How do I test whether a pathname exists?
Previously I was using:
realpath -e /some/path Which works except if /some/path is a broken symlink, in which case it reports that it does not exist.
[ -e /some/path ] Produces a similar outcome to realpath
To check whether /some/path exists, either as something that can be completely resolved, or as a broken symbolic link:
if [ -e /some/path ] || [ -h /some/path ]; then echo '/some/path exists, possibly as a broken symbolic link' fi The -h test is true for a symbolic link, no matter if it's broken or not. There is also a -L test which is identical to the -h test (historical reasons).
The -e tests fails if the given pathname, with all its symbolic links resolved, can not be found. This is why we may have to use -h in a separate test if we expect that the filename component of our pathname is a broken symbolic link.