From acc4c73e882a2f425f3b620d64cedb800f968d1b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: David Scott Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2020 19:59:02 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] Win: describe Windows symlinks Signed-off-by: David Scott --- docker-for-windows/faqs.md | 14 ++++---------- docker-for-windows/troubleshoot.md | 5 ++--- 2 files changed, 6 insertions(+), 13 deletions(-) diff --git a/docker-for-windows/faqs.md b/docker-for-windows/faqs.md index eb312a780f..4fc40671dd 100644 --- a/docker-for-windows/faqs.md +++ b/docker-for-windows/faqs.md @@ -81,18 +81,12 @@ deployed containers, but rather sets permissions to a default value of For workarounds and to learn more, see [Permissions errors on data directories for shared volumes](troubleshoot#permissions-errors-on-data-directories-for-shared-volumes). -### Are symlinks supported? +### How do symlinks work on Windows? -Docker Desktop supports symbolic links (symlinks) created within containers. -Symlinks resolve within and across containers. Symlinks created outside of Docker do not work. +Docker Desktop supports 2 kinds of symlink: -To learn more about the reasons for this limitation, see the following discussions: - -* GitHub issue: - [Symlinks don't work as expected](https://github.com/docker/for-win/issues/109#issuecomment-251307391){: target="_blank" class="_"} - -* Docker Desktop for Windows forums topic: - [Symlinks on shared volumes not supported](https://forums.docker.com/t/symlinks-on-shared-volumes-not-supported/9288){: target="_blank" class="_"} +1. Windows native symlinks: these are visible inside containers as symlinks. +2. Symlinks created inside a container: these are represented as [mfsymlinks](https://wiki.samba.org/index.php/UNIX_Extensions#Minshall.2BFrench_symlinks) i.e. regular Windows files with special metadata. These appear as symlinks inside containers but not as symlinks on the host. ## Certificates diff --git a/docker-for-windows/troubleshoot.md b/docker-for-windows/troubleshoot.md index d2de4bb701..e9e065801f 100644 --- a/docker-for-windows/troubleshoot.md +++ b/docker-for-windows/troubleshoot.md @@ -148,10 +148,9 @@ containers). Click ![whale menu](images/whale-x.png){: .inline} and then **Settings** > **Shared Drives** and share the drive that contains the Dockerfile and volume. -#### Understand symlinks limitations +#### Support for symlinks -Symlinks work within and across containers. However, symlinks created outside of -containers (for example, on the host) do not work. To learn more, see [Are +Symlinks work within and across containers. To learn more, see [Are symlinks supported?](faqs.md#are-symlinks-supported) in the FAQs. #### Avoid unexpected syntax errors, use Unix style line endings for files in containers