send answers 404 for a file whose absolute path runs through a dot-folder

Fact

The send package checks every segment of the path it is given, and its default dotfiles: 'ignore' answers 404 when any segment starts with a dot. Given an absolute path and no root, those segments include the folders above the file, so a file under ~/.myapp/ is "not found" although it exists. Express's res.sendFile(absolutePath) goes through send and does the same.

Why it matters

App data often lives in a dot-folder (~/.config/…, ~/.myapp), and the failure looks like a missing file rather than a setting. Tests usually keep their data in a temp folder without a dot, so they pass while the real install answers 404.

How to apply

• Pass the folder as root and only the file name as the path; only segments below root are checked:

  send(req, `/${encodeURIComponent(basename(file))}`, { root: dirname(file) }).pipe(res);
  // Express: res.sendFile(basename(file), { root: dirname(file) })

• Do not fix it with dotfiles: 'allow', which also serves dotfiles inside the folder.
• Give a test's data folder a dot-folder in its path, as the real one has.