How do you create a new symlink in windows 10 using powershell (not mklink.exe)?

Question

If there's docs on it, I'll take that. Any web searches for "symlink" "symbolic link" "windows [10]" "powershell" returns everything except the base command.

Even the powershell docs site returns nothing. Is this not possible?

Why don’t you want to use mklink you can call it from a PowerShell prompt and/or script — Ramhound, Mar 24 '18 at 00:51
Please see https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/wmf/5.0/feedback_symbolic — Epoxy, Mar 24 '18 at 01:07
@Epoxy Thank you. Fun Fact: using the search box on the top level of that site returns "No results" when searching for sym. In other words, you can't find it if you don't know where it is. — monsto, Mar 24 '18 at 01:15

score 65 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 24 '18 at 01:07

65

Start powershell as admin
You need to know 1) the path to target of the link 2) path to location where you want the link 3) the name you want to use to refer to the link.
PS C:\> new-item -itemtype symboliclink -path <path to location> -name <the name> -value <path to target>

Example: If you're in c:\drivers\AMD and you want to link in f:\driver\olddrivers, then you would go

PS C:\> new-item -itemtype symboliclink -path . -name OldDrivers -value f:\driver\olddrivers

And wind up with a symlink path of c:\driver\AMD\OldDrivers

answered Mar 24 '18 at 01:07

monsto

1,548

1

That's because mklink is a specific tool for a specific purpose. Powershell New-Item is a very general tool. It can do much more than create directories and symlinks. – monsto Mar 24 '18 at 03:07
3

perfect! for those who are wondering, this also works for creating symbolic links to directories ... PS C:\Users\mcoog> New-Item -itemtype symboliclink -path . -name .vim -value C:\Users\mcoog\Dropbox\.vim – ricardo Aug 11 '18 at 05:05
3

FYI, ItemType SymbolicLink was added in PowerShell 5.0 – Brettski Nov 09 '18 at 05:29
1

@monsto you could argue that tools should be very specific rathen than broad in usage – Dragas Feb 03 '20 at 08:24

Ian Kemp · Answer 2 · 2023-05-10T19:52:01.300

Use the New-Item cmdlet and specify the appropriate ItemType of SymbolicLink, HardLink, or Junction. Note that these are only available from PowerShell 5.1 or newer.

+-----------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| mklink syntax         | PowerShell equivalent                                     |
+-----------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| mklink Link Target    | New-Item -ItemType SymbolicLink -Name Link -Target Target |
| mklink /D Link Target | New-Item -ItemType SymbolicLink -Name Link -Target Target |
| mklink /H Link Target | New-Item -ItemType HardLink -Name Link -Target Target     |
| mklink /J Link Target | New-Item -ItemType Junction -Name Link -Target Target     |
+-----------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+

mklink reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/mklink
New-Item reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.management/new-item

note: in my tests, -Name takes a file name, not a file path, replace by -Path to give a file path — Gabriel Devillers, Jul 28 '22 at 17:26

How do you create a new symlink in windows 10 using powershell (not mklink.exe)?

2 Answers2

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