Walk an operand below .zfs or a symlink on its own (closes #142)

An operand under another was dropped as covered by it even when a
directory between them was named .zfs or was a symlink. The walk of
the outer operand enters neither, so the files under the inner operand
went unscanned and their records were deleted. walkReaches now reports
such an operand as not reached, so pruneRoots keeps it and walks it on
its own. README lists both cases with the others.

Judgement call: the new constant zfsDirName replaces the .zfs literal
in operandWarning and subdirJob too, because goconst rejects a third
copy.

Model: opus-5-5

TODO.md

@@ -29,12 +29,11 @@
 
 # Completed Steps
 
-- `README.md` rewritten from scratch, sentence by sentence, as a newcomer reads
-  it. It leads with what the program is and how to use it. A reference section
-  covers every setting and every subcommand. Development and testing come last.
-  Every statement was checked against the code on `next`. Five comments in
-  `main_test.go` cite "Settings", where their rules now live (2026-10-26,
-  https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/sfdupes/issues/135)
+- an operand under another is walked on its own when a directory between them,
+  the inner operand included, is named `.zfs` or is a symlink. The walk of the
+  outer operand does not reach it then. `scan` now records the files below it
+  and no longer deletes their records (2026-10-26,
+  https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/sfdupes/issues/142)
 
 - a file or directory removed while the scan runs is not an error, in the walk
   or in the hash phase. The scan prints no line for it and does not count it as

main_test.go

@@ -393,7 +393,7 @@ func TestRunNamesRelativeDatabase(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestRunUsesDatabaseThroughSymlinkedDirectory(t *testing.T) {
-	// README §Settings: the path names the file exactly. With link a
+	// README §Database: the path names the file exactly. With link a
 	// symlink to the directory real/sub, link/../db.sqlite names
 	// real/db.sqlite, not db.sqlite beside link. Every subcommand must
 	// use that file, relative or absolute, and its first line must name
@@ -648,7 +648,7 @@ func TestRunUsageErrors(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestRunScanRejectsWorkersBelowOne(t *testing.T) {
-	// README §Settings: --workers below 1 is a usage error reported in
+	// README §scan mode: --workers below 1 is a usage error reported in
 	// one line on stderr, before the scan opens the database.
 	for _, workers := range []string{"0", "-1"} {
 		t.Run(workers, func(t *testing.T) {
@@ -686,8 +686,8 @@ func TestRunScanRejectsWorkersBelowOne(t *testing.T) {
 func TestRunHelp(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 
-	// README §Settings: help goes to stderr, exits 0, and leaves stdout
-	// empty.
+	// README §Subcommands: help goes to stderr, exits 0, and leaves
+	// stdout empty.
 	cases := [][]string{{"--help"}, {"-h"}, {cmdScan, "--help"}}
 
 	for _, args := range cases {
@@ -713,8 +713,8 @@ func TestRunHelp(t *testing.T) {
 func TestRunVersion(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 
-	// README §Settings: the version is one line on stdout, with nothing
-	// on stderr, and exits 0.
+	// README §Subcommands: the version is one line on stdout, with
+	// nothing on stderr, and exits 0.
 	info, _ := debug.ReadBuildInfo()
 
 	for _, arg := range []string{"--version", "-v"} {
@@ -1122,7 +1122,7 @@ func assertRunsUseDatabase(t *testing.T, dir, name string) {
 }
 
 func TestRunDatabasePathUsedAsGiven(t *testing.T) {
-	// README §Settings: the path names the database file exactly. In
+	// README §Database: the path names the database file exactly. In
 	// SQLite's connection string an unescaped ? or # would end the file
 	// name and % would start an escape, and a path starting with //
 	// could be read as a host name. %25 is a valid escape, so unescaped

scan.go

@@ -48,6 +48,11 @@ const sampleWindow = 1024 * 1024
 // and hash worker pools.
 const workQueueDepth = 1024
 
+// zfsDirName is the name of the directory in which ZFS shows a
+// filesystem's snapshots. The walk never enters one, since it would
+// list every file once per snapshot.
+const zfsDirName = ".zfs"
+
 // errInterrupted reports a scan stopped by SIGINT or SIGTERM. runScan
 // has already printed its line, so run prints nothing more.
 var errInterrupted = errors.New("scan interrupted")
@@ -272,9 +277,10 @@ func pruneRoots(roots []string, oneFS bool, rules walkRules,
 }
 
 // walkReaches reports whether the walk of operand above reaches r, an
-// operand under it. That walk does not enter a default exclude in
-// rules, nor a directory that device puts on a filesystem in rules that
-// is not persistent, nor, with -x, one that device puts on a different
+// operand under it. That walk never follows a symlink. It does not
+// enter a directory named .zfs, nor a default exclude in rules, nor a
+// directory that device puts on a filesystem in rules that is not
+// persistent, nor, with -x, one that device puts on a different
 // filesystem than above, when device knows above's. It reaches every
 // regular file in a directory it enters, so for a regular-file operand
 // the directories checked start at its directory; they end below above.
@@ -295,6 +301,15 @@ func walkReaches(above, r string, oneFS bool, rules walkRules,
 			return false
 		}
 
