Homescreen Shortcut to Downloads Folder

Question:
How do I add a shortcut to the "Dowloads" folder to my homescreen (without rooting my device or installing any 3rd-party apps)? Is there an APK for the Downloads shortcut that I can install?

Background:
I have 2 devices: The first (Android 7) has a shortcut/app called "Downloads" that immediately opens the downloads folder when tapped. The second (Android 8) has no such shortcut/app. Instead, the downloads folder is accessbile only via the "Settings" app. More importantly, there's no way to add "Downloads" to my homescreen, which is my objective. I tried adding the "Settings" widget to my homescreen, but there was no option to create a shortcut to "Storage."

Thanks, in advance.

Question:
How do I add a shortcut to the "Downloads" folder to my homescreen (without rooting my device or installing any 3rd-party apps)? Is there an APK for the Downloads shortcut that I can install?

Background:
I have 2 devices: The first (Android 7) has a shortcut/app called "Downloads" that immediately opens the downloads folder when tapped. The second (Android 8) has no such shortcut/app. Instead, the downloads folder is accessbile only via the "Settings" app. More importantly, there's no way to add "Downloads" to my homescreen, which is my objective. I tried adding the "Settings" widget to my homescreen, but there was no option to create a shortcut to "Storage."

Thanks, in advance.

Not without learning Linux and installing a Terminal app. The existence of a symlink (shortcut) is at the Linux level.

I have the ES File Explorer Pro app and I can navigate to the Download folder (or any folder) hold my finger down on it to select the Download folder then in the menu there is a "more" selection which had an option "Add to desktop" & this does create a shortcut to the folder for me.
Im using a Galaxy Note 9 with Android 8.1.0
I don't think that will make any difference if you get the ES File Explorer app.
I just discovered that the "My Files" (stock app) can do the same thing! Good luck!

Welcome to Android Central! If you install Total Commander (free and ad-free), you can long-press the /Download directory and use the Create Link On Desktop option to create a shortcut.

Duplicate threads merged.