diff --git a/packages/reprint-server/src/class-file-index-processor.php b/packages/reprint-server/src/class-file-index-processor.php
index 48b51a006..1e43ff88f 100644
--- a/packages/reprint-server/src/class-file-index-processor.php
+++ b/packages/reprint-server/src/class-file-index-processor.php
@@ -99,10 +99,24 @@ public static function start(
         bool $include_caches,
         string $storage_path
     ): self {
+        // A selected directory may itself be a symlink. Preserve it before
+        // realpath() collapses its spelling into the directory it targets.
+        $initial_index_entries = [];
+        clearstatcache(true, $index_directory);
+        $index_directory_stat = @lstat($index_directory);
+        if (
+            $follow_symlinks
+            && is_array($index_directory_stat)
+            && ( $index_directory_stat["mode"] & self::STAT_TYPE_MASK ) === self::STAT_TYPE_LINK
+        ) {
+            // find_parent_symlinks() also inspects its final component, so this
+            // emits the selected link with the exact readlink() target spelling.
+            $initial_index_entries = self::find_parent_symlinks($index_directory);
+        }
+
         // Anchor traversal to a real directory. All later comparisons use
         // canonical paths so configured roots and followed links share one
         // path namespace.
-        clearstatcache(true, $index_directory);
         $canonical_index_directory = realpath($index_directory);
         if ($canonical_index_directory === false || !is_dir($canonical_index_directory)) {
             throw new InvalidArgumentException(
@@ -155,7 +169,6 @@ public static function start(
         // Keep parent-link discovery as the first traversal event. This
         // preserves the endpoint's established ordering: any link entries
         // found here must precede ordinary directory entries.
-        $initial_index_entries = [];
         if ($follow_symlinks) {
             foreach ($ordered_directories as $directory) {
                 $initial_index_entries = array_merge(
diff --git a/tests/FileIndexProcessorTest.php b/tests/FileIndexProcessorTest.php
index d8f69043d..2da81e69f 100644
--- a/tests/FileIndexProcessorTest.php
+++ b/tests/FileIndexProcessorTest.php
@@ -191,6 +191,111 @@ public function testFollowedRelativeSymlinkIndexesAnIntermediateLink(): void
         );
     }
 
+    public function testFollowedDirectorySymlinkRootPreservesTheSelectedLink(): void
+    {
+        $site = $this->tempDir . '/site';
+        $target = $this->tempDir . '/shared/akismet-5.7';
+        $link = $site . '/wp-content/plugins/akismet';
+        mkdir($target, 0755, true);
+        mkdir(dirname($link), 0755, true);
+        file_put_contents($target . '/akismet.php', '<?php // akismet');
+        symlink('../../../shared/akismet-5.7', $link);
+        $canonical_link = (string) realpath(dirname($link)) . '/akismet';
+
+        $processor = FileIndexProcessor::start(
+            [ (string) realpath($target) ],
+            $link,
+            true,
+            true,
+            ''
+        );
+        $entries = [];
+        while ($processor->next_index_step()) {
+            foreach ($processor->get_index_entries() as $entry) {
+                $entries[] = $entry;
+            }
+        }
+        $processor->close();
+
+        $root_entries = array_values(array_filter(
+            $entries,
+            static fn(array $entry): bool => $entry['path'] === $canonical_link
+        ));
+        $this->assertSame(
+            [[
+                'path' => $canonical_link,
+                'ctime' => (int) lstat($canonical_link)['ctime'],
+                'size' => 0,
+                'type' => 'link',
+                'target' => '../../../shared/akismet-5.7',
+                'intermediate' => true,
+            ]],
+            $root_entries
+        );
+        $this->assertContains( (string) realpath($target) . '/akismet.php', array_column($entries, 'path') );
+    }
+
+    public function testRealDirectoryRootDoesNotAddAnIndexEntry(): void
+    {
+        $directory = $this->tempDir . '/site/wp-content/plugins/akismet';
+        mkdir($directory, 0755, true);
+        file_put_contents($directory . '/akismet.php', '<?php // akismet');
+
+        $processor = FileIndexProcessor::start(
+            [ (string) realpath($directory) ],
+            $directory,
+            true,
+            true,
+            ''
+        );
+        $entries = [];
+        while ($processor->next_index_step()) {
+            foreach ($processor->get_index_entries() as $entry) {
+                $entries[] = $entry;
+            }
+        }
+        $processor->close();
+
+        $this->assertSame( [ (string) realpath($directory) . '/akismet.php' ], array_column($entries, 'path') );
+    }
+
+    public function testUnscopedDirectoryIndexKeepsItsExistingSymlinkEntry(): void
+    {
+        $site = $this->tempDir . '/site';
+        $target = $this->tempDir . '/shared/akismet-5.7';
+        $link = $site . '/wp-content/plugins/akismet';
+        mkdir($target, 0755, true);
+        mkdir(dirname($link), 0755, true);
+        file_put_contents($target . '/akismet.php', '<?php // akismet');
+        symlink('../../../shared/akismet-5.7', $link);
