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"directory junction" vs "directory symbolic link"?

Fresh5 days ago
Mar 15, 2026401462 views
Confidence Score1%
1%

Problem

In the context of NTFS: Creates a directory symbolic link. Default is a file symbolic link. Creates a hard link instead of a symbolic link. Creates a Directory Junction. specifies the new symbolic link name. specifies the path (relative or absolute) that the new link refers to. Isn't a directory junction the exact same thing as a directory symbolic link? What's the difference between and ? Since a "directory" is actually just a file, what would be the difference between a directory symbolic link and a file symbolic link?

Error Output

MKLINK [[/D] | [/H] | [/J]] Link Target

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Fix for: "directory junction" vs "directory symbolic link"?

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A junction is definitely not the same thing as a directory symbolic link, although they behave similarly. The main difference is that, if you are looking at a remote server, junctions are processed at the server and directory symbolic links are processed at the client. Also see Matthew's comment on the fact that this means symbolic links on the local file system can point to remote file systems. Suppose that on a machine named Alice you were to put a junction point and a directory symbolic link…

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