Get the path to a tempfile

[dvdsk]

I am writing test code where I need to load in a (large) file for multiple tests. As I am doing tdd the tests are going to fail/crash a lot. tempfile is great as it shifts the responsibility of closing the file to the OS.

This is what I would like to write:

fn gen_file_if_not_there() -> PathBuf {
    static PATH: Mutex<Option<(File, PathBuf)>> = Mutex::new(None);

    if let Some((_, path)) = *PATH.lock().unwrap() {
        return path;
    }

    let mut tmp_file: File = tempfile::tempfile().unwrap();
    let path: PathBuf = unimplemented!("get the path for tmp_file");

    todo!("fill the file with specific test data")
    *PATH.lock().unwrap() = (tmp_file, path.clone());
    path
}

I can not use it however since I need the path to the file.

The docs state tempfile() does not rely on paths, on the other hand tempfile_in() exists so it seems like there is some control over the file's path.

Would it be possible to get that same OS driven cleanup while also exposing the file's path?

[Stebalien]

Unfortunately, no (at least on Linux, macOS, etc.). Tempfile cleanup works by immediately unlinking (deleting) the file in question, which means it has no path.

tempfile_in exists so you can create the temporary file in a specific filesystem.