diff --git a/src/file_utils.c b/src/file_utils.c
index 2a2e675a..9cd2d52e 100644
--- a/src/file_utils.c
+++ b/src/file_utils.c
@@ -32,6 +32,10 @@ char *file_getline(FILE * f)
     return ret;
 }
 
+bool is_relative_path(struct dirent *ent) {
+    return strcmp(ent->d_name, ".") == 0 || strcmp(ent->d_name, "..") == 0;
+}
+
 
 bool file_read_int32(FILE *file, int32_t *value) {
     unsigned char buf[4];
diff --git a/src/file_utils.h b/src/file_utils.h
index 96ca34db..22536eca 100644
--- a/src/file_utils.h
+++ b/src/file_utils.h
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 extern "C" {
 #endif
 
+#include <dirent.h>
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <string.h>
@@ -25,6 +26,8 @@ extern "C" {
 
 char *file_getline(FILE * f);
 
+bool is_relative_path(struct dirent *ent);
+
 bool file_read_int32(FILE *file, int32_t *value);
 bool file_write_int32(FILE *file, int32_t value);