Tcl

Create a Symbolic Link on an SFTP Server

Demonstrates the Chilkat SFtp.SymLink method, which creates a symbolic link on the server. The first argument is the link target and the second is the new symbolic-link path.

Background: A symbolic link stores a path that points at another location, so it can span directories or filesystems and can even point at something that does not exist. A common use is a stable name like latest.log that is repointed at each day's file. Argument order is a frequent source of confusion — the target comes first, the new link path second — and note that how the target string is interpreted (relative to what) is up to the server's implementation.

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Tcl


load ./chilkat.dll

set success 0

#  Demonstrates the SFtp.SymLink method, which creates a symbolic link on the server.  The 1st
#  argument is the link target and the 2nd is the new symbolic-link path.

set sftp [new_CkSFtp]

#  Connect, authenticate, and initialize the SFTP subsystem.
set port 22
set success [CkSFtp_Connect $sftp "sftp.example.com" $port]
if {$success == 0} then {
    puts [CkSFtp_lastErrorText $sftp]
    delete_CkSFtp $sftp
    exit
}

#  Normally you would not hard-code the password in source.  You should instead obtain it
#  from an interactive prompt, environment variable, or a secrets vault.
set password "mySshPassword"

set success [CkSFtp_AuthenticatePw $sftp "mySshLogin" $password]
if {$success == 0} then {
    puts [CkSFtp_lastErrorText $sftp]
    delete_CkSFtp $sftp
    exit
}

set success [CkSFtp_InitializeSftp $sftp]
if {$success == 0} then {
    puts [CkSFtp_lastErrorText $sftp]
    delete_CkSFtp $sftp
    exit
}

#  Create a symbolic link "subdir/latest.log" that points at "subdir/2026-07-23.log".  The
#  server's SFTP implementation determines how the target path is interpreted.
set success [CkSFtp_SymLink $sftp "subdir/2026-07-23.log" "subdir/latest.log"]
if {$success == 0} then {
    puts [CkSFtp_lastErrorText $sftp]
    delete_CkSFtp $sftp
    exit
}

puts "Symbolic link created."

CkSFtp_Disconnect $sftp

delete_CkSFtp $sftp