Game launch crashes when using windows symbolic link for minecraftWorlds

I did some more testing and discovered that symlink only works if the target folder is placed under the LocalState folder or sub-folders.

Is this an expected behaviour?

Here are the cmd tests I made:

REM backup your minecraftWorlds before!!!

rmdir /q /s "%UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\games\com.mojang\minecraftWorlds"
rmdir /q /s "%UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\minecraftWorlds"
rmdir /q /s "%UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\minecraftWorlds"
REM ignore errors

REM test 1 ok:
mkdir "%UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\minecraftWorlds"

mklink /J "%UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\games\com.mojang\minecraftWorlds" "%UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\minecraftWorlds"

REM start minecraft windows app, it opens ok
rmdir /q /s "%UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\minecraftWorlds"
rmdir /q /s "%UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\games\com.mojang\minecraftWorlds"

REM test 2 ko:
mkdir "%UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\minecraftWorlds"

mklink /J "%UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\games\com.mojang\minecraftWorlds" "%UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\minecraftWorlds"

REM start minecraft windows app, it fails ko
rmdir /q /s "%UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\minecraftWorlds"
rmdir /q /s "%UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\games\com.mojang\minecraftWorlds"

Still happening on new release 1.16.220 and no activity on this bug...bump

Still happening on new release 1.16.221 and no activity on this bug...bump

Still happening on new release 1.17.0 and no activity on this bug...bump

Still happening on new release 1.17.10 and no activity on this bug...bump

Confirmed the same behaviour.  I do this all the time so I can have save games synced in dropbox between my desktop and laptop; I've done this with at least 40 other games, I've never hit an issue like this before.  This is definitely a bug of some kind.  I can't even imagine what would cause it, though, since junctions show up to programs as just another directory.

Side comment: "mklink /j" makes a junction, "mklink /d" makes a directory soft link.  In either case, the MCPE Windows App crashes at between 42% and 46%

Since I assume other people reading this are trying to do multi-computer sync of world data: I was not able to work around this with Dropbox or OneDrive.  It might be possible to do with Google Drive, I didn't try.  However, what I did end up doing is using Allway Sync to sync between my MCPE data folder and a folder in my Dropbox folder, that does seem to be working.

Thank you for your report!
However, this issue has been temporarily closed as Awaiting Response

Can you provide more details how to reproduce this issue? I mean like example below with all necessary commands and steps.

Video would also be very helpful. You can record it and upload it here as attachment. If your video size exceeds 10 MB, you can use OneDrive or similar file hosting service and share link.

Also, just a reminder, to make your bug report as effective as possible, please try and include the following steps to reproduce the problem:

Steps to Reproduce:
1.
2.
3.

Observed Results:
(Briefly describe what happens)

Expected Results:
(Briefly describe what should happen)

If your ticket does not look like the example given here, then it's likely to be closed as incomplete.

This ticket will automatically reopen when you reply.

Steps to Reproduce:

1. Backup your minecraftWorlds before!

2. Delete minecraftWorlds

rmdir /q /s "%UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\games\com.mojang\minecraftWorlds"

1. Delete TEST folder if exists

rmdir /q /s "%UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\TEST\minecraftWorlds"

1. Create TEST folder

mkdir "%UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\TEST\minecraftWorlds"

1. Create symlink

mklink /J "%UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\games\com.mojang\minecraftWorlds" "%UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\TEST\minecraftWorlds"

1. Start Minecraft App

2. Create a new world

Observed Results:
Error,
"There was a problem loading this world"

Expected Results:
No error, world should be created and placed in TEST folder

There seems to have been a change in behaviour since version 1.17.34, before with symlink Minecraft app crashed on start, now it starts and crashes on world create.

Thank you for your report!
However, this issue is Working as Intended.

Please note, that mechanics of the game may change between updates.
Things such as graphics, sounds, world creation, biomes, redstone, villagers, and animals may not work the same in current versions.

Full Version History -- Snapshot Version History -- Feature Requests and Suggestions

Quick Links:
📓 Bug Tracker Guidelines -- 💬 Community Support -- 📧 Mojang Support (Technical Issues) -- 📧 Microsoft Support (Account Issues) -- 📓 Project Summary -- ✍️ Feedback and Suggestions -- 📖 Game Wiki