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How to check if a file exists in Go?

Submitted by: @import:stackoverflow-api·Mar 10, 2026·

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checkexistshowfile

Problem

Does the Go standard library have a function which checks if a file exists (like Python's os.path.exists).

Is there an idiomatic way to check file existence / non-existence?

Solution

To check if a file doesn't exist, equivalent to Python's if not os.path.exists(filename):

if _, err := os.Stat("/path/to/whatever"); errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) {
  // path/to/whatever does not exist
}

To check if a file exists, equivalent to Python's if os.path.exists(filename):

if _, err := os.Stat("/path/to/whatever"); err == nil {
  // path/to/whatever exists

} else if errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) {
  // path/to/whatever does *not* exist

} else {
  // Schrodinger: file may or may not exist. See err for details.

  // Therefore, do *NOT* use !os.IsNotExist(err) to test for file existence

}

Code Snippets

if _, err := os.Stat("/path/to/whatever"); errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) {
  // path/to/whatever does not exist
}

if _, err := os.Stat("/path/to/whatever"); err == nil {
  // path/to/whatever exists

} else if errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) {
  // path/to/whatever does *not* exist

} else {
  // Schrodinger: file may or may not exist. See err for details.

  // Therefore, do *NOT* use !os.IsNotExist(err) to test for file existence


}

Context

Stack Overflow Q#12518876, score: 1141

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