Stop the disk size tests failing at random on ZFS (closes #150)

One ZFS commit can take a file through several sizes, and unix.Sync can
return before the blocks are counted. A test that expected the size on
disk to be settled therefore failed at random. The test that needs the
size to change now calls unix.Sync in a loop until it does, for at most
30 seconds. It then rescans until the size reads the same before and
after a rescan, and compares disk_size exactly, within the same 30
seconds. The other two tests fail only on a disk_size outside their two
reads. They call unix.Sync once first, so a wrong 512 usually fails them.

Model: opus-5-5

README.md

@@ -348,24 +348,17 @@ default. An operand may be a directory or a regular file.
 
 - `scan` with no operand is a usage error. The usage text goes to stderr, and
   the exit code is 2.
-- An operand that does not exist is a fatal error, and so is a symlink whose
-  target does not exist. `scan` then stops before it walks anything, and exits
-  with code 1.
-- Each operand is resolved to its real path before the walk, as `realpath`
-  prints it. A relative operand is joined to the working directory as `pwd -P`
-  prints it. Every symlink in the path is then followed. A `..` after a symlink
-  counts from the directory the symlink leads to. From then on the operand is
-  that real path. Its files are recorded under it, and warnings name it.
-- An operand that is a symlink is scanned at its target's real path. After a
-  `cd` through a symlink, `scan .` records its files under the real path of the
-  working directory.
+- An operand that does not exist is a fatal error. `scan` then stops before it
+  walks anything, and exits 1.
+- Each operand is made absolute before the walk. A relative operand is joined to
+  the working directory as `pwd` prints it, with its symlinks kept. A `.` or
+  `..` in it is resolved as text, and symlinks are not followed. Each record is
+  stored under that absolute path.
 - All operands belong to one scan, and one walk covers them all at once (see
   "Concurrency").
-- An operand that repeats another is dropped before the walk. Two operands
-  repeat each other when their real paths are the same.
+- An operand that repeats another is dropped before the walk.
 - An operand under another operand is dropped the same way, unless one of the
-  cases below applies. This too is judged on real paths. No path is then walked
-  twice.
+  cases below applies. No path is then walked twice.
 - An operand under another is kept, and walked on its own, when the inner
   operand or a directory between the two is one of these:
     - a default exclude (see "Rules for the walk");
@@ -376,21 +369,25 @@ default. An operand may be a directory or a regular file.
     memory (see "Rules for the walk"). The outer operand's walk does not enter
     such a directory, so the inner operand is walked on its own.
 
