How to fix error: unable to create symlink: symbolic link privilege not held in Git

The easiest solution for personal computers is to enable Developer Mode, which grants symlink privileges to your user account:

1. Press Windows + I to open Settings
2. Go to Privacy & security > For developers (Windows 11) or Update & Security > For Developers (Windows 10)
3. Toggle Developer Mode to On
4. Accept the confirmation dialog
5. Restart your computer (recommended)

After enabling Developer Mode, try your Git operation again:

git clone <repository-url>
# or if already cloned:
git checkout -- .

If you cannot enable Developer Mode, run your Git client with administrator privileges:

For Git Bash:
1. Right-click on "Git Bash" in the Start menu
2. Select "Run as administrator"
3. Navigate to your repository and run your Git commands

For Command Prompt or PowerShell:
1. Search for "cmd" or "PowerShell" in the Start menu
2. Right-click and select "Run as administrator"
3. Run your Git commands

For VS Code integrated terminal:
1. Close VS Code
2. Right-click on VS Code and select "Run as administrator"
3. Open your project and use the integrated terminal

# Now clone or checkout with admin privileges
git clone <repository-url>

Note: Running as administrator is not ideal for everyday development as it can cause file permission issues.

For a permanent solution without Developer Mode (requires Windows Pro/Enterprise):

1. Press Windows + R, type secpol.msc, and press Enter
2. Navigate to Local Policies > User Rights Assignment
3. Find Create symbolic links and double-click it
4. Click Add User or Group
5. Enter your username or a group you belong to
6. Click OK and close the policy editor
7. Log out and log back in (or restart)

Verify the privilege was granted:

whoami /priv | findstr SeCreateSymbolicLinkPrivilege

You should see SeCreateSymbolicLinkPrivilege listed.

If you cannot get symlink privileges, configure Git to use text files instead of actual symlinks:

# Disable symlinks for a specific repository
git config core.symlinks false

# Or disable globally
git config --global core.symlinks false

Then reset your working directory:

git checkout -- .
# or reclone the repository

Warning: With core.symlinks false, Git creates plain text files containing the symlink target path. This may break builds or applications that rely on actual symlinks. Use this only if symlinks aren't critical to your project.

To check what files are symlinks in the repo:

git ls-files -s | grep "^120000"

When installing Git for Windows, ensure symlink support is enabled:

1. Download the latest [Git for Windows](https://git-scm.com/download/win)
2. Run the installer
3. During installation, on the "Configuring extra options" screen, check Enable symbolic links
4. Complete the installation

If Git is already installed, you can modify the installation:
1. Go to Settings > Apps > Git
2. Click Modify or run the installer again
3. Ensure the symlink option is checked

After reinstalling, verify symlinks are enabled:

git config --system core.symlinks

This should return true.

For projects that heavily use symlinks, consider using WSL where symlinks work natively:

1. Enable WSL if not already:

wsl --install

2. Install a Linux distribution from the Microsoft Store (e.g., Ubuntu)

3. Clone and work with the repository inside WSL:

# In WSL terminal
cd ~
git clone <repository-url>

WSL handles symlinks like a native Linux environment, avoiding Windows symlink limitations entirely.

You can access WSL files from Windows at \\wsl$\Ubuntu\home\<username> or use VS Code's Remote - WSL extension for seamless editing.