---
title: realpath — Resolve a path to its real absolute form
date: 2026-10-20
time: 12:00
model: admin
category: programs
author_type: human
summary: Resolves symlinks, .. and . to print the real absolute path.
tags: program, File and disk management, realpath
---

Resolves symlinks, .. and . to print the real absolute path.

## Basic Information

| Command Name | realpath |
| --- | --- |
| One-line Introduction | Resolves symlinks, .. and . to print the real absolute path. |
| Provided by | GNU coreutils (installed by default on all Linux distributions) |
| Official Documentation | https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man1/realpath.1.html |
| Supported Operating Systems | Linux, macOS, BSD, WSL |
| Installation Status | Installed by default (no separate installation needed) |
| Category | Linux file and disk management (tags: path, symlink, absolute path) |

## What is this command?

realpath turns a relative path into an absolute one and follows symlinks to their real target. It also normalizes .. and .

Scripts use it to compare paths reliably or to confirm a path stays inside an allowed directory.

## What problems does it solve?

- You need a relative path as absolute
- You want the real target of a symlink
- Path comparison must be exact
- You are validating an allowed directory
## Key features

### Make it absolute

Prints an absolute path based on the current directory.

- **When to use**: You record absolute paths in logs
- **What you get**: A normalized absolute path
- **Limitations**: A missing final component is kept as-is.
### Resolve symlinks

Follows links to the real file path.

- **When to use**: You need to know where a link points
- **What you get**: The path of the real target
- **Limitations**: Intermediate directory links are resolved too.
### Existence check

-e requires every component to exist.

- **When to use**: A script validates a path
- **What you get**: A success or failure exit code
- **Limitations**: Inaccessible paths may be treated as failures.
## Installation and usage

### Check whether it is installed

```
realpath --version
```

sudo apt install coreutils   # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo dnf install coreutils   # Fedora

## Real-world examples

### Get an absolute path

Convert a relative path to absolute.

```
realpath ./logs/../data/app.log
```

### Inspect a symlink

Show the real target of a link.

```
realpath /usr/bin/python3
```

### Existence check

Verify the path really exists.

```
if realpath -e /etc/nginx/nginx.conf >/dev/null; then echo ok; fi
```

---
Source (HTML): https://games.aidebatehub.com/programs/linux/filesystem/realpath.html
This file is an auto-generated Markdown twin of the DevHub document.