{"id":7222,"date":"2020-01-07T08:53:37","date_gmt":"2020-01-07T13:53:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/?post_type=ht_kb&p=7222"},"modified":"2025-07-17T13:38:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T17:38:19","slug":"symbolic-link-what-it-is-and-how-to-use-it-with-web-hosting","status":"publish","type":"ht_kb","link":"https:\/\/www.pair.com\/support\/kb\/symbolic-link-what-it-is-and-how-to-use-it-with-web-hosting\/","title":{"rendered":"Symbolic Link: What it is and How to Use It with Web Hosting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Shared<\/p><\/a>

VPS<\/p><\/a>

Dedicated<\/p><\/a>

WP Professional<\/p><\/a>

WP Professional Plus<\/p><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine you're managing a website with hundreds of files organized into multiple directories. One day, you realize that two separate directories need access to the same image file. Rather than duplicating the file (and wasting storage space), you're stuck copying and pasting it every time something changes. It's tedious, inefficient, and prone to error. That's where symbolic links come in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you're a developer managing shared assets, or a site owner trying to maintain consistency across your content, symbolic links (or \"symlinks\") allow you to reference a file or folder in one location while accessing it from another. With just a few commands or clicks in your control panel, you can connect resources across your web hosting<\/a> environment without redundancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a Symlink?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A symbolic link creates a file in your directory and acts as a shortcut to a file or folder. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example:  I have a directory - let's say example.com<\/em>. However, I want a shortcut to another directory within the example.com<\/em>. To do this, you would create a symbolic link. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The symbolic link shows up as a link within the directory. It shows the file path of the symbolic link in the Size<\/strong>, Permissions<\/strong>, Date<\/strong> columns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After it's been created, you can click on the symbolic link's file path in the directory to quickly navigate to a new location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hard Link vs Symlink<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hard links and symbolic links are both types of references to files, but they work in different ways. A hard link is essentially a mirror copy of the file that points to the same data on the disk.<\/strong> If you modify the data through one hard link, it reflects in all other hard links to that file. Hard links cannot reference directories and must be on the same filesystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Symbolic links, on the other hand, act more like shortcuts. They reference the original file by its path, and if the original is deleted or moved, the symlink breaks. Symbolic links can also point to directories and span multiple filesystems, making them more flexible in many web hosting environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Junction vs Symbolic Link<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Junctions are a type of reparse point used in Windows environments to link directories. Like symbolic links, junctions create pointers to other directories. However, junctions are limited to directories (not individual files)<\/strong> and must reside within the same local volume. Symbolic links, especially on Unix-based systems, are more versatile and commonly used in web hosting scenarios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating a Symlink in the ACC<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WP Enthusiast accounts do not have an accessible file system in the ACC, so this tutorial cannot be used with WP Enthusiast accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can create a symbolic link directly in the Account Control Center (ACC). To do so, follow these steps:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Choose the tutorial that reflects your ACC interface type: <\/p>\n\n\n\n