LNK
Generated by scripts/gen-format-pages.py from docs/data/format-metadata/, FILE_FORMATS.csv and docs/formats-master.csv. Do not edit by hand: change the source, then run the script.
Windows .lnk Shortcut Preview.
At a glance
| Purpose | A Windows shell link (.lnk): a shortcut's target, arguments, working directory, icon and timestamps. |
| Extensions | .lnk |
| Poka parser | poka-lnk |
| Viewer | poka-tree-viewer |
| Depth tier | Parser with a shared viewer (see Depth tiers) |
| Breadth tier | B2 Broad (see Breadth tiers) |
How much Poka reads
B2 Broad. The common content of the current and the common older versions is decoded. Some named features or versions are not, and are listed.
Confidence: medium (the reviewer read the code). Basis: Reviewed 2026-10-26: read parsers/poka-lnk/src/main.rs (592 lines) and plugin.json. No unit tests or tests/samples.rs; the corpus has ez_Win7_Control_Panel.lnk, read by no test. Covers .lnk and .lnk-shortcut. The tree decodes the header and string data: target path (from LinkInfo), arguments, working directory, relative path, icon location, name, show command, target size, icon index, hotkey, file attributes, drive type, volume label and serial, the three timestamps and the link flags. Judgement: B2: what the shortcut points at and runs is decoded; the ID list and extra data are not.
What Poka does not read
- The LinkTargetIDList (shell item path) is skipped
- Extra data blocks are not read: tracker (machine ID, droid), environment and known-folder blocks
- Network share targets are not decoded beyond the local path (judgement from the code)
Libraries
Libraries Poka uses or has assessed for this format, with the status, licence and language the registry records.
- parselnk (candidate; MIT; Rust; https://github.com/rustysec/parselnk-rs) — pure-Rust LNK parser
- lnk (candidate; MIT; Rust; https://github.com/lilopkins/lnk-rs) — alternative
Sources
- parsers/poka-lnk/src/main.rs
- parsers/poka-lnk/plugin.json