Relative Path Component Resolver

Lexically resolve a relative POSIX path against an absolute directory with dot collapse; no symlink or actual-file resolution.

Description

Lexically resolve a relative POSIX path against an absolute directory with dot collapse; no symlink or actual-file resolution.

Resolving a relative component path against an absolute directory can be done lexically without accessing files.

When to use this tool

Lexically resolve a relative POSIX path against an absolute directory with dot collapse; no symlink or actual-file resolution.

Prepare the supplied baseDirectory, relativePath fields for this operation.
Compare the complete example with the representation used by your own input before carrying the result into another step.

How to use the tool and how it works

Enter baseDirectory, relativePath. Use the exact text syntax, units and index conventions explained below.
Run the tool. If input validation fails, correct the supplied fields before interpreting any result.
Read result.path. Interpret false, null and empty lists using the distinctions below; they can be valid outputs.

Require an absolute baseDirectory and a relativePath without leading slash. Join with a slash, collapse dots and parent components with absolute-root clamping, then return the absolute component spelling.^[1]

Input field	Meaning and representation	Accepted input
baseDirectory	base directory.	Text; at most 8,192 UTF-16 code units, subject to the grammar above
relativePath	relative path.	Text; at most 8,192 UTF-16 code units, subject to the grammar above

Output field	Interpretation
result	Object containing the named outputs below.
result.path	The path value under the stated formula or text convention.

json

{
  "input": {
    "baseDirectory": "/a/b",
    "relativePath": "../c"
  },
  "output": {
    "result": {
      "path": "/a/c"
    }
  }
}

Limitations and assumptions

No symlinks, drive syntax, URL encoding or permissions are interpreted. The result is not proof that the target stays inside the original base directory.
Every declared top-level field is required and unexpected fields are rejected. Numeric inputs must be finite; ordinary text fields are bounded to 8,192 UTF-16 code units, with tighter operation-specific limits where stated.
String lists have at most 128 entries of at most 128 code units; matrices have at most 128 rows and columns. Larger numeric lists and parsed JSON have separate bounded budgets. Nonfinite results and excessively large serialized outputs are rejected.
Indexes are zero-based and spans have an exclusive end unless explicitly stated otherwise. A valid false, null or empty-list result is distinct from malformed input.

Alternative or Complementary methods

Use a filesystem-aware implementation with appropriate platform semantics for actual file operations. Literal slash components, Unicode comparison and filename plans do not resolve symlinks or atomically reserve a destination.

References

Tool behavior and example: Relative Path Component Resolver — tool.io

Similar or alternative tools

Path Component Relative Navigation
Plan lexical relative component navigation between absolute POSIX paths; no filesystem or symlink equivalence claim.
Path Component Name Budget Checker
Audit lexical POSIX component UTF-8 byte budgets against an explicit limit; not a universal NAME_MAX or filesystem encoding claim.