# How to check if a directory exists in Java

By Atta Ur Rehman Shah (https://attacomsian.com/about). Published Dec 12, 2019. Topics: Java.
Canonical URL: https://attacomsian.com/blog/java-check-if-directory-exists

> A short tutorial to learn how to check if a directory exists in Java.

In the previous article, we looked at how to [check if a regular file exists](https://attacomsian.com/blog/java-check-if-file-exists) in Java. In this short article, you'll learn how to **check if a directory exists** in the file system using Java. 

## Using `Files.isDirectory()` Method

In Java 7 and higher, you can use the [NIO API](https://attacomsian.com/blog/java-read-write-files-nio-api) `Files.isDirectory()` static method to check if a folder exists in your file system:

```java
if (Files.isDirectory(Paths.get("/var/lib/"))) {
    System.out.println("Directory found.");
} else {
    System.out.println("Directory not found.");
}
```

To make sure that **the directory is not a symbolic link**, you can pass `LinkOption.NOFOLLOW_LINKS`:

```java
if (Files.isDirectory(Paths.get("/var/lib/"), LinkOption.NOFOLLOW_LINKS)) {
    System.out.println("Directory found.");
} else {
    System.out.println("Directory not found.");
}
```

## Using `File.isDirectory()` Method

In Java 6 or below, you can use `File.isDirectory()` method to check for directory existence in Java as shown below:

```java
File file = new File("/var/lib/");

// check if directory exists
if (file.isDirectory()) {
    System.out.println("Directory found.");
} else {
    System.out.println("Directory not found.");
}
```

## Further Reading

You may be interested in other Java I/O articles:

* [Reading and Writing Files in Java](https://attacomsian.com/blog/java-read-write-files)
* [How to Read and Write Text Files in Java](https://attacomsian.com/blog/java-read-write-text-files)
* [How to Read and Write Binary Files in Java](https://attacomsian.com/blog/java-read-write-binary-files)
* [Reading and Writing Files using Java NIO API](https://attacomsian.com/blog/java-read-write-files-nio-api)
* [How to read a file line by line in Java](https://attacomsian.com/blog/how-to-read-a-file-line-by-line-in-java)