-- No other case keeps an operand under another.
-- With `/srv/link` a symlink to a directory outside `/srv`,
-  `scan /srv /srv/link/sub` walks `sub` on its own, at its real path.
-- An operand that is neither a regular file nor a directory is not scanned. Such
-  an operand is, for example, a symlink to a device node. `scan` prints a
-  warning naming the real path and what it is. It counts the operand as skipped
-  and drops it. The scan keeps the records beneath a dropped operand, unless
-  another operand covers them.
+- No other case keeps an operand under another. An operand reached through a
+  symlinked directory below the outer operand is dropped too. The outer
+  operand's walk does not follow the symlink, so no file under the inner operand
+  is scanned. The records that an earlier scan left under it are deleted. The
+  `-x` case above also covers an operand reached that way.
+- An operand that is neither a regular file nor a directory is not scanned.
+  `scan` prints a warning naming the path and what it is. It counts the operand
+  as skipped and drops it. An operand beneath a symlink operand is scanned all
+  the same. The scan keeps the records beneath a dropped operand, unless another
+  operand covers them. After a `cd` through a symlink, `scan .` names the
+  symlink and is skipped as a symlink operand. `scan sub` in that directory
+  records its files under the symlink's path. `report` can then list each as a
+  duplicate of the same file recorded under its real path.
 - An operand at or inside a directory named `.zfs` is never scanned, whether
-  given alone or under another operand. The check looks at the real path, so a
-  symlink into a `.zfs` directory is not scanned either. `scan` prints a warning
-  naming the real path, counts the operand as skipped and drops it. The records
-  beneath it are kept, unless it lies under another operand. Then they are
-  deleted, because that operand's walk never enters `.zfs` (see "Rules for the
-  walk").
+  given alone or under another operand. The check looks at the path as given and
+  at the path with its symlinks resolved. `scan` prints a warning naming the
+  path, counts the operand as skipped and drops it. The records beneath it are
+  kept, unless it lies under another operand. Then they are deleted, because
+  that operand's walk never enters `.zfs` (see "Rules for the walk").
 - An operand on a filesystem that is not persistent is dropped too. `scan`
   prints a line naming it and its filesystem type, and does not count it as
   skipped.
@@ -410,9 +407,9 @@ operands:
   is what makes a daily rescan cheap.
 - When such a file's size on disk differs from its recorded `disk_size`, `scan`
   updates `disk_size` alone. It still does not read the file, and counts it as
-  unchanged. ZFS, for example, counts a new file's blocks up to seconds after
-  the write. A block is the unit in which a filesystem allocates disk space. A
-  file scanned within those seconds gets its real `disk_size` at the next scan.
+  unchanged. ZFS, for example, counts a new file's blocks only seconds after the
+  write. A block is the unit in which a filesystem allocates disk space. A file
+  scanned within those seconds gets its real `disk_size` at the next scan.
 - `scan` hashes a file again when its size differs or its mtime is newer. The
   mtime is compared to the nanosecond, as finely as the filesystem records it. A
   same-size rewrite counts as a change whenever the filesystem gives it a later
@@ -487,12 +484,12 @@ walk practical on large or busy storage pools.
     The walk knows them by device ID and inode number. The device ID is the
     number by which the kernel tells filesystems apart. The inode number tells
     the files of one filesystem apart. So the walk passes over them whatever
-    path leads to them. The walk follows no symlink it finds. It opens each
-    operand at its real path, not the path given. An operand given through a
-    symlink can lead to the database files, and the walk passes over them there
-    as well. The walk prints no line for the database files and does not count
-    them as skipped. A record that an earlier scan left for one of them is
-    deleted.
+    path leads to them. The walk follows no symlink it finds. It does open each
+    operand at the path given, even when that path runs through a symlinked
+    directory. Such an operand can lead to the database files, and the walk
+    passes over them there as well. The walk prints no line for the database
+    files and does not count them as skipped. A record that an earlier scan left
+    for one of them is deleted.
 
 - By default the walk enters directories on other filesystems than its
   operand's. With `-x`, it never enters a directory on a different filesystem
@@ -1141,7 +1138,7 @@ showing the count it stopped at.
 - `0`: success, even when files were skipped with warnings.
 - `1`: a fatal error, or a `scan` stopped by `SIGINT` or `SIGTERM`. A fatal
   error is one of these:
-    - an operand that does not exist, or whose real path `scan` cannot find;
+    - an operand that does not exist, or whose details `scan` cannot read;
     - a list of mounted filesystems that `scan` cannot read;
     - another `scan` holding the lock (see "The scan lock");
     - a database, its directory or its lock file that cannot be created or

TODO.md

@@ -29,17 +29,6 @@
 Newest first. An entry ends with its date and its issue or branch, where those
 are known.
 
-- `scan` resolves each operand to its real path, symlinks followed, before the
-  walk. A symlink operand is scanned at its target instead of skipped. With
-  `/srv/link` a symlink to a directory outside `/srv`, `scan /srv /srv/link/sub`
-  walks `sub` on its own instead of dropping it and deleting its records
-  (2026-11-06, https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/sfdupes/issues/144)
-
-- `README.md` and a comment in `scan.go` no longer say ZFS counts a new file's
-  blocks only seconds after the write. The count can land in under a second.
-  Both now say up to seconds after the write, as the comment on `diskSizeOf` in
-  `scan_test.go` does (2026-11-03, https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/sfdupes/issues/152)
-
 - The three disk size tests in `scan_test.go` no longer fail at random on ZFS.
   `unix.Sync` can return before ZFS has counted a file's blocks, and one ZFS
   commit can take a file through several sizes. The test that needs the size to

main_test.go

@@ -14,8 +14,6 @@ import (
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
-
-	"golang.org/x/sys/unix"
 )
 
 // usageMarker is the first line of cobra's usage text, which a usage
@@ -897,262 +895,54 @@ func TestRunScanSucceedsDespiteWarnings(t *testing.T) {
 	assertNoSidecars(t, path)
 }
 
-// realTempDir returns a new temporary directory by its real path, so
-// tests hold where the temporary directory is reached through a
-// symlink.
-func realTempDir(t *testing.T) string {
-	t.Helper()
-
-	dir, err := filepath.EvalSymlinks(t.TempDir())
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-
-	return dir
-}
-
-// symlink creates link pointing at target.
-func symlink(t *testing.T, target, link string) {
-	t.Helper()
-
-	err := os.Symlink(target, link)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-}
-
-// assertSummary checks that stderr holds the scan summary line want.
-func assertSummary(t *testing.T, stderr, want string) {
-	t.Helper()
-
-	if !strings.Contains(stderr, want) {
-		t.Errorf("stderr = %q, want %q", stderr, want)
-	}
-}
-
-// TestRunScanFollowsSymlinkOperand scans link, a symlink to target.
-// The operand is scanned at its real path, and its file is recorded
-// there.
-func TestRunScanFollowsSymlinkOperand(t *testing.T) {
+func TestRunScanSkipsSymlinkOperand(t *testing.T) {
 	path := testDBPath(t)
 	t.Setenv(databaseEnv, path)
 
-	dir := realTempDir(t)
-	f := writeFile(t, dir, "target/sub/f", pattern(1, 10))
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	writeFile(t, dir, "target/sub/f", pattern(1, 10))
 
 	link := filepath.Join(dir, "link")
-	symlink(t, filepath.Join(dir, "target"), link)
 
-	assertSummary(t, scanOK(t, link), "scan: 1 files seen (1 added, "+
-		"0 updated, 0 removed, 0 unchanged), 0 skipped\n")
-
-	if got := storedPaths(t, path); !slices.Equal(got, []string{f}) {
-		t.Errorf("records = %q, want %q", got, []string{f})
+	err := os.Symlink(filepath.Join(dir, "target"), link)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
+
+	// Scanning a directory through the symlink stores a record beneath
+	// the symlink's own path for a file beneath its target.
+	scanOK(t, filepath.Join(link, "sub"))
+
+	assertOperandSkipped(t, path, link, "symlink",
+		filepath.Join(link, "sub", "f"))
 }
 
-// TestRunScanWalksOperandUnderSymlinkOperand scans link and link/sub,
-// with link a symlink to target. Both resolve under target, so
-// target/sub is walked once, as part of target.
 func TestRunScanWalksOperandUnderSymlinkOperand(t *testing.T) {
 	path := testDBPath(t)
 	t.Setenv(databaseEnv, path)
 
-	dir := realTempDir(t)
-	f := writeFile(t, dir, "target/sub/f", pattern(1, 10))
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	writeFile(t, dir, "target/sub/f", pattern(1, 10))
 
 	link := filepath.Join(dir, "link")
-	symlink(t, filepath.Join(dir, "target"), link)
 
