resolve symlinks in Go

Question

How can I resolve symlinks in Go?

Currently I call readlink -f but I want something more idiomatic.

package main

import (
    "os/exec"
    "fmt"
)

func resolve(p string) string {
    cmd := exec.Command("readlink", "-f", p)
    out, _ := cmd.Output()

    return (string(out))
}

func main() {
    fmt.Printf(resolve("/initrd.img"))
}

Answer 1

Use os.Lstat:

func Lstat(name string) (fi FileInfo, err error)

Lstat returns a FileInfo describing the named file. If the file is a symbolic link, the returned FileInfo describes the symbolic link. Lstat makes no attempt to follow the link. If there is an error, it will be of type *PathError.

EDIT:

Then returned os.FileInfo will only allow you to check if 'name' is a link or not (fi.Mode() & os.ModeSymlink != 0). If it is, then use os.Readlink to get the pointee:

func Readlink(name string) (string, error)

Readlink returns the destination of the named symbolic link. If there is an error, it will be of type *PathError.