How do I create a shortcut via command-line in Windows?

I want my .bat script (test.bat) to create a shortcut to itself so that I can copy it to my windows 8 Startup folder.

I have written this line of code to copy the file but I haven't yet found a way to create the said shortcut, as you can see it only copies the script.

xcopy "C:\Users\Gabriel\Desktop\test.bat" "C:\Users\Gabriel\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup"

Can you help me out?

Solution 1:

You could use a PowerShell command. Stick this in your batch script and it'll create a shortcut to %~f0 in %userprofile%\Start Menu\Programs\Startup:

powershell "$s=(New-Object -COM WScript.Shell).CreateShortcut('%userprofile%\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\%~n0.lnk');$s.TargetPath='%~f0';$s.Save()"

If you prefer not to use PowerShell, you could use mklink to make a symbolic link. Syntax:

mklink saveShortcutAs targetOfShortcut

See mklink /? in a console window for full syntax, and this web page for further information.

In your batch script, do:

mklink "%userprofile%\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\%~nx0" "%~f0"

The shortcut created isn't a traditional .lnk file, but it should work the same nevertheless. Be advised that this will only work if the .bat file is run from the same drive as your startup folder. Also, apparently admin rights are required to create symbolic links.

Solution 2:

Cannot be done with pure batch.Check the shortcutJS.bat - it is a jscript/bat hybrid and should be used with .bat extension:

call shortcutJS.bat -linkfile "%~n0.lnk" -target  "%~f0" -linkarguments "some arguments"

With -help you can check the other options (you can set icon , admin permissions and etc.)

Solution 3:

Rohit Sahu's answer worked best for me in Windows 10. The PowerShell solution ran, but no shortcut appeared. The JScript solution gave me syntax errors. I didn't try mklink, since I didn't want to mess with permissions.

I wanted the shortcut to appear on the desktop. But I also needed to set the icon, the description, and the working directory. Note that MyApp48.bmp is a 48x48 pixel image. Here's my mod of Rohit's solution:

@echo off
cd c:\MyApp
echo Set oWS = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell") > CreateShortcut.vbs
echo sLinkFile = "%userprofile%\Desktop\MyApp.lnk" >> CreateShortcut.vbs
echo Set oLink = oWS.CreateShortcut(sLinkFile) >> CreateShortcut.vbs
echo oLink.TargetPath = "C:\MyApp\MyApp.bat" >> CreateShortcut.vbs
echo oLink.WorkingDirectory = "C:\MyApp" >> CreateShortcut.vbs
echo oLink.Description = "My Application" >> CreateShortcut.vbs
echo oLink.IconLocation = "C:\MyApp\MyApp48.bmp" >> CreateShortcut.vbs
echo oLink.Save >> CreateShortcut.vbs
cscript CreateShortcut.vbs
del CreateShortcut.vbs

Solution 4:

The best way is to run this batch file. open notepad and type:-

@echo off
echo Set oWS = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell") > CreateShortcut.vbs
echo sLinkFile = "GIVETHEPATHOFLINK.lnk" >> CreateShortcut.vbs
echo Set oLink = oWS.CreateShortcut(sLinkFile) >> CreateShortcut.vbs
echo oLink.TargetPath = "GIVETHEPATHOFTARGETFILEYOUWANTTHESHORTCUT" >> CreateShortcut.vbs
echo oLink.Save >> CreateShortcut.vbs
cscript CreateShortcut.vbs
del CreateShortcut.vbs

Save as filename.bat(be careful while saving select all file types) worked well in win XP.