REALPATH(1)

📦
version 9.10 · 5 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

💖 realpath — print the resolved path 💖

okay bestie, realpath is one of the GNU coreutils, and she's here to tell you what a path actually is once you stop lying to yourself about .. and symlinks. no cap.

✨ NAME ✨

realpath — print the resolved path 🦋

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

realpath [OPTION]... FILE...

👑 DESCRIPTION 👑

Print the resolved absolute file name. literally that's it, that's the whole job, and she does it flawlessly 💅

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

  • -E, --canonicalize — all but the last component must exist. this one is the default, so if you just run realpath with no flags, congrats, you're already here 🫶
  • -e, --canonicalize-existing — every single component of the path must exist. sorry babe, no ghost files allowed 💀 every step of the way has to be real.
  • -m, --canonicalize-missing — no path components need exist or be a directory. zero vibe checks, zero requirements, she'll resolve it anyway ✨
  • -L, --logical — resolve .. components before symlinks. the logical girlies unite 🧚
  • -P, --physical — resolve symlinks as encountered. this is the default too, so the physical truth is what you get unless you say otherwise 🔥
  • -q, --quiet — suppress most error messages. not me silencing the haters 🙈
  • --relative-to=DIR — print the resolved path relative to DIR. it's giving ✨customized✨
  • --relative-base=DIR — print absolute paths unless paths below DIR. so: absolute normally, but relative for anything living under DIR.
  • -s, --strip, --no-symlinks — don't expand symlinks. three whole names, one single mood 🌈
  • -z, --zero — end each output line with NUL, not newline. for when newlines are simply not the moment.
  • --help — display this help and exit. bestie needs no help but okay 💖
  • --version — output version information and exit. she'll tell you exactly which era of herself you're dealing with ⭐

💜 AUTHOR 💜

Written by Padraig Brady. king behavior, honestly 👑

😭 REPORTING BUGS 😭

🌟 SEE ALSO 🌟

Packaged by Ubuntu (9.10-1ubuntu2). Copyright © 2026 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>. This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law. not the "no warranty" bestie 😭 pls read that part.

and that's the whole page, bestie 🎀 this was GNU coreutils 9.10, dated August 2026 — main character energy from start to finish, periodt 💅✨

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