Can I check if a file exists without opening it?

[robust wren]

Hi, I have this function

fn hasGitIgnore(absolute_path: []const u8) bool {
    const file_name = if (absolute_path[absolute_path.len - 1] == '/') ".gitignore" else "/.gitignore";

    var buf: [255]u8 = undefined;
    const gitIgnorePath = std.fmt.bufPrint(&buf, "{s}{s}", .{ absolute_path, file_name }) catch "";

    var file = std.fs.openFileAbsolute(gitIgnorePath, .{}) catch {
        return false;
    };
    defer file.close();

    return true;
}

It's currently using openFileAbsolute to check if the file exists.
Is there a better way to do this?
I've heard about Dir.access, but the purpose of this function requires taking in a string, not a Dir 🤔

[wraith pike]

var dir = std.fs.openDirAbsolute(absolute_path, .{});
defer dir.close();
dir.access(".gitignore", .{}) catch return false;
return true;

with std.fs, you don't really have to construct paths

[robust wren]

is opening a file more costly than opening a dir?

if so thank you for the solution

[wraith pike]

access is generally faster if you just want to check for the access

you can pass the dir handle along to many functions if you operate on the same dir

you should generally avoid paths (and especially absolute paths)

[robust wren]

thank you for the advice ❤️

[lusty mica]

Keep in mind that there can be TOCTOU issues with stuff like this

Which is why there's not a does_exist() proc

e.g: You do the check, and then someone immediately creates the file, and then your program continues