+		if filepath.Base(dir) == zfsDirName {
+			return false
+		}
+
+		fi, err = os.Lstat(dir)
+		if err == nil && fi.Mode()&fs.ModeSymlink != 0 {
+			return false
+		}
+
 		dev, ok := device(dir)
 		if !ok {
 			continue
@@ -883,7 +898,7 @@ func operandWarning(root string, fi fs.FileInfo) string {
 	case mode.IsRegular():
 		return ""
 	case mode.IsDir():
-		if filepath.Base(root) != ".zfs" {
+		if filepath.Base(root) != zfsDirName {
 			return ""
 		}
 
@@ -1153,7 +1168,7 @@ func subdirJob(ctx context.Context, p string, e fs.DirEntry,
 	parent dirJob, oneFS bool, rules walkRules,
 	events chan<- walkEvent,
 ) (dirJob, bool) {
-	if e.Name() == ".zfs" {
+	if e.Name() == zfsDirName {
 		return dirJob{}, false
 	}
 

scan_test.go

@@ -1672,6 +1672,81 @@ func TestSyncScanOverlappingRoots(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// TestScanWalksOperandInZFSDirectory checks that an operand inside a
+// directory named .zfs below another operand is walked on its own,
+// since the walk of the other operand does not enter .zfs. The file
+// under it is recorded, and a second scan keeps the record.
+func TestScanWalksOperandInZFSDirectory(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	db := openTestDB(t)
+	f := writeFile(t, dir, "pool/.zfs/snapshot/daily/f", pattern(1, 10))
+	daily := filepath.Dir(f)
+
+	syncTree(t, db, dir, daily)
+	recordByPath(t, dbRecords(t, db), f)
+
+	syncTree(t, db, dir, daily)
+	recordByPath(t, dbRecords(t, db), f)
+}
+
+// TestScanWalksOperandBehindSymlink checks that an operand reached
+// through a symlinked directory below another operand is walked on its
+// own, since the walk of the other operand does not follow the symlink.
+// The file under it is recorded, and a second scan keeps the record.
+func TestScanWalksOperandBehindSymlink(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	target := t.TempDir()
+	db := openTestDB(t)
+	writeFile(t, target, "sub/f", pattern(1, 10))
+
+	link := filepath.Join(dir, "link")
+
+	err := os.Symlink(target, link)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	sub := filepath.Join(link, "sub")
+	f := filepath.Join(sub, "f")
+
+	syncTree(t, db, dir, sub)
+	recordByPath(t, dbRecords(t, db), f)
+
+	syncTree(t, db, dir, sub)
+	recordByPath(t, dbRecords(t, db), f)
+}
+
+// TestScanDropsOperandReachedBehindSymlink checks that an operand under
+// another one is still dropped when both lie behind the same symlinked
+// directory: the walk of the other operand starts past the symlink and
+// reaches it, so the file under it is walked once.
+func TestScanDropsOperandReachedBehindSymlink(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	target := t.TempDir()
+	db := openTestDB(t)
+	writeFile(t, target, "sub/deeper/f", pattern(1, 10))
+
+	link := filepath.Join(dir, "link")
+
+	err := os.Symlink(target, link)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	sub := filepath.Join(link, "sub")
+
+	st := syncTree(t, db, sub, filepath.Join(sub, "deeper"))
+	if st != (scanStats{walked: 1, added: 1}) {
+		t.Fatalf("stats = %+v, want 1 walked and added", st)
+	}
+}
+
 // TestScanHashesUniqueSize checks that a file whose size no other file
 // shares is hashed like every other file.
 func TestScanHashesUniqueSize(t *testing.T) {
@@ -2085,6 +2160,16 @@ func TestPruneRoots(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("pruneRoots with %s not persistent = %q, want %q",
 			pqRoot, got, want)
 	}
+
+	// Nor does it enter a directory named .zfs, so /p/.zfs/s is kept. The
+	// walk of /p/.zfs/s reaches /p/.zfs/s/t, which is dropped.
+	got = pruneRoots([]string{"/p", "/p/.zfs/s", "/p/.zfs/s/t"}, false,
+		walkRules{}, device)
+
+	want = []string{"/p", "/p/.zfs/s"}
+	if !slices.Equal(got, want) {
+		t.Fatalf("pruneRoots with .zfs = %q, want %q", got, want)
+	}
 }
 
 func TestReportsNeverTouchFilesystem(t *testing.T) {