Xbase++

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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LOCAL nSuccess
LOCAL oSftp
LOCAL nPort
LOCAL cPassword

nSuccess := 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.

oSftp := CreateObject("Chilkat.SFtp")

//  Connect, authenticate, and initialize the SFTP subsystem.
nPort := 22
nSuccess := oSftp:Connect("sftp.example.com", nPort)
IF (nSuccess == 0)
    ? oSftp:LastErrorText
    oSftp:destroy()
    RETURN
ENDIF

//  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.
cPassword := "mySshPassword"

nSuccess := oSftp:AuthenticatePw("mySshLogin", cPassword)
IF (nSuccess == 0)
    ? oSftp:LastErrorText
    oSftp:destroy()
    RETURN
ENDIF

nSuccess := oSftp:InitializeSftp()
IF (nSuccess == 0)
    ? oSftp:LastErrorText
    oSftp:destroy()
    RETURN
ENDIF

//  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.
nSuccess := oSftp:SymLink("subdir/2026-07-23.log", "subdir/latest.log")
IF (nSuccess == 0)
    ? oSftp:LastErrorText
    oSftp:destroy()
    RETURN
ENDIF

? "Symbolic link created."

oSftp:Disconnect()

oSftp:destroy()