New-Item -Path "C:\LinkFolder" -ItemType SymbolicLink -Target "D:\RealTargetFolder" Do not use normal folder deletion (like pressing Delete in Explorer) unless you are absolutely sure you want to delete the target folder’s contents!
Have you ever wished a folder could exist in two places at once? Perhaps you want your Downloads folder on a tiny, fast SSD, but your massive Documents folder on a spacious HDD—without breaking app paths. Or maybe you need to sync a folder to the cloud without moving it from its original location.
Once you start using mklink /D , you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it. Just remember the golden rule:
| Feature | Symbolic Link (Symlink) | Junction | Hard Link | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Local or network (UNC) path | Local volume only | Not possible for folders | | Relative paths | Yes | No | N/A | | Cross-volume | Yes | Yes | N/A | | Shows real path | No (transparent) | No | N/A | | Best for | Cloud folders, network drives, portable links | Legacy apps, same-drive redirection | (Files only) |
mklink /D "%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\Q1Reports" "\\Server\Shared\Departments\Finance\Reports\2025\Q1" Many games store mods in C:\Program Files\Game\Mods . Create a symlink to a version-controlled folder on your data drive:
mklink /D "C:\Work\ProjectX" "D:\CloudSync\ProjectX" Now OneDrive (watching D:\CloudSync ) backs up your files, while your application happily writes to C:\Work\ProjectX . Instead of navigating \\Server\Shared\Departments\Finance\Reports\2025\Q1 , create a symlink on your desktop:
mklink /D "C:\ProgramData\HeavyApp" "E:\AppData\HeavyApp" You want to sync C:\Work\ProjectX to OneDrive, but ProjectX must stay on your local RAID array. Move ProjectX to D:\CloudSync\ProjectX and symlink it back:
New-Item -Path "C:\LinkFolder" -ItemType SymbolicLink -Target "D:\RealTargetFolder" Do not use normal folder deletion (like pressing Delete in Explorer) unless you are absolutely sure you want to delete the target folder’s contents!
Have you ever wished a folder could exist in two places at once? Perhaps you want your Downloads folder on a tiny, fast SSD, but your massive Documents folder on a spacious HDD—without breaking app paths. Or maybe you need to sync a folder to the cloud without moving it from its original location. windows symlink folder
Once you start using mklink /D , you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it. Just remember the golden rule: Or maybe you need to sync a folder
| Feature | Symbolic Link (Symlink) | Junction | Hard Link | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Local or network (UNC) path | Local volume only | Not possible for folders | | Relative paths | Yes | No | N/A | | Cross-volume | Yes | Yes | N/A | | Shows real path | No (transparent) | No | N/A | | Best for | Cloud folders, network drives, portable links | Legacy apps, same-drive redirection | (Files only) | Create a symlink to a version-controlled folder on
mklink /D "%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\Q1Reports" "\\Server\Shared\Departments\Finance\Reports\2025\Q1" Many games store mods in C:\Program Files\Game\Mods . Create a symlink to a version-controlled folder on your data drive:
mklink /D "C:\Work\ProjectX" "D:\CloudSync\ProjectX" Now OneDrive (watching D:\CloudSync ) backs up your files, while your application happily writes to C:\Work\ProjectX . Instead of navigating \\Server\Shared\Departments\Finance\Reports\2025\Q1 , create a symlink on your desktop:
mklink /D "C:\ProgramData\HeavyApp" "E:\AppData\HeavyApp" You want to sync C:\Work\ProjectX to OneDrive, but ProjectX must stay on your local RAID array. Move ProjectX to D:\CloudSync\ProjectX and symlink it back: