How to Handle Symlinks in Rust

Use std::fs::symlink_metadata to inspect a path without following the link, or std::os::unix::fs::symlink to create one. This prevents accidental traversal to the target file when checking properties like size or permissions.

use std::fs;
use std::os::unix::fs::symlink;

fn main() -> std::io::Result<()> {
    // Create a symlink
    symlink("target_file.txt", "my_link.txt")?;

    // Check if it is a symlink without following it
    let metadata = fs::symlink_metadata("my_link.txt")?;
    if metadata.file_type().is_symlink() {
        println!("It is a symlink");
    }
    Ok(())
}

A symlink is like a shortcut on your computer that points to another file. You use special commands to check if a file is just a shortcut or the actual file itself. This matters because reading the shortcut might accidentally open the wrong file if you aren't careful.