[JENKINS-62495] Artifact saving should follow symlink and save the target, optionnally with the symlink name.

When trying to save some generated files as artifacts , I can easily list the agnostic symlinks created (in my case, by bitbake), and give this list to the artifact step, while the target files have some changing parts depending on the build date or environment; or anything else.

But the target files are not saved. So, I need to add some extra code, in order to get each target file from each symlink in order to forge the list of files that will be saved.

It would be very user-friendly to have two options :

• Follow symlink (and save only target, i.e. file with real content)


• Name saved files with the symlink name rather than the target name

And I think that the first option should be set to true as default value, as it is not really interesting to save a symlink alone !

By the way, the artifact saving behavior should be to follow symlink. And the option should be to save either both symlink and target or target only.

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Originally reported by jlpinardon, imported from: Artifact saving should follow symlink and save the target, optionnally with the symlink name.

• status: Open
  
• priority: Major
  
• component(s): workflow-basic-steps-plugin
  
• resolution: Unresolved
  
• votes: 0
  
• watchers: 1
  
• imported: 20251215-220547
  

Raw content of original issue

When trying to save some generated files as artifacts , I can easily list the agnostic symlinks created (in my case, by bitbake), and give this list to the artifact step, while the target files have some changing parts depending on the build date or environment; or anything else. 

But the target files are not saved. So, I need to add some extra code, in order to get each target file from each symlink in order to forge the list of files that will be saved.


It would be very user-friendly to have two options :



	
Follow symlink (and save only target, i.e. file with real content)

	
Name saved files with the symlink name rather than the target name



And I think that  the first option should be set to true as default value, as it is not really interesting to save a symlink alone !


By the way, the artifact saving behavior should be to follow symlink. And the option should be to save either both symlink and target or target only.

environment

```
Jenkins 2.222.3

Linux OS
```

Start at the artifact-saving step in the workflow-basic-steps-plugin and trace how the supplied file list handles symlinks. Define and implement the requested behavior for following symlinks, including whether to retain the symlink name or target name, then verify that target content is saved according to the selected option.

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