symbolic Links\u00a0with a Graphical Tool<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-complete-guide-to-creating-symbolic-links-aka-symlinks-on-windows\/#How_to_Delete_Symbolic_Links\" >How to Delete Symbolic Links<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CThe_Complete_Guide_to_Creating_Symbolic_Links_aka_Symlinks_on_Windows%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;The Complete Guide to Creating Symbolic Links (aka Symlinks) on Windows&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage alignnone size-full wp-image-819000\" data-pagespeed-no-defer=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Symbolic-Links-New-Header.png?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Symbolic Link Header Image. A Windows folder on a blue background. \" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, and Vista all support symbolic links \u2014 also known as symlinks \u2014 that point to a file or folder on your system. You can create them using the\u00a0Command Prompt or a third-party tool called Link Shell Extension.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Are_Symbolic_Links\"><\/span>What Are Symbolic Links?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Symbolic links are basically advanced shortcuts. Create a symbolic link to an individual file or folder, and that link will <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ear to be the same as the file or folder to Windows \u2014 even though it\u2019s just a link pointing at the file or folder.<\/p>\n<p>For example, let\u2019s say you have a program that needs its files at C:\\Program. You\u2019d really like to store this directory at D:\\Stuff, but the program <em>requires<\/em>\u00a0that its files be at C:\\Program. You could move the original directory from C:\\Program to D:\\Stuff, and then create a symbolic link at C:\\Program pointing to D:\\Stuff. When you relaunch\u00a0the program, it will try to access its directory at C:\\Program. Windows will automatically redirect it to D:\\Stuff, and everything will just work as if it were in C:\\Program.<\/p>\n<p>This trick can be used for all sorts of things, including syncing any folder with programs like Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive.<\/p>\n<p>There are two type of symbolic links: Hard and soft. Soft symbolic links work similarly to a standard shortcut. When you open a soft link to a folder, you will be redirected to the folder where the files are stored.\u00a0 However, a hard link makes it appear as though the file or folder actually exists at the location of the symbolic link, and your applications won\u2019t know any better.\u00a0That makes hard symbolic links more useful in most situations.<\/p>\n<p>Note that Windows doesn\u2019t actually use the terms \u201chard link\u201d and \u201csoft link\u201d. Instead, it uses the terms \u201chard link\u201d and \u201csymbolic link\u201d. In the Windows documentation, a \u201csymbolic link\u201d is the same thing as a \u201csoft link\u201d. However, the <code>mklink<\/code> command can create both hard links (known as \u201chard links\u201d in Windows) and soft links (known as \u201csymbolic links\u201d in Windows).<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Create_Symbolic_Links_with_mklink\"><\/span>How to Create Symbolic Links with mklink<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>You can create symbolic links using the mklink command in a Command Prompt window as Administrator. To open one, locate the \u201cCommand Prompt\u201d shortcut in your Start menu, right-click it, and select \u201cRun as Administrator\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>On Windows 10\u2019s Creators Update, you can use a normal Command Prompt window, without running it as an Administrator. However, to do this without an Administrator Command Prompt window, you must first enable Developer Mode from Settings &gt; Update &amp; Security &gt; For Developers.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"admonishment_note\"><p><strong>Note:<\/strong> Windows 11 doesn\u2019t require administrative privileges to create symbolic links.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-286026 \" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/img_585a0e5711605.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Without any extra options, <code>mklink<\/code> creates a symbolic link to a file. The below command creates a symbolic, or \u201csoft\u201d, link at <code>Link<\/code> pointing to the file <code>Target<\/code> :<\/p>\n<pre>mklink Link Target<\/pre>\n<p>Use \/D when you want to create a soft link pointing to a directory. like so:<\/p>\n<pre>mklink \/D Link Target<\/pre>\n<p>Use \/H when you want to create a hard link pointing to a file:<\/p>\n<pre>mklink \/H Link Target<\/pre>\n<p>Use \/J to create a hard link pointing to a directory, also known as a directory junction:<\/p>\n<pre>mklink \/J Link Target<\/pre>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-286021 \" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/img_585a0d3194149.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Command Prompt window with the arguments for mklink. \" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>So, for example, if you wanted to create a directory junction (a hard link to a folder) at C:\\LinkToFolder that pointed to C:\\Users\\Name\\OriginalFolder, you\u2019d run the following command:<\/p>\n<pre>mklink \/J\u00a0C:\\LinkToFolder\u00a0C:\\Users\\Name\\OriginalFolder<\/pre>\n<p>You\u2019ll need to put quotation marks around paths with spaces. For example, if the folders are instead named C:\\Link To Folder and C:\\Users\\Name\\Original Folder, you\u2019d use the following command instead:<\/p>\n<pre>mklink \/J\u00a0\"C:\\Link To Folder\"\u00a0\"C:\\Users\\Name\\Original Folder\"<\/pre>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-286022 \" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/img_585a0d4f1fbf2.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Command Prompt window with successful hard symbolic link created between &quot;C:\\LinktoFolder&quot; and C:\\Users\\Name\\OriginalFolder\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>If you see the message \u201cYou do not have sufficient privilege to perform this operation.\u201d, you need to launch the Command Prompt as Administrator before running the command.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Create_Symbolic_Links_with_a_Graphical_Tool\"><\/span>How to Create Symbolic Links\u00a0with a Graphical Tool<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019re like to do this with a graphical tool, download <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/schinagl.priv.at\/nt\/hardlinkshellext\/linkshellextension.html\">Link Shell Extension<\/a>. Be sure to download the appropriate prerequisite package before the tool itself \u2014 both are linked to on the tool\u2019s download page.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"admonishment_note\"><p><strong>Note:<\/strong> Link Shell Extension works with Windows 11, but you\u2019ll need to click \u201cShow More Options\u201d to see the options. You can also use a registry hack to enable the extended right-click context menu.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Once it\u2019s installed, locate the file or folder you want to create a link to, right-click it, and select \u201cPick Link Source\u201d in the menu.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-286024 \" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/img_585a0ddd965a2.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>You can then right-click inside a different folder, point to the \u201cDrop As\u201d menu and select \u201cHardlink\u201d to create a hard link to a file, \u201cJunction\u201d to create a hard link to a directory, or \u201cSymbolic Link\u201d to create a soft link to a file or directory.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-286025 \" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/img_585a0e25b4155.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Delete_Symbolic_Links\"><\/span>How to Delete Symbolic Links<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>To get rid of a symbolic link, you can simply delete it like you would any other file or directory. Just be careful to delete the link itself rather than the file or directory it\u2019s linking to.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-286028 \" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/img_585a0e926eb5c.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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You can create them using the\u00a0Command Prompt or a third-party tool called Link Shell Extension. What Are&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":478528,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Symbolic-Links-New-Header.png?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-478527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=478527"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478527\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/478528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=478527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=478527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=478527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}