TheRedirector

A sleek, dark-themed GUI for managing NTFS junction points and symbolic links on Windows. Use it to redirect application settings folders — or individual config files — to a synced location (OneDrive, Dropbox, etc.) while keeping apps completely unaware.

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How it works

Windows NTFS supports junction points (directory symlinks) and symbolic links (file symlinks) that make one path transparently point to another location. When you redirect, say, %AppData%\PrusaSlicer to OneDrive\Synced Settings\PrusaSlicer, the app reads and writes to its normal path but the data actually lives on OneDrive.

TheRedirector manages a config file of name → type → source → target mappings and lets you enable or disable each redirect with a single click. It supports both:

• Folder redirects — using NTFS junction points (same as before)
• File redirects — using NTFS symbolic links (new in v1.1)

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Requirements

• Windows 10 / 11
• PowerShell 5.1 or later (built-in on modern Windows)
• Administrator privileges (required to create/remove junction points and symbolic links)

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Getting started

1. Clone or download

git clone https://github.com/LeeHeap/TheRedirector.git

2. Run the app

Double-click Run.bat — it will request elevation automatically.

Or launch manually from an elevated PowerShell prompt:

PowerShell.exe -STA -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "TheRedirector.ps1"

Note: The script will prompt to restart as administrator if not already elevated.

3. Create your config

On first run, a blank config.json is created. Use the GUI to add folder or file redirects, or copy config.example.json to config.json and edit the paths. The example config includes both folder and file redirect entries.

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Config file (config.json)

The config is a simple JSON file stored alongside the script:

{
  "redirects": [
    {
      "name": "PrusaSlicer",
      "type": "Folder",
      "source": "C:\\Users\\Lee\\AppData\\Roaming\\PrusaSlicer",
      "target": "C:\\Users\\Lee\\OneDrive\\PC Stuff\\Synced Settings\\PrusaSlicer"
    },
    {
      "name": "SSH Config",
      "type": "File",
      "source": "C:\\Users\\Lee\\.ssh\\config",
      "target": "C:\\Users\\Lee\\OneDrive\\PC Stuff\\Synced Settings\\.ssh\\config"
    }
  ]
}

Field	Description
name	Friendly display name shown in the GUI
type	"Folder" for directory junctions, "File" for file symlinks
source	Where the application expects its data (original path)
target	Where the data actually lives (your synced folder or file)

The type field is optional — entries without it default to "Folder" for backwards compatibility. The config is updated automatically when you add, edit, or remove entries via the GUI.

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Status indicators

Each redirect card shows one of these status badges:

Badge	Meaning
Active	Link exists and points to the correct target
Inactive	Source path doesn't exist — link not created yet
Not Linked	Source exists as a regular file/folder — data not yet redirected
Broken Link	Link exists but the target is missing
Wrong Target	Link exists but points to a different location

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Enabling a redirect

When you click Enable, the app handles existing data at the source path:

• Source doesn't exist → Link is created immediately (creates target file/folder if needed)
• Source exists, target doesn't exist → Asks to Move data to target, Delete it, or Cancel
• Source exists, target already exists → Asks to Delete source (data stays in target), or Cancel
• Source is already linked → Shown as Active, Broken, or Wrong Target; no action taken

Disabling a redirect

Clicking Disable removes only the junction point or symbolic link. Your data remains safely in the target location. The source path simply disappears until you re-enable the redirect.

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Keyboard shortcuts

Key	Action
F5	Refresh all statuses
Enter	Edit selected item
Delete	Remove selected item

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Tips

• Before enabling a redirect for the first time, make sure you've already moved your data to the target folder, or let the app move it for you.
• Before disabling, ensure the application is closed so it doesn't hold any file handles.
• If you reinstall Windows or set up a new PC, just run TheRedirector and enable all your redirects — your settings are already waiting on OneDrive.
• config.json is gitignored by default so your personal paths don't end up in the repo. Use config.example.json as a template to share with others.

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Project structure

TheRedirector/
├── TheRedirector.ps1      # Main application (PowerShell + WPF)
├── config.json            # Your personal redirect config (gitignored)
├── config.example.json    # Example config showing the format
├── Run.bat                # Convenience launcher (requests elevation)
├── .gitignore
└── README.md

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License

MIT License — see LICENSE for details.