-	assertSummary(t, scanOK(t, link, filepath.Join(link, "sub")),
-		"scan: 1 files seen (1 added, 0 updated, 0 removed, "+
-			"0 unchanged), 0 skipped\n")
-
-	if got := storedPaths(t, path); !slices.Equal(got, []string{f}) {
-		t.Errorf("records = %q, want %q", got, []string{f})
-	}
-}
-
-// TestRunScanWalksSymlinkedOperandBelowOperand is the case of
-// https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/sfdupes/issues/144: scan dir dir/link/sub,
-// with dir/link a symlink to a directory outside dir. The walk of dir
-// does not follow link, so dir/link/sub is walked on its own at its
-// real path, and the record an earlier scan stored there survives.
-func TestRunScanWalksSymlinkedOperandBelowOperand(t *testing.T) {
-	path := testDBPath(t)
-	t.Setenv(databaseEnv, path)
-
-	dir := realTempDir(t)
-	a := writeFile(t, dir, "a", pattern(1, 10))
-
-	outside := realTempDir(t)
-	f := writeFile(t, outside, "sub/f", pattern(2, 10))
-
-	symlink(t, outside, filepath.Join(dir, "link"))
-
-	scanOK(t, filepath.Join(outside, "sub"))
-
-	stderr := scanOK(t, dir, filepath.Join(dir, "link", "sub"))
-	assertSummary(t, stderr, "scan: 2 files seen (1 added, 0 updated, "+
-		"0 removed, 1 unchanged), 0 skipped\n")
-
-	want := []string{a, f}
-	slices.Sort(want)
-
-	if got := storedPaths(t, path); !slices.Equal(got, want) {
-		t.Errorf("records = %q, want %q", got, want)
-	}
-}
-
-// TestRunScanDropsSymlinkOperandInsideOperand scans dir and link, with
-// link, outside dir, a symlink to dir/real. link resolves inside dir,
-// so it is dropped as covered by dir, and its file is recorded once.
-func TestRunScanDropsSymlinkOperandInsideOperand(t *testing.T) {
-	path := testDBPath(t)
-	t.Setenv(databaseEnv, path)
-
-	dir := realTempDir(t)
-	f := writeFile(t, dir, "real/f", pattern(1, 10))
-
-	link := filepath.Join(realTempDir(t), "link")
-	symlink(t, filepath.Join(dir, "real"), link)
-
-	assertSummary(t, scanOK(t, dir, link), "scan: 1 files seen (1 added, "+
-		"0 updated, 0 removed, 0 unchanged), 0 skipped\n")
-
-	if got := storedPaths(t, path); !slices.Equal(got, []string{f}) {
-		t.Errorf("records = %q, want %q", got, []string{f})
-	}
-}
-
-// TestRunScanDanglingSymlinkOperandIsFatal scans a valid directory and
-// a symlink whose target does not exist. The scan fails with exit 1 and
-// an error naming the symlink as given, before it walks anything, so no
-// database is created.
-func TestRunScanDanglingSymlinkOperandIsFatal(t *testing.T) {
-	path := testDBPath(t)
-	t.Setenv(databaseEnv, path)
-
-	dir := realTempDir(t)
-	writeFile(t, dir, "f", pattern(1, 10))
-
-	dangling := filepath.Join(realTempDir(t), "dangling")
-	symlink(t, filepath.Join(dir, "missing"), dangling)
-
-	stdout := captureStdout(t)
-
-	var stderr bytes.Buffer
-
-	code := run([]string{cmdScan, dir, dangling}, os.Stdout, &stderr)
-	if code != exitFatal {
-		t.Errorf("run(scan %s %s) = %d, want %d", dir, dangling, code,
-			exitFatal)
-	}
-
-	assertFatalOutput(t, stderr.String(), stdout())
-
-	want := "sfdupes: resolve " + dangling + ": "
-	if !strings.Contains(stderr.String(), want) {
-		t.Errorf("stderr = %q, want %q", stderr.String(), want)
-	}
-
-	_, err := os.Stat(path)
-	if !errors.Is(err, fs.ErrNotExist) {
-		t.Errorf("database: stat error %v, want it missing", err)
-	}
-}
-
-// TestRunScanFromSymlinkedWorkingDirectoryRecordsRealPath runs scan .
-// after a cd through home/proj, a symlink to data/proj. The file is
-// recorded under data/proj, its real path.
-func TestRunScanFromSymlinkedWorkingDirectoryRecordsRealPath(t *testing.T) {
-	path := testDBPath(t)
-	t.Setenv(databaseEnv, path)
-
-	dir := realTempDir(t)
-	f := writeFile(t, dir, "data/proj/f", pattern(1, 10))
-
-	err := os.Mkdir(filepath.Join(dir, "home"), 0o750)
+	err := os.Symlink(filepath.Join(dir, "target"), link)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 
-	symlink(t, filepath.Join(dir, "data", "proj"),
-		filepath.Join(dir, "home", "proj"))
+	// link is dropped as a symlink, but link/sub must still be scanned,
+	// not dropped as lying under link.
+	scanOK(t, link, filepath.Join(link, "sub"))
 
