Turbopack Error: create symlink to ../../../../../auth/node_modules/@prisma/client

[iutkarsh077]

Turbopack version: ea1df5f2
Next.js version: 0.0.0

Error message:

create symlink to ../../../../../auth/node_modules/@prisma/client

Caused by:
- A required privilege is not held by the client. (os error 1314)

[megpr]

I'm not sure if this is really the problem or the solution, but it worked for me. Here's my approach - please test it:

This error occurs because Windows requires special permissions to create symbolic links, which Turbopack needs for certain npm packages (like pino, @prisma/client, mongodb, etc.).

Solution: Enable Windows Developer Mode

Method 1: Via Settings (Recommended)

1. Press Windows Key + I to open Settings
2. Navigate to Update & Security → For developers
   • Or search for "For developers" in the Settings search bar
3. Under Developer Mode, toggle the switch to On
4. Restart your computer

Method 2: Via PowerShell (Administrator)

1. Open PowerShell as Administrator
2. Run the following command:

Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppModelUnlock" -Name "AllowDevelopmentWithoutDevLicense" -Value 1

3. Restart your computer

Method 3: Via Registry (Manual)

1. Press Windows Key + R and type regedit
2. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppModelUnlock
3. Create or modify the DWORD value AllowDevelopmentWithoutDevLicense and set it to 1
4. Restart your computer

After enabling Developer Mode, Turbopack should work without symlink errors.

Alternative: Use Webpack

If you prefer not to enable Developer Mode, you can use Webpack instead:

"dev": "next dev --webpack"

Verification

After enabling Developer Mode, test if it works:

npm run dev

If Turbopack starts without errors, the fix was successful.

Note: This is a known Windows limitation, not a Turbopack bug. The Windows Developer Mode is the recommended solution for development environments.

[meretodev]

Requiring Windows Developer Mode (or elevated privileges) is not a practical recommendation for a shared development environment. It introduces an external, non-reproducible setup step that cannot be enforced, automated, or verified by the project itself. In practice, this results in onboarding friction and recurring “works on my machine” issues, especially as new Windows developers join.

Our goal is a deterministic, one-command setup where cloning the repo and running the dev script is sufficient to start working. That requirement cannot be met when development depends on modifying OS-level security settings outside the project’s control.

For that reason, even though Developer Mode is the recommended workaround, we intentionally avoid it and instead use Webpack as a Windows fallback to guarantee a predictable and self-contained developer experience.