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Use a hard link when you need a second name for the same file on the same volume. Use a symbolic link when you need a path-based redirect to a file or directory, including a target on another local volume or a remote UNC path. If the job is specifically redirecting a directory between local volumes on one computer, evaluate a junction as well.
These links look similar in Explorer and at a command prompt, but they represent different filesystem objects. A hard link adds another directory entry for one file; a symbolic link stores a path to a target. That distinction determines whether directories, other volumes, missing targets and network paths are supported, and what gets removed when you delete a link.
Windows link types at a glance
The shortest useful decision rule is to start with the object you are trying to represent, then check where it lives.
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|---|---|---|---|
| What it represents | Another directory entry for the same file | A filesystem object that points to a target path | A directory link implemented through a reparse point |
| Target type | Files only | Files or directories | Directories only |
| Where it can point | The same volume as the existing file | Path targets, including remote UNC paths; relative links are restricted to one volume | Directories on different local volumes on the same computer; Microsoft excludes mapped network volumes in its overview |
| Target must already exist? | Yes, because it is another name for an existing file | No. The link can be created first, but opening it fails until the target path exists | Not described as supporting missing targets in Microsoft’s overview |
| Best fit | A same-volume alternate name for one file | File or directory path redirection | Local directory redirection when junction behavior fits |
Microsoft’s overview defines a hard link as “the file-system representation of a file by which more than one path references a single file in the same volume.” Read the primary references for implementation details: Hard Links and Junctions, Creating Symbolic Links, and Symbolic-link programming considerations.
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What each link actually is
Hard link: another name for one file
A hard link is not a shortcut file and not a copy. It is an additional path to the same file record. If an application opens either name and writes data, the other name exposes the same changed file because both names identify one underlying file. The names can be in different directories, but the file and every hard-link name must be on the same volume.
Hard links are file-only. Windows does not use them to link directories, so a request to redirect an entire folder requires a symbolic link or, for an appropriate local-directory case, a junction.
Symbolic link: a path-resolving link object
A symbolic link is a separate filesystem object containing a target path. Windows resolves that path when an application follows the link. The target can be a file or a directory, and Microsoft documents both absolute and relative target paths. A symbolic link can also name a remote UNC path, which makes it suitable for a path that leaves the local volume or computer.
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Because the link and target are distinct objects, a symbolic link can exist before its target does. Following such a link fails with ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND until the path resolves. Creation success therefore does not prove that the eventual target is present.
Junction: the third directory option
A junction is a directory-link form implemented through a reparse point. Microsoft’s Windows overview says junctions can connect directories on different local volumes on the same computer, while excluding mapped network volumes from that description. Treat a junction as its own choice rather than calling it a hard link or assuming it has every symbolic-link capability.
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Choose by the job you need to perform
You need two names for one existing file
Choose a hard link when the requirement is “this one file must be reachable at another path,” the file already exists, and both paths are on the same volume. This keeps both names tied to the same file: edits, renames of the file’s contents and metadata operations that address the file are seen regardless of which hard-link name an application used.
You need to redirect a file or folder path
Choose a symbolic link when software should follow a path to a file or directory. It is the path-based option for directories, for targets on another local volume and for documented UNC targets. Decide whether the stored target should be absolute or relative before creating it; that choice changes how the link behaves when the surrounding tree is moved.
You need a directory on another local volume
Compare a directory symbolic link with a junction. A junction is specifically documented for directories on different local volumes on the same computer. A symbolic link is more general because it can target files as well as directories and can use UNC paths. If the destination is a mapped network volume, do not assume the junction overview applies; Microsoft’s documentation excludes mapped network volumes from that junction scenario.
You are building a staged or delayed deployment
A symbolic link can be created before its target path exists. That is useful when a deployment creates the destination later, but it also creates a failure mode: applications that follow the link before the deployment finishes receive ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND. Add an explicit target-existence check to any workflow that depends on immediate availability.
Create and inspect a hard link
Microsoft documents the fsutil commands below for NTFS hard links. The existing file must be on the same volume as the new name, and the link is for a file, not a directory.
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- Choose an existing file and a second path on the same volume. For example, use
C:datareport.dbas the existing file andC:archivereport.dbas the new name. - Open a command shell with an account allowed to create the directory entry, then run:
fsutil hardlink create C:archivereport.db C:datareport.dbThe syntax is
fsutil hardlink create <newfilename> <existingfilename>; the new path comes first. - Open or edit either path. Both names expose the same file, so a change made through one is visible through the other.
- To enumerate the hard-link names for a file, run:
fsutil hardlink list C:datareport.db
A hard-linked file is not removed from storage merely because one name is deleted. The file remains available through every other hard-link name and is deleted only after all of its hard links have been removed. Plan cleanup around that rule: deleting an “old” path may leave the data reachable from a path you did not realize was linked.
Hard-link failure checks
- Different volumes: move the file or use a symbolic link instead; a hard link cannot cross the volume boundary.
- Directory source: switch to a directory symbolic link or consider a junction for a suitable local-volume case.
- Unexpected independent content: verify that the operation created a hard link rather than a copied file.
fsutil hardlink listshows the names Windows associates with the file.
