Hard Link Windows May 2026
New-Item -ItemType HardLink -Path C:\Links\report.txt -Target C:\Data\report.txt PowerShell 5.1+ supports this natively. For older versions, use cmd /c mklink /H . Call CreateHardLinkW :
fsutil hardlink list "filename" Example output: hard link windows
BOOL CreateHardLinkW( LPCWSTR lpFileName, // new link name LPCWSTR lpExistingFileName, // existing file LPSECURITY_ATTRIBUTES lpSecurityAttributes // (optional) ); Find all hard links to a file Using fsutil (Command Prompt, admin not always required): New-Item -ItemType HardLink -Path C:\Links\report
1. What Is a Hard Link? A hard link is a directory entry that associates a name with a file on the file system. In simple terms: it’s an additional filename that points directly to the same physical file data on disk. What Is a Hard Link
fsutil hardlink query "filename" Or use PowerShell:
\Users\Me\Documents\notes.txt \Backups\notes_backup.txt \Archive\2023\notes.txt In CMD:
mklink /H C:\Backups\important.pdf C:\Users\Me\Documents\important.pdf mklink /H requires administrator rights? No – regular users can create hard links to their own files. (But creating links to system files may need elevation.) Using PowerShell New-Item -ItemType HardLink -Path "LinkName" -Target "TargetFile" Example:
