mklink not installed on Windows 7?

Question

I just installed Windows 7 Pro, and I'm configuring it to my preferences. I go to set up a symbolic link (since it supports symlinks).

But I don't seem to have the mklink program in C:\Windows\system32.

In administrator mode in Powershell:

PS C:\> mklink
The term 'mklink' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. Check the spel
ling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At line:1 char:7
+ mklink <<<<
    + CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (mklink:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException

A similar question was asked over at SO. See http://stackoverflow.com/questions/894430/powershell-hard-and-soft-links for more information and workarounds. — Kez, Jan 20 '10 at 18:59
@kez: Hunh...didn't think SO was the best place to ask this. ::shrug:: — Paul Nathan, Jan 20 '10 at 20:32
I can't find that file under %WINDIR% either, but running mklink on my side just works. I guess it's a built in system command. Does it say mklink is not a recognized command or something? — kizzx2, Jan 20 '10 at 18:20

u1686_grawity · Accepted Answer · 2020-03-31T05:33:34.687

68

mklink is not a standalone tool – it is a built-in command in the Cmd.exe interpreter. The only way to run it externally is through cmd /c (similar to sh -c on Linux):

cmd /c mklink arguments

However, PowerShell itself supports creating various link types using the New-Item cmdlet, although it is not a full replacement (as it does not support creating relative symlinks).

New-Item -ItemType SymbolicLink|Junction|HardLink -Name Foo -Target Bar

edited Mar 31 '20 at 05:33

answered Jan 20 '10 at 20:04

u1686_grawity

452,512

Above line doesn't work in cmd on win7, though opening a cmd and then mklink works. – mosh Oct 14 '15 at 05:30
2

this works also on Windows 10 Pro – bluantinoo Nov 30 '15 at 15:57
3

alias mklink='cmd //c mklink' for Git Bash; https://stackoverflow.com/a/21907301/3821804 – GingerPlusPlus Jul 23 '17 at 20:07

score 17 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 20 '10 at 18:33

17

The solution is that mklink is a builtin on cmd.exe. Powershell therefore cannot directly access it.

Negative kudos to whoever thought that one up.

answered Jan 20 '10 at 18:33

Paul Nathan

1,806

score 9 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 20 '10 at 18:37

9

PowerShell is not a complete replacement for CMD. Many CMD functions do not work in PS. Switch to CMD to run mklink

answered Jan 20 '10 at 18:37

Wayne Sheppard

236

Yeah, I hear you. Pretty frustrating though. – Paul Nathan Jan 20 '10 at 18:56

mklink not installed on Windows 7?

3 Answers3

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