Windows — Hard Link

A hard link doesn't point to a path —it points directly to the raw data on disk. That data has no location except "wherever Windows put it." Junction points are volume-mounted directory links (only for folders, only local drives). They behave like symlinks for folders but have fewer features. Hard links don't work on folders at all in Windows (NTFS supports them, but Windows restricts creation for safety). Creating Hard Links on Windows Windows provides two built-in ways: mklink (Command Prompt) and New-Item (PowerShell). Using Command Prompt (Run as Administrator for some operations, but not strictly required for files) mklink /H LinkName TargetFile Example:

echo Hello > original.txt mklink /H link.txt original.txt type link.txt # Output: Hello echo World >> original.txt type link.txt # Output: Hello World /H is the crucial flag—without it, mklink creates a symbolic link by default. New-Item -ItemType HardLink -Path "C:\links\link.txt" -Target "C:\data\original.txt" Or with the shorter alias: windows hard link

| Feature | Hard Link | Symbolic Link | |---------|-----------|----------------| | Points to | File data (inode) | Pathname (string) | | Survives target deletion | Yes (data still exists) | No (becomes broken) | | Works across volumes | No | Yes | | Works with directories | No (by design) | Yes (with privilege) | | Relative paths | N/A | Yes | | Network paths | No | Yes (UNC paths) | A hard link doesn't point to a path

In this guide, you'll learn exactly what hard links are, how to create them, when to use them, and the critical pitfalls to avoid. A hard link is an additional directory entry that points directly to the same underlying file data on disk. Hard links don't work on folders at all

Use them wisely, and always remember: a file with two names is still one file.