-	// t.Chdir also sets PWD to the path through the symlink, as a
-	// shell does after cd.
-	t.Chdir(filepath.Join(dir, "home", "proj"))
-
-	scanOK(t, ".")
-
-	if got := storedPaths(t, path); !slices.Equal(got, []string{f}) {
-		t.Errorf("records = %q, want %q", got, []string{f})
-	}
-}
-
-// TestRunScanFollowsSymlinkBeforeDotDot scans a path with a ".." after
-// home/proj, a symlink to data/proj: home/proj/.. from dir, and .. after
-// a cd through home/proj. As with realpath, the ".." counts from
-// data/proj, so data is scanned and home is not.
-func TestRunScanFollowsSymlinkBeforeDotDot(t *testing.T) {
-	for _, tc := range []struct{ wd, operand string }{
-		{"", "home/proj/.."},
-		{"home/proj", ".."},
-	} {
-		t.Run(tc.operand, func(t *testing.T) {
-			path := testDBPath(t)
-			t.Setenv(databaseEnv, path)
-
-			dir := realTempDir(t)
-			f := writeFile(t, dir, "data/proj/f", pattern(1, 10))
-			g := writeFile(t, dir, "data/g", pattern(2, 10))
-			writeFile(t, dir, "home/h", pattern(3, 10))
-			symlink(t, filepath.Join(dir, "data", "proj"),
-				filepath.Join(dir, "home", "proj"))
-
-			// t.Chdir also sets PWD to the path given, as a shell does
-			// after cd.
-			t.Chdir(filepath.Join(dir, tc.wd))
-
-			scanOK(t, tc.operand)
-
-			want := []string{f, g}
-			slices.Sort(want)
-
-			if got := storedPaths(t, path); !slices.Equal(got, want) {
-				t.Errorf("records = %q, want %q", got, want)
-			}
-		})
-	}
-}
-
-// TestRunScanSkipsSymlinkToFIFOOperand scans link, a symlink to a FIFO.
-// The scan warns about the FIFO by its real path, counts it as skipped,
-// and exits 0.
-func TestRunScanSkipsSymlinkToFIFOOperand(t *testing.T) {
-	t.Setenv(databaseEnv, testDBPath(t))
-
-	dir := realTempDir(t)
-	fifo := filepath.Join(dir, "fifo")
-
-	err := unix.Mkfifo(fifo, 0o600)
+	db, err := openDB(path, reportParams)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 
-	link := filepath.Join(dir, "link")
-	symlink(t, fifo, link)
+	t.Cleanup(func() { _ = db.Close() })
 
-	stderr := scanOK(t, link)
-
-	warning := "walk " + fifo + ": skipping FIFO operand\n"
-	if !strings.Contains(stderr, warning) {
-		t.Errorf("stderr = %q, want %q", stderr, warning)
-	}
-
-	assertSummary(t, stderr, "scan: 0 files seen (0 added, 0 updated, "+
-		"0 removed, 0 unchanged), 1 skipped\n")
+	recordByPath(t, dbRecords(t, db), filepath.Join(link, "sub", "f"))
 }
 
 func TestRunScanSkipsZFSOperand(t *testing.T) {
@@ -1251,19 +1041,23 @@ func TestRunScanSkipsOperandInsideZFS(t *testing.T) {
 
 // TestRunScanSkipsOperandThroughSymlinkIntoZFS scans snaps/daily, where
 // snaps is a symlink to pool/.zfs/snapshot. The operand is warned about
-// by its real path, counted as skipped, and not walked.
+// by the path given, counted as skipped, and not walked.
 func TestRunScanSkipsOperandThroughSymlinkIntoZFS(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Setenv(databaseEnv, testDBPath(t))
 
-	dir := realTempDir(t)
+	dir := t.TempDir()
 	writeFile(t, dir, "pool/.zfs/snapshot/daily/f", pattern(1, 10))
 
 	snaps := filepath.Join(dir, "snaps")
-	symlink(t, filepath.Join(dir, "pool", ".zfs", "snapshot"), snaps)
 
-	stderr := scanOK(t, filepath.Join(snaps, "daily"))
+	err := os.Symlink(filepath.Join(dir, "pool", ".zfs", "snapshot"), snaps)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	daily := filepath.Join(snaps, "daily")
+	stderr := scanOK(t, daily)
 
-	daily := filepath.Join(dir, "pool", ".zfs", "snapshot", "daily")
 	warning := "walk " + daily + ": skipping operand inside a .zfs directory\n"
 	summary := "scan: 0 files seen (0 added, 0 updated, 0 removed, " +
 		"0 unchanged), 1 skipped\n"
@@ -1275,25 +1069,39 @@ func TestRunScanSkipsOperandThroughSymlinkIntoZFS(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 // TestRunScanWalksOperandThroughSymlink scans data/daily, where data is
-// a symlink to pool/data. The operand is scanned as usual, and its file
-// is recorded by its real path.
+// a symlink to a directory outside any .zfs directory. The operand is
+// scanned as usual, and its file is recorded by the path given.
 func TestRunScanWalksOperandThroughSymlink(t *testing.T) {
 	path := testDBPath(t)
 	t.Setenv(databaseEnv, path)
 
