pathchk(C)

pathchk -- check pathnames

Syntax

pathchk [ -p ] pathname ...

Description

The pathchk utility checks that the given pathnames are valid (that is, capable of being used to create or access a file without causing syntax errors) or portable (that is, no filename truncation will result). By default, pathchk checks the pathnames against the underlying file system. An error message is printed for each pathname that:

is longer than {PATH_MAX} bytes
contains any component longer than {NAME_MAX} bytes in its containing directory
contains any component in a directory which is not searchable
contains any character which is not valid in its containing directory

It is not an error if components of a pathname do not exist, as long as they can be created.

The -p option causes pathchk to perform portability checks on the pathnames. An error message is printed for each pathname that:

is longer than {POSIX_PATH_MAX} bytes
contains any component longer than {POSIX_NAME_MAX} bytes
contains any character that is not in the portable filename character set

Use getconf(C) to discover the values of {PATH_MAX}, {NAME_MAX}, {POSIX_PATH_MAX}, and {POSIX_NAME_MAX} on your system.

Exit values

pathchk returns one of the following exit values:

0: the pathnames passed all the checks
1: one or more pathnames is invalid
2: incorrect usage, or a pathname is too long

Standards conformance

pathchk is conformant with:

ISO/IEC DIS 99452:1992, Information technology Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX) Part 2: Shell and Utilities (IEEE Std 1003.21992);
X/Open CAE Specification, Commands and Utilities, Issue 4, 1992.

Notices