18.5 realpath: Print the resolved file name.

realpath expands all symbolic links and resolves references to ‘/./’, ‘/../’ and extra ‘/’ characters. By default, all but the last component of the specified files must exist. Synopsis:

realpath [option]… file

The file name canonicalization functionality overlaps with that of the readlink command. This is the preferred command for canonicalization as it’s a more suitable and standard name. In addition this command supports relative file name processing functionality.

The program accepts the following options. Also see Common options.

-e
--canonicalize-existing

Ensure that all components of the specified file names exist. If any component is missing or unavailable, realpath will output a diagnostic unless the -q option is specified, and exit with a nonzero exit code. A trailing slash requires that the name resolve to a directory.

-m
--canonicalize-missing

If any component of a specified file name is missing or unavailable, treat it as a directory.

-L
--logical

Symbolic links are resolved in the specified file names, but they are resolved after any subsequent ‘..’ components are processed.

-P
--physical

Symbolic links are resolved in the specified file names, and they are resolved before any subsequent ‘..’ components are processed. This is the default mode of operation.

-q
--quiet

Suppress diagnostic messages for specified file names.

--relative-to=dir

Print the resolved file names relative to the specified directory. This option honors the -m and -e options pertaining to file existence.

--relative-base=dir

Print the resolved file names as relative if the files are descendants of dir. Otherwise, print the resolved file names as absolute. This option honors the -m and -e options pertaining to file existence. For details about combining --relative-to and --relative-base, see Realpath usage examples.

-s
--strip
--no-symlinks

Do not resolve symbolic links. Only resolve references to ‘/./’, ‘/../’ and remove extra ‘/’ characters. When combined with the -m option, realpath operates only on the file name, and does not touch any actual file.

-z
--zero

Output a zero byte (ASCII NUL) at the end of each line, rather than a newline. This option enables other programs to parse the output even when that output would contain data with embedded newlines.

Exit status:

0 if all file names were printed without issue.
1 otherwise.