[solved] How to check if a folder exists at runtime

[graceful vale]

return if (someDir.access("somefile.ext", .{.mode= .read_only})) |_| true else |_| false;
```I have this for files, but is there something for folders instead?

[visual pine]

can't you just try and open the folder?

i'd expect such a function to return error.FileNotFound or the like, when missing the folder

[steep summit]

access is pretty much always a race, use open if possible

[graceful vale]

I don't know how to do that

What function/s should I be using?

[visual pine]

rather than checking if resource exists to then do something with it (might get created/removed between the check and the actual logic)... open the file and operate while open (or something like that)

[graceful vale]

I just want to check if it exists, and do something with it immediately

That sounds way too complicated for the usecase? 🤔

[visual pine]

until a user just happens to delete the file in between the 2 things and you crash anyway, even though you checked that it exists 😛

[graceful vale]

If the user is able to delete the file in a fraction of a milisecond in between two lines of my code... they have bigger problems than my app crashing 🤔

[visual pine]

guess i should've asked if you are doing anything with the file other than checking its existence

perhaps this is a lock file and all you do with it is existing/missing

[graceful vale]

Nothing, that's the point. I just check if the folder exists and create it if it doesn't

[visual pine]

but even then, i'd still open the file as a way to ensure that i dont run into edge cases

[graceful vale]

essentially mkdir -p somedir/

But I don't know how to do that in Zig for folders, only for files

Is there a way to do that?

[visual pine]

this seems like it would do? just the 1st thing i found looking for "open" on the fs' doc page

there might be some similar API (or a shortcut to this one) if you have a fs.Dir + relative path, idk

[graceful vale]

Well that's the starting question! 🙈

[visual pine]

no, your question was to check for folder's existence

not "create file if not exists" 😛

[graceful vale]

???

I want to check if a folder exists, and create it if it doesn't exist?

That is NOT files, its folder, like the question stated

[visual pine]

yeah, but i mean we diverged to "should not check, then operate, can be a race" which then became "why are you checking if file exists?"

[graceful vale]

Yes, and I reverted back to the actual topic by saying "that was the original question"

Man this argument is ridiculous

Please lets focus on how to check if a folder exists at runtime 🙏

[visual pine]

creates if not there yet, else returns PathAlreadyExists (you wanted mkdir -p, this sounds like it)

as the docstring says, may want to use makePath if you could be missing other dirs further up the path

[graceful vale]

Thanks! ✍️

[visual pine]

and don't wanna sound rude or anything, but all i did was 5 seconds of Ctrl+F on the fs' docspage

[graceful vale]

My LSP is super broken, so I cannot easily find new/unknown functions that I haven't used yet 🙁

[visual pine]

i haven't really used fs APIs much

[graceful vale]

Should start doing that, yea. My brain keeps forgetting I could search instead of LSP

I don't know how that makeDir will work if I just want to check existence without creation though

[visual pine]

you wrote this, though :v

[graceful vale]

Yes, true. Because it is applicable to this one usecase
But its a follow up question

[visual pine]

^

[graceful vale]

Why would makeDir return an error on not existing? Like the whole point of it is create it if it doesn't exist?

[visual pine]

was not talking bout makeDir

🤦‍♂️

[graceful vale]

You are confusing the hell out of me.
Lets mark the question solved and I will open another if I ever run into the other case

[solved] How to check if a folder exists at runtime

thanks for the help

[visual pine]

fn folderExists(path: []const u8) bool {
    var dir = std.fs.openDirAbsolute(path) catch |e| switch (e) {
        error.FileNotFound => return false,
        else => // TODO: whatever you want for other errors
    };

    dir.close();
    return true;
}

[steep summit]

i mean if you write this, you might as well access. usually you want to do something with the dir after though

[visual pine]

up to OP, seems like checking and then not doing anything with it is a potential thing their code might do