Create a symbolic link with the Windows API
Windows exposes symbolic-link creation through CreateSymbolicLink. The API takes the link name, the target path and flags that identify the target as a file or directory. The documented flags include SYMBOLIC_LINK_FLAG_DIRECTORY for a directory target and SYMBOLIC_LINK_FLAG_ALLOW_UNPRIVILEGED_CREATE for creation in contexts where unprivileged creation is permitted.
- Decide whether the target is a file or directory. The distinction controls the flag passed to the API.
- Choose an absolute or relative target path. Use an absolute path when the link should name one fixed location. Use a relative path when the link and target are designed to move as a tree; relative symbolic links are restricted to one volume.
- Call
CreateSymbolicLinkwith the link path, target path and the appropriate flag. A directory example in C-style notation is:CreateSymbolicLinkW(L"C:\links\logs", L"D:\data\logs", SYMBOLIC_LINK_FLAG_DIRECTORY); - If the process is intended to create links without elevation, use the documented
SYMBOLIC_LINK_FLAG_ALLOW_UNPRIVILEGED_CREATEwhere the Windows/API context and machine policy allow it. Do not treat “symbolic links always require administrator rights” as a universal rule: Microsoft’s documentation describes conditions, including Developer Mode conditions for UWP, and behavior depends on the API context and policy. - Validate the target path separately if the caller requires an immediately usable link. Windows can create the link even when the target is absent, but following it then returns
ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND.
The API’s file-versus-directory flag is part of the link’s definition. Passing the wrong type flag can make a link unusable for the intended target, so keep the target type and flag together in configuration.
Absolute, relative and UNC targets
Absolute targets
An absolute symbolic link records a complete path. It is straightforward to reason about, but the link will no longer resolve if the target is moved to a different path unless another object is placed at the recorded location. Do not promise that an absolute link follows a moved target.
Relative targets
A relative symbolic link records a path interpreted from the link’s path context. It can be useful when a directory tree is deployed as a unit, because the relationship is expressed within that tree. Microsoft documents that relative symbolic links are restricted to one volume. Moving only the target or only the link can still break the relationship; test the exact move operation your deployment performs.
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UNC targets
Microsoft documents symbolic links that point to remote UNC paths. This makes a symbolic link the relevant candidate when the target is addressed as a network path rather than as a file on the same local volume. A hard link cannot provide that cross-volume or remote-path behavior.
Deletion and application behavior
Deleting a symbolic link removes the link object, not the target. Microsoft’s symbolic-link behavior reference states that DeleteFile removes the symbolic link when the supplied path is itself a symbolic link. Other file APIs can operate on the target or on the link depending on their flags and semantics, so confirm the behavior of the exact command or application before using it for cleanup.
Hard-link deletion is different because each name is a directory entry for the same file. Removing one name leaves the file available through its remaining hard-link names; only removal of the last name makes the file unavailable through the filesystem.
These rules matter in scripts that rotate paths, replace directories or perform safety checks. A script that assumes “delete the link, then the target is gone” is safe only for neither type: it is wrong for a symbolic link, and for a hard link it ignores the possibility of other names.
Troubleshoot the most common surprises
“The link was created, but opening it says the file is missing.”
Check whether the link is symbolic and whether its target path currently exists. A symbolic link may legitimately be created with no target; following it before the target appears returns ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND. Also check spelling, relative-path context and whether a deployment moved the target.
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“The command refuses to link this folder.”
A hard link cannot target a directory. Replace it with a directory symbolic link, or evaluate a junction if the destination is a directory on another local volume on the same computer and does not involve a mapped network volume.
“The hard link cannot be created on the destination drive.”
Hard links are same-volume only. If the existing file is on C: and the desired name is on D:, use a symbolic link or redesign the storage layout; changing the directory name does not remove the volume boundary.
“Deleting the link deleted data I still need.”
Identify the link type and the API used for deletion. A symbolic-link path should remove the link itself under DeleteFile, while a hard-link name removes one directory entry and leaves the file if another hard-link name remains. Applications can expose different options for operating on a link versus its target, so inspect their documentation and test with disposable files.
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“Creation fails for an ordinary user.”
Privilege behavior is context-dependent. Check whether the application is using CreateSymbolicLink, whether it passes SYMBOLIC_LINK_FLAG_ALLOW_UNPRIVILEGED_CREATE, and whether the Windows policy and documented Developer Mode conditions are satisfied. Do not infer the result from a rule that all symbolic-link creation always needs elevation.
A practical selection checklist
- Is the target one existing file, and must both names be on one volume? Choose a hard link.
- Is the target a directory, a path on another local volume, or a documented UNC path? Choose a symbolic link, then select absolute or relative targeting deliberately.
- Is the target a directory on another local volume on the same computer, with no mapped-network requirement? Compare a junction with a directory symbolic link.
- Must the link be created before the target? A symbolic link supports that sequence; add a check before consumers follow it.
- Will scripts delete or replace paths? Verify whether the operation acts on the link or target, and remember that a hard-linked file survives while any hard-link name remains.
In short, use a hard link for same-volume alternate naming of one file, a symbolic link for path redirection across files, directories, volumes or documented UNC targets, and a junction when its narrower local-directory behavior is the right fit.
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