diff --git a/common/utils.cc b/common/utils.cc
index 3a89c2a..0f3b6c6 100644
--- a/common/utils.cc
+++ b/common/utils.cc
@@ -492,6 +492,11 @@
   return lstat(path, &stbuf) == 0 && S_ISLNK(stbuf.st_mode) != 0;
 }
 
+bool IsRegFile(const char* path) {
+  struct stat stbuf;
+  return lstat(path, &stbuf) == 0 && S_ISREG(stbuf.st_mode) != 0;
+}
+
 bool MakeTempFile(const string& base_filename_template,
                   string* filename,
                   int* fd) {
diff --git a/common/utils.h b/common/utils.h
index 616de06..5f6e475 100644
--- a/common/utils.h
+++ b/common/utils.h
@@ -144,6 +144,9 @@
 // Returns true if |path| exists and is a symbolic link.
 bool IsSymlink(const char* path);
 
+// Return true iff |path| exists and is a regular file
+bool IsRegFile(const char* path);
+
 // If |base_filename_template| is neither absolute (starts with "/") nor
 // explicitly relative to the current working directory (starts with "./" or
 // "../"), then it is prepended the system's temporary directory. On success,