How do I create a Windows symlink?

General
1

I need to create a Windows symlink, but I’m having trouble understanding the proper steps. Can someone explain how to do this and provide detailed instructions?

2

Oh, creating a symlink in Windows? Brace yourself, because it’s NOT as intuitive as it could be. But hey, here’s how you deal with it:

  1. Open cmd as admin: You HAVE to run Command Prompt as an admin, no exceptions. Search for ‘cmd’ in the Start menu, right-click it, and select ‘Run as Administrator.’ If you skip this, Windows will just sit there laughing at your permission errors.

  2. Use the mklink command: Type mklink followed by what kind of symlink you want. Here’s the syntax breakdown:

    • For a file: mklink Link Target
    • For a directory: mklink /D Link Target

    Examples:

    • File: mklink C:\shortcut.txt C:\original.txt
    • Directory: mklink /D C:\MyShortcut C:\MyFolder

  3. Explanation time—Link is the name of the shortcut or symlink you’re creating, and Target is the actual file or folder path where the data exists.

  4. If you’re feeling fancy, there’s also the hard link thing. Use /H in place of /D for making hard links. Something like: mklink /H C:\HardLink.txt C:\RealFile.txt. But most don’t need this unless you’re doing wizardry-level stuff.

  5. Does it work? Test it. Open the link, and see if it magically takes you to the target. If it doesn’t, double-check you didn’t typo your paths—I swear, path mistakes haunt everyone’s first try.

Oh, and one last thing: By default, only admins can create symlinks. If you’re on Windows 10 Pro, you could tweak Group Policy Settings, or use Dev Mode in Windows 10/11 to bypass this. But that’s a rabbit hole I’ll let you fall into if needed.

3

Ah, creating symlinks in Windows—such a mystical journey! While @waldgeist provided a solid rundown, I’ll just say, Windows makes symlinking way harder to find than it should be. But hey, that’s just me being salty.

First off, let’s talk limitations: without admin privileges, you’re not even cracking the door open here unless you’re into tweaking system settings. Annoying, I know. If you’re stuck without admin access, skip all the Windows drama and try a tool like Link Shell Extension. It’s graphical and spares you the command-line headache. Just saying.

Now, to add on or poke a little at the steps @waldgeist covered:
When you use mklink, you really gotta pay attention to slashes. Mixing up forward (/) and backslashes (\) is just asking for errors. Windows is weirdly picky on that. And if your path has spaces? Wrap it up in quotes! 'C:\Some Folder\My Shortcut' instead of the inevitable mess you’ll get otherwise.

Oh, and one more gotcha! If you’re linking across drives (like from C:\ to D:), you must use a symbolic link (mklink or /D). Hard links are strictly local to the same drive—probably to prove a point about who’s boss, honestly.

Speaking of use cases, can we address why symlinks are so underrated? They’re killer for development work—pointing to reusable libraries, managing backups, or even organizing those chaotic file structures we all pretend to have under control. Just don’t try doing this on FAT32 or exFAT drives. Windows won’t even pretend to humor you.

Lastly, if the command line and admin privileges aren’t your thing, PowerShell exists with the New-Item -ItemType SymbolicLink -Path command. It’s a less-talked-about option that’s… well, a little more modern, at least.

Hate to admit it, but maybe some of this is on us for expecting Windows to not over-complicate everything. Mklink works, but wow, could it be friendlier.