-	dir := realTempDir(t)
-	f := writeFile(t, dir, "pool/data/daily/f", pattern(1, 10))
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	writeFile(t, dir, "pool/data/daily/f", pattern(1, 10))
 
 	data := filepath.Join(dir, "data")
-	symlink(t, filepath.Join(dir, "pool", "data"), data)
 
-	assertSummary(t, scanOK(t, filepath.Join(data, "daily")),
-		"scan: 1 files seen (1 added, 0 updated, 0 removed, "+
-			"0 unchanged), 0 skipped\n")
-
-	if got := storedPaths(t, path); !slices.Equal(got, []string{f}) {
-		t.Errorf("records = %q, want %q", got, []string{f})
+	err := os.Symlink(filepath.Join(dir, "pool", "data"), data)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
+
+	daily := filepath.Join(data, "daily")
+	stderr := scanOK(t, daily)
+
+	summary := "scan: 1 files seen (1 added, 0 updated, 0 removed, " +
+		"0 unchanged), 0 skipped\n"
+	if !strings.Contains(stderr, summary) {
+		t.Errorf("stderr = %q, want %q", stderr, summary)
+	}
+
+	db, err := openDB(path, reportParams)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	t.Cleanup(func() { _ = db.Close() })
+
+	recordByPath(t, dbRecords(t, db), filepath.Join(daily, "f"))
 }
 
 func TestRunReportSucceeds(t *testing.T) {

scan.go

@@ -18,8 +18,6 @@ import (
 	"sync"
 	"syscall"
 	"time"
-
-	"golang.org/x/sys/unix"
 )
 
 // The hash phase gives every file it reads three hashes (see
@@ -211,43 +209,29 @@ func interrupted(walked int) error {
 	return errInterrupted
 }
 
-// resolveRoots converts each PATH operand to its real path: absolute,
-// with every symlink in it followed. Database records are keyed by
-// that path, so scan results depend neither on the working directory
-// nor on the symlinks an operand was given through. An operand that
-// cannot be resolved, because it or a symlink's target does not exist
-// or cannot be read, is a fatal error before any scanning.
+// resolveRoots converts each PATH operand to an absolute, lexically
+// cleaned path (symlinks are not resolved) and verifies that it
+// exists. Database records are keyed by absolute path, so scan results
+// must not depend on the working directory.
 func resolveRoots(roots []string) ([]string, error) {
-	resolved := make([]string, 0, len(roots))
+	abs := make([]string, 0, len(roots))
 
 	for _, root := range roots {
-		a := root
-		if !filepath.IsAbs(a) {
-			// The working directory as the kernel reports it, with no
-			// symlink in it. os.Getwd may return PWD instead, which can
-			// name it through a symlink.
-			wd, err := unix.Getwd()
-			if err != nil {
-				return nil, fmt.Errorf("resolve %s: %w", root, err)
-			}
-
-			// Not filepath.Abs or filepath.Join: they clean the path,
-			// which drops each ".." together with the directory name
-			// before it. EvalSymlinks follows a symlink before it
-			// applies the ".." after it, as realpath does. The working
-			// directory ends in "/" only when it is the root.
-			a = strings.TrimSuffix(wd, "/") + "/" + root
-		}
-
-		r, err := filepath.EvalSymlinks(a)
+		a, err := filepath.Abs(root)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("resolve %s: %w", root, err)
 		}
 
-		resolved = append(resolved, r)
+		// A nonexistent operand is a fatal error before any scanning.
+		_, err = os.Lstat(a)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+
+		abs = append(abs, a)
 	}
 
-	return resolved, nil
+	return abs, nil
 }
 
 // pruneRoots drops operands already covered by another operand:
@@ -433,16 +417,14 @@ func (s *scanState) runPhases(ctx context.Context, roots []string,
 
 // walkableRoots returns the operands the walk can start from: regular
 // files, and directories not named .zfs, none of them inside a
-// directory named .zfs. The operands are real paths from resolveRoots,
-// so these checks apply to what a symlink operand points at. Every
-// other operand is warned about, counted as skipped, and dropped. A
-// dropped operand is no longer a root, so the records stored beneath it
-// are treated as if it had not been given: those under no other root
-// count as outside the roots and are not deleted as unverified. An
-// operand on a filesystem in rules that is not persistent is dropped
-// the same way, with a line saying so that is not a warning, and is not
-// counted as skipped. An operand that fails lstat here is kept, and the
-// walk warns about it unless it no longer exists.
+// directory named .zfs. Every other operand is warned about, counted as
+// skipped, and dropped. A dropped operand is no longer a root, so the
+// records stored beneath it are treated as if it had not been given:
+// those under no other root count as outside the roots and are not
+// deleted as unverified. An operand on a filesystem in rules that is not
+// persistent is dropped the same way, with a line saying so that is not
+// a warning, and is not counted as skipped. An operand that fails lstat
+// here is kept, and the walk warns about it unless it no longer exists.
 func (s *scanState) walkableRoots(roots []string, rules walkRules) []string {
 	kept := make([]string, 0, len(roots))
 
