Junction - Sysinternals | Microsoft Learn

Title: Junction v1.07 — Summary Author: Mark Russinovich Published: July 4, 2016

Summary:

• Junction is a Sysinternals utility that creates and inspects NTFS junction points (directory aliases) on Windows 2000 and later. It was written because Windows lacked a built-in free tool for creating junctions (the Windows 2000 Resource Kit included linkd).

• Junction works with NTFS reparse points (the mechanism for junctions). Note: Windows does not support junctions that target directories on remote shares.

• Main capabilities:

  • Query a file or directory to determine whether it is a reparse point/junction (optionally recursively).

  • Create a junction directory that points to a target directory.

  • Delete a junction.

• Syntax and parameters:

  • Query: junction.exe [-s] [-q]

  • Create: junction.exe

  • Delete: junction.exe -d

  • Parameters: -s (recurse subdirectories), -d (delete), -q (quiet), plus positional path arguments.

• Examples:

  • Check a path: junction c:\test

  • List junctions under a directory recursively: junction -s c:\

  • Create a junction named c:\Program-Files for "c:\Program Files": junction c:\Program-Files "c:\Program Files"

  • Delete that junction: junction -d c:\Program-Files

• Return codes:

  • 0 on success

  • -1 on failed creation of a new junction

  • Some operations that fail (e.g., deletion or checks when a file is not found) also return 0 according to the documentation.

• Download: Junction.zip (504 KB) — link provided in original article.

• Supported platforms (per article): Client: Windows Vista+, Server: Windows Server 2008+, Nano Server: 2016+.

Last updated in the article: 09/29/2022.