pathchk – Check for Non-portable parts of a file

The pathchk command is a Linux utility that checks a file path for non-portable characters. It is used to ensure that a file path is portable across different operating systems and file systems. The command checks for characters that are not allowed in file names or file paths on certain file systems, such as Windows or MacOS.

Overview

The pathchk command is used to check a file path for non-portable characters. The command takes a file path as an argument and checks it for characters that are not allowed in file names or file paths on certain file systems. The command returns an error message if any non-portable characters are found in the file path.

Syntax

pathchk [OPTIONS] FILE

Example

To check if a file path is portable, simply run the pathchk command followed by the file path:

$ pathchk /home/user/Documents/my_file.txt

If the file path is portable, the command will not return any output. If the file path is not portable, the command will return an error message indicating which characters are not portable.

Specific use cases

The pathchk command is useful in situations where you need to ensure that a file path is portable across different operating systems and file systems. This is important when sharing files between different computers or when writing scripts that need to work on different systems.

Options

The following options are available for the pathchk command:

Troubleshooting tips

If the pathchk command returns an error message indicating that the file path is not portable, you can try renaming the file or directory to remove the non-portable characters. Alternatively, you can use a different file system or operating system that allows the characters in the file path.

Notes

• The pathchk command only checks for non-portable characters in the file path. It does not check if the file or directory actually exists.
• The characters that are considered non-portable may vary depending on the file system and operating system.
• The pathchk command is included in the GNU Core Utilities package, which is installed by default on most Linux distributions.