New-Item -ItemType SymbolicLink - can't create functioning relative links

Steps to reproduce

Follow example 7 here: [ https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.management/new-item?view=powershell-7

1. Create a folder eg. named "power"
2. In this (power) folder create an empty folder named "Notice"
3. In this (power) folder create a file named "Notice.txt"
4. As admin run this script: 
New-Item -ItemType SymbolicLink -Path .\link -Target .\Notice

Expected behavior

Functioning link to Notice named "link"

Actual behavior

link not working

#Note
Working perfectly with absolute path and in cmd
cmd >mklink /d "./link2" "./Notice"

Environment data

PS C:\retus\test2Die\power problems> $psversiontable

Name Value

PSVersion 7.1.0-preview.3
PSEdition Core
GitCommitId 7.1.0-preview.3
OS Microsoft Windows 10.0.18362
Platform Win32NT
PSCompatibleVersions {1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0…}
PSRemotingProtocolVersion 2.3
SerializationVersion 1.1.0.1
WSManStackVersion 3.0

I think it's the same bug as in #12785, i.e. caused by #8783, but more serious here because Windows supports relative symbolic links, unlike relative junctions.

As a workaround, start PowerShell in the desired directory, instead of using Set-Location within PowerShell. New-Item -ItemType SymbolicLink will then correctly create a relative symbolic link. This works with both directory symbolic links and file symbolic links.

I'd expect two different PRs.

Bug - We should resolve and check absolute path here

PowerShell/src/System.Management.Automation/namespaces/FileSystemProvider.cs

Line 2364 in 1f252f8

exists = GetFileSystemInfo(strTargetPath, out isDirectory) != null;
Enhancement - Since it is possible to create symbolic links to non-existing targets and default always is file symlink we should add new type SymbolicLinkDirectory to force creating link to directory.

This seems a duplicate of #9127.

Seems like it has the same cause, but a slightly different symptom, aye.

Should retest this with v7.1.0-preview.4.

The example works for me.

This issue occurs for me (though not always, and I don't understand yet when it does/doesn't) with v7.1.2 on Windows 10.0.19042.0.

Edit: I can consistently reproduce this by launching a Windows Sandbox, installing PowerShell 7.1.2 in it, and running the following 2 commands:

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path target
New-Item -ItemType SymbolicLink -Path link -Value target

The actual behavior was changed, to now produce an error on relative paths: #18251 #19409

For comparison. this is working on macOS:

$ touch Notice
$ New-Item -ItemType SymbolicLink -Path .\link -Target .\Notice

    Directory: /var/folders/v7/p7wfv43s725dwxcp5fn3vyz80000gp/T/DEL-20240109-12-54-05.87

UnixMode         User Group         LastWriteTime         Size Name
--------         ---- -----         -------------         ---- ----
lrwxr-xr-x    walshca staff        1/9/2024 12:54            8 link -> ./Notice

$ ls -l
total 0
-rw-r--r--@ 1 walshca  staff  0 Jan  9 12:54 Notice
lrwxr-xr-x@ 1 walshca  staff  8 Jan  9 12:54 link -> ./Notice
$ $PSVersionTable

Name                           Value
----                           -----
PSVersion                      7.4.0
PSEdition                      Core
GitCommitId                    7.4.0
OS                             Darwin 23.2.0 Darwin Kernel Version 23.2.0: Wed Nov 15 21:54:51 PST 2023; root:xnu-10002.61.3~2/RELEASE_ARM64_T6030
Platform                       Unix
PSCompatibleVersions           {1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0…}
PSRemotingProtocolVersion      2.3
SerializationVersion           1.1.0.1
WSManStackVersion              3.0

If it also works on Windows then the issue should be closed

Theodor Heiselberg (@sukkergris)

Theodor Heiselberg (@sukkergris) can you check if this still reproduces for you on latest pwsh? Tried on Windows and i'm seeing functional relative links

$ touch Notice
$ New-Item -ItemType SymbolicLink -Path .\link -Target .\Notice

    Directory: C:\Users\cwalsh\AppData\Local\Temp\DEL-20240709-08-18-13.58

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
la---            7/9/2024  8:18 AM              0 link -> .\Notice

