How do I get symlink in Windows working?

[anthonyma94]

I find that symlinks in Windows don't work. Let's say I have symlink_test.txt, when I run chezmoi apply it creates a test.txt, but Windows think it's of type .symlink, and I can't open the file at all. This is the properties of the symlinked file:

I have no idea how to get this to work, any help would be appreciated!

[twpayne]

Windows does not allow symlinks by default. You need to enable Windows Developer Mode in Settings.

[twpayne]

chezmoi is tested on Windows and works. It is likely a problem local to your machine or your understanding.

Looking again at your posted screenshot, it looks correct: test.txt is a link to a file called C:\Users\Antony\.config\hello world. Does the target actually exist?

[anthonyma94]

The target is incorrect. hello world is the file contents.

Chezmoi structure

%USERPROFILE%/.local/share/chezmoi/
└── dot_config/
    └── symlink_test.txt

Windows structure

%USERPROFILE%/
└── .config/
    └── test.txt

symlink_test.txt contents

hello world

test.txt properties in screenshot above and can't be opened.

[bradenhilton]

@anthonyma94 Please see https://www.chezmoi.io/reference/target-types/#symbolic-links.

TL;DR: The content of a symlink_ file is interpreted as the target of the link. If I'm not mistaken, chezmoi appears to be working as documented in this case.

[anthonyma94]

Seems I misunderstood how it works, the contents of the symlink file should be the path to the actual file I wanted to link. Thanks for the help! Is it possible to add some sort of example on there (and on all references tbh)? It would make the entire documentation much easier to understand.