+        $canonical_link = (string) realpath(dirname($link)) . '/akismet';
+
+        $processor = FileIndexProcessor::start(
+            [ (string) realpath($site) ],
+            $site,
+            true,
+            true,
+            ''
+        );
+        $entries = [];
+        while ($processor->next_index_step()) {
+            foreach ($processor->get_index_entries() as $entry) {
+                $entries[] = $entry;
+            }
+        }
+        $processor->close();
+
+        $link_entries = array_values(array_filter(
+            $entries,
+            static fn(array $entry): bool => $entry['path'] === $canonical_link
+        ));
+        $this->assertSame(
+            (string) realpath($target),
+            $link_entries[0]['target']
+        );
+        $this->assertArrayNotHasKey('intermediate', $link_entries[0]);
+    }
+
     public function testResumeWithACompletedCursorRemainsComplete(): void
     {
         $docroot = $this->tempDir . '/site';
diff --git a/tests/e2e/site-registry.json b/tests/e2e/site-registry.json
index 612d523d7..759b85cf9 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/site-registry.json
+++ b/tests/e2e/site-registry.json
@@ -154,6 +154,9 @@
     },
     "files-pull-mirror": {
       "port": 8130
+    },
+    "only-symlinked-directory-root": {
+      "port": 8131
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/tests/e2e/tests/import-60-only-symlinked-directory-root.test.js b/tests/e2e/tests/import-60-only-symlinked-directory-root.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e2ba27bcf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/e2e/tests/import-60-only-symlinked-directory-root.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+/** Test 60: `--only` preserves a selected symlinked directory. */
+import { describe, it, beforeAll, afterAll } from 'vitest';
+import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
+import { existsSync, lstatSync, mkdirSync, readFileSync, readlinkSync, symlinkSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { join } from 'node:path';
+import {
+    runImporter, createTempDir, cleanupTempDir,
+    getSiteUrl, getSiteSecret, getSiteDir, fsRootDir,
+} from '../lib/test-helpers.js';
+import { ensureSite } from '../lib/site-setup.js';
+
+describe('Import: files-pull --only <symlinked directory>', { timeout: 180000 }, () => {
+    const site = 'only-symlinked-directory-root';
+    const linkTarget = '../../shared/reprint-scoped-plugin-5.7';
+    let tempDir;
+    let siteDir;
+
+    beforeAll(async () => {
+        await ensureSite(site, {
+            afterCreate: async (remoteSiteDir) => {
+                const target = join(remoteSiteDir, 'shared', 'reprint-scoped-plugin-5.7');
+                const link = join(remoteSiteDir, 'wp-content', 'plugins', 'reprint-scoped-plugin');
+                mkdirSync(target, { recursive: true });
+                writeFileSync(join(target, 'reprint-scoped-plugin.php'), '<?php // reprint scoped plugin\n');
+                symlinkSync(linkTarget, link);
+            },
+        });
+        siteDir = getSiteDir(site);
+        tempDir = createTempDir('e2e-only-symlinked-directory-root');
+    });
+
+    afterAll(() => {
+        cleanupTempDir(tempDir);
+    });
+
+    function importUrl() {
+        return `${getSiteUrl(site)}&directory=${siteDir}`;
+    }
+
+    it('files-pull completes when --only names the symlink', () => {
+        const result = runImporter(importUrl(), tempDir, 'files-pull', {
+            secret: getSiteSecret(site),
+            extraArgs: ['--only', join(siteDir, 'wp-content', 'plugins', 'reprint-scoped-plugin')],
+        });
+        assert.equal(
+            result.exitCode, 0,
+            `Expected exit 0\nstderr: ${result.stderr}\nstdout: ${result.stdout}`,
+        );
+    });
+
+    it('recreates the selected symlink with its original target spelling', () => {
+        const importedRoot = join(fsRootDir(tempDir), siteDir);
+        const link = join(importedRoot, 'wp-content', 'plugins', 'reprint-scoped-plugin');
+        assert.ok(lstatSync(link).isSymbolicLink(), `Expected symlink at ${link}`);
+        assert.equal(readFileSync(link, 'utf-8'), '<?php // reprint scoped plugin\n');
+        assert.equal(readlinkSync(link), linkTarget);
+    });
+
+    it('pulls the symlink target without unrelated site files', () => {
+        const importedRoot = join(fsRootDir(tempDir), siteDir);
+        assert.ok(existsSync(join(importedRoot, 'shared', 'reprint-scoped-plugin-5.7', 'reprint-scoped-plugin.php')));
+        assert.ok(!existsSync(join(importedRoot, 'wp-admin')));
+        assert.ok(!existsSync(join(importedRoot, 'wp-includes')));
+    });
+});
diff --git a/tests/phpunit.xml b/tests/phpunit.xml
index 543a99923..c958f7649 100644
--- a/tests/phpunit.xml
+++ b/tests/phpunit.xml
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
             <file>ExportHttpServerTest.php</file>
             <file>FileIndexDedupTest.php</file>
             <file>FileIndexSkipDefaultsTest.php</file>
+            <file>FileIndexProcessorTest.php</file>
             <file>HmacServerTest.php</file>
             <file>MultipartProcessorTest.php</file>
             <file>PushEndpointsTest.php</file>