$ cat link
$ "ABC" > Notice
$ cat link
ABC
$ gci

    Directory: C:\Users\cwalsh\AppData\Local\Temp\DEL-20240709-08-18-13.58

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
la---            7/9/2024  8:18 AM              0 link -> .\Notice
-a---            7/9/2024  8:18 AM              5 Notice

$ $psversiontable

Name                           Value
----                           -----
PSVersion                      7.4.2
PSEdition                      Core
GitCommitId                    7.4.2
OS                             Microsoft Windows 10.0.19045
Platform                       Win32NT
PSCompatibleVersions           {1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0…}
PSRemotingProtocolVersion      2.3
SerializationVersion           1.1.0.1
WSManStackVersion              3.0

$ cmd
Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.19045.4529]
(c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\cwalsh\AppData\Local\Temp\DEL-20240709-08-18-13.58>more link
ABC

It's still not working quite right:

PowerShell 7.4.3
Loading personal and system profiles took 519ms.
PS C:\temp> New-Item -ItemType Directory subdir

    Directory: C:\temp

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
d----            9.7.2024    19.28                subdir

PS C:\temp> Set-Location subdir
PS C:\temp\subdir> New-Item -ItemType Directory target

    Directory: C:\temp\subdir

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
d----            9.7.2024    19.29                target

PS C:\temp\subdir> New-Item -ItemType SymbolicLink -Path link -Target target

    Directory: C:\temp\subdir

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
la---            9.7.2024    19.29              0 link -> target

PS C:\temp\subdir> Set-Location link
Set-Location: Cannot find path 'link' because it does not exist.

Above, the New-Item cmdlet should have created a directory symbolic link, because -Target target refers to an existing directory. It incorrectly created a file symbolic link instead.

However, if I then start another PowerShell process in the directory and retry the operation with that, it works fine:

PS C:\temp\subdir> pwsh
PowerShell 7.4.3
Loading personal and system profiles took 506ms.
PS C:\temp\subdir> Remove-Item link
PS C:\temp\subdir> New-Item -ItemType SymbolicLink -Path link -Target target

    Directory: C:\temp\subdir

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
l----            9.7.2024    19.30                link -> target

PS C:\temp\subdir> Set-Location link
PS C:\temp\subdir\link>

It seems that, when New-Item is checking whether the -Target is a file or a directory, in order to decide whether it should create a file symbolic link or a directory symbolic link, it resolves the target path against the directory in which PowerShell was started, rather than the directory in which the link is being created.

New-Item -Path "Z:\SP" -ItemType SymbolicLink -Value "\?\GLOBALROOT\Device\HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy2\windows\system32\config"

fails with

New-Item : Cannot find path '\?\GLOBALROOT\Device\HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy2\windows\system32\config' because it does
not exist.

New-Item -Path "Z:" -Name "SP" -ItemType SymbolicLink -Value FileSystem::$snapshotPath
also fails.

but

mklink /d Z:\SP "\?\GLOBALROOT\Device\HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy2\windows\system32\config"

works

One can get at this by creating a shadow volume:

$Path = "C:\windows\system32\config"
$directoryRoot = [System.IO.Directory]::GetDirectoryRoot($Path).ToString()

$shadow = (Get-WmiObject -List Win32_ShadowCopy).Create($directoryRoot, "ClientAccessible")
$shadowCopy = Get-WmiObject Win32_ShadowCopy | ? { $_.ID -eq $shadow.ShadowID }
$snapshotPath = $shadowCopy.DeviceObject + "\" + $Path.Replace($directoryRoot, "") + "\"

    cmd.exe /c "mklink /d  Z:\SP "$snapshotPath""

(I've played around with various "solutions" but nothing works while mklink works fine)

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New-Item -ItemType SymbolicLink - can't create functioning relative links #12784

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New-Item -ItemType SymbolicLink - can't create functioning relative links #12784

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KalleOlaviNiemitalo commented on May 25, 2020

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darthwalsh commented on Jan 9, 2024

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KalleOlaviNiemitalo commented on Jul 9, 2024

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