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Re: [PATCH 00/18] Support symbolic links on Windows

From
Johannes Sixt <j6t@kdbg.org>
Date
Dec 18, 2025, 18:51 UTC
Message-ID
<19030791-dafa-4a63-985b-9cdf423bfd1b@kdbg.org>
In-Reply-To
<pull.2018.git.1765980535.gitgitgadget@gmail.com>
Am 17.12.25 um 15:08 schrieb Johannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget:
Show 41 quoted lines
> This finally upstreams Git for Windows' support for Windows' branch of
> symbolic links, which has been maturing since 2015. It is based off of
> js/prep-symlink-windows.
> 
> Bill Zissimopoulos (1):
>   mingw: compute the correct size for symlinks in `mingw_lstat()`
> 
> Johannes Schindelin (3):
>   mingw: try to create symlinks without elevated permissions
>   mingw: emulate `stat()` a little more faithfully
>   mingw: special-case index entries for symlinks with buggy size
> 
> Karsten Blees (14):
>   mingw: don't call `GetFileAttributes()` twice in `mingw_lstat()`
>   mingw: implement `stat()` with symlink support
>   mingw: drop the separate `do_lstat()` function
>   mingw: let `mingw_lstat()` error early upon problems with reparse
>     points
>   mingw: teach dirent about symlinks
>   mingw: factor out the retry logic
>   mingw: change default of `core.symlinks` to false
>   mingw: add symlink-specific error codes
>   mingw: handle symlinks to directories in `mingw_unlink()`
>   mingw: support renaming symlinks
>   mingw: allow `mingw_chdir()` to change to symlink-resolved directories
>   mingw: implement `readlink()`
>   mingw: implement basic `symlink()` functionality (file symlinks only)
>   mingw: add support for symlinks to directories
> 
>  compat/mingw-posix.h  |   6 +-
>  compat/mingw.c        | 635 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++----------
>  compat/win32.h        |   6 +-
>  compat/win32/dirent.c |   5 +-
>  read-cache.c          |  11 +
>  5 files changed, 507 insertions(+), 156 deletions(-)
> 
> 
> base-commit: 6f6fe02f5fe587ec9788f8a5a34281949d7b2ca1
> Published-As: https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git/releases/tag/pr-2018%2Fdscho%2Fsymlinks-next-v1
> Fetch-It-Via: git fetch https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git pr-2018/dscho/symlinks-next-v1
> Pull-Request: https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git/pull/2018
I've reviewed this series and had a few comments on some of them.

All others look good, with one caveat though: symbolic links on Windows aren't exactly an itch of mine, and I'm unfamiliar with the corresponding API. That said, I didn't spot anything unusual at a superficial level.

I notice that Karsten's emails bounce. Would it be appropriate to redirect authorship and sign-off to the other email that is registered in .mailmap?

-- Hannes
Previous: Junio C HamanoNext: Karsten Blees
Message 31 of 51 in “Support symbolic links on Windows”
  1. 00/18 Support symbolic links on WindowsJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Dec 17, 2025
  2. 01/18 mingw: don't call `GetFileAttributes()` twice in `mingw_lstat()`Karsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Dec 17, 2025
  3. Johannes SixtDec 18, 2025
  4. 02/18 mingw: implement `stat()` with symlink supportKarsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Dec 17, 2025
  5. Johannes SixtDec 18, 2025
  6. Johannes SchindelinJan 9, 2026
  7. 03/18 mingw: drop the separate `do_lstat()` functionKarsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Dec 17, 2025
  8. Johannes SixtDec 18, 2025
  9. 04/18 mingw: let `mingw_lstat()` error early upon problems with reparse pointsKarsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Dec 17, 2025
  10. 05/18 mingw: teach dirent about symlinksKarsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Dec 17, 2025
  11. 06/18 mingw: compute the correct size for symlinks in `mingw_lstat()`Bill Zissimopoulos via GitGitGadget, Dec 17, 2025
  12. 07/18 mingw: factor out the retry logicKarsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Dec 17, 2025
  13. 08/18 mingw: change default of `core.symlinks` to falseKarsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Dec 17, 2025
  14. 09/18 mingw: add symlink-specific error codesKarsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Dec 17, 2025
  15. 10/18 mingw: handle symlinks to directories in `mingw_unlink()`Karsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Dec 17, 2025
  16. Ben KnobleDec 18, 2025
  17. Johannes SchindelinJan 9, 2026
  18. 11/18 mingw: support renaming symlinksKarsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Dec 17, 2025
  19. Johannes SixtDec 18, 2025
  20. Johannes SchindelinJan 9, 2026
  21. 12/18 mingw: allow `mingw_chdir()` to change to symlink-resolved directoriesKarsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Dec 17, 2025
  22. 13/18 mingw: implement `readlink()`Karsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Dec 17, 2025
  23. Johannes SixtDec 18, 2025
  24. Johannes SchindelinJan 9, 2026
  25. 14/18 mingw: implement basic `symlink()` functionality (file symlinks only)Karsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Dec 17, 2025
  26. 15/18 mingw: add support for symlinks to directoriesKarsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Dec 17, 2025
  27. 16/18 mingw: try to create symlinks without elevated permissionsJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Dec 17, 2025
  28. 17/18 mingw: emulate `stat()` a little more faithfullyJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Dec 17, 2025
  29. 18/18 mingw: special-case index entries for symlinks with buggy sizeJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Dec 17, 2025
  30. Junio C HamanoDec 18, 2025
  31. Johannes SixtDec 18, 2025
  32. Karsten BleesDec 18, 2025
  33. 00/18 Support symbolic links on WindowsJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Jan 9, 2026
  34. 01/18 mingw: don't call `GetFileAttributes()` twice in `mingw_lstat()`Karsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Jan 9, 2026
  35. 02/18 mingw: implement `stat()` with symlink supportKarsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Jan 9, 2026
  36. 03/18 mingw: drop the separate `do_lstat()` functionKarsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Jan 9, 2026
  37. 04/18 mingw: let `mingw_lstat()` error early upon problems with reparse pointsKarsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Jan 9, 2026
  38. 05/18 mingw: teach dirent about symlinksKarsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Jan 9, 2026
  39. 06/18 mingw: compute the correct size for symlinks in `mingw_lstat()`Bill Zissimopoulos via GitGitGadget, Jan 9, 2026
  40. 07/18 mingw: factor out the retry logicKarsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Jan 9, 2026
  41. 08/18 mingw: change default of `core.symlinks` to falseKarsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Jan 9, 2026
  42. 09/18 mingw: add symlink-specific error codesKarsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Jan 9, 2026
  43. 11/18 mingw: support renaming symlinksKarsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Jan 9, 2026
  44. 10/18 mingw: handle symlinks to directories in `mingw_unlink()`Karsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Jan 9, 2026
  45. 12/18 mingw: allow `mingw_chdir()` to change to symlink-resolved directoriesKarsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Jan 9, 2026
  46. 13/18 mingw: implement `readlink()`Karsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Jan 9, 2026
  47. 14/18 mingw: implement basic `symlink()` functionality (file symlinks only)Karsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Jan 9, 2026
  48. 15/18 mingw: add support for symlinks to directoriesKarsten Blees via GitGitGadget, Jan 9, 2026
  49. 16/18 mingw: try to create symlinks without elevated permissionsJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Jan 9, 2026
  50. 17/18 mingw: emulate `stat()` a little more faithfullyJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Jan 9, 2026
  51. 18/18 mingw: special-case index entries for symlinks with buggy sizeJohannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget, Jan 9, 2026

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