@@ -572,7 +554,7 @@ func (s *scanState) walkPhase(events <-chan walkEvent, roots []string) {
 
 		// The space a file takes on disk can change while its size and
 		// mtime stay the same. ZFS, for one, counts a new file's blocks
-		// up to seconds after the write.
+		// only seconds after the write.
 		if old.diskSize != ev.rec.diskSize {
 			s.diskSizes = append(s.diskSizes, ev.rec)
 		}
@@ -912,13 +894,19 @@ func sendEvent(ctx context.Context, events chan<- walkEvent,
 // operandWarning returns the one-line warning for an operand the walk
 // does not start from, naming the path and what it is, or "" for one it
 // does: a regular file, or a directory not named .zfs, that is not
-// inside a directory named .zfs. resolveRoots has already followed the
-// operand's symlinks, so a symlink here is an operand replaced by one
-// after it was resolved, and is not followed.
+// inside a directory named .zfs, neither as given nor with its symlinks
+// resolved. Symlinks are never followed, including as operands.
 func operandWarning(root string, fi fs.FileInfo) string {
 	// The walk never enters a .zfs directory, so it starts from nothing
-	// inside one either.
-	if slices.Contains(strings.Split(filepath.Dir(root), "/"), ".zfs") {
+	// inside one either, not even through a symlink. An operand whose
+	// symlinks cannot be resolved is checked as given.
+	resolved, err := filepath.EvalSymlinks(root)
+	if err != nil {
+		resolved = root
+	}
+
+	if slices.Contains(strings.Split(filepath.Dir(root), "/"), ".zfs") ||
+		slices.Contains(strings.Split(filepath.Dir(resolved), "/"), ".zfs") {
 		return fmt.Sprintf("walk %s: skipping operand inside a .zfs directory",
 			root)
 	}

scan_test.go

@@ -2310,16 +2310,15 @@ func TestUnderRoot(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 // TestRunScanPassesOverDatabase scans a tree that holds the scan's own
-// database, given directly and through a symlinked directory, which
-// the scan resolves to the same real path. The walk passes over the
-// database file, its -wal and -shm files and its .lock file with no
-// line and no count, and the record an earlier scan left for the .lock
-// file is deleted. A rescan of the unchanged tree updates nothing, and
-// report lists none of the database's files.
+// database, reached directly and through a symlinked directory. The
+// walk passes over the database file, its -wal and -shm files and its
+// .lock file with no line and no count, and the record an earlier scan
+// left for the .lock file is deleted. A rescan of the unchanged tree
+// updates nothing, and report lists none of the database's files.
 func TestRunScanPassesOverDatabase(t *testing.T) {
 	for _, viaSymlink := range []bool{false, true} {
 		t.Run(fmt.Sprintf("via symlink %v", viaSymlink), func(t *testing.T) {
-			base := realTempDir(t)
+			base := t.TempDir()
 			tree := filepath.Join(base, "real", "tree")
 			operand := tree
 
@@ -2347,7 +2346,7 @@ func TestRunScanPassesOverDatabase(t *testing.T) {
 			}
 
 			err = applyChanges(t.Context(), db, []scanRec{
-				{path: filepath.Join(tree, "db.sqlite.lock")},
+				{path: filepath.Join(operand, "db.sqlite.lock")},
 			}, nil, nil)
 			if err != nil {
 				t.Fatal(err)
@@ -2364,7 +2363,7 @@ func TestRunScanPassesOverDatabase(t *testing.T) {
 
 			report := runStdout(t, cmdReport)
 			if strings.Contains(report, "db.sqlite") ||
-				!strings.Contains(report, filepath.Join(tree, "empty2")) {
+				!strings.Contains(report, filepath.Join(operand, "empty2")) {
 				t.Errorf("report = %q, want the empty files and none of "+
 					"the database's files", report)
 			}