diff --git a/swiftpkg/internal/repository_files.bzl b/swiftpkg/internal/repository_files.bzl
index bc75ea14c..acf93a313 100644
--- a/swiftpkg/internal/repository_files.bzl
+++ b/swiftpkg/internal/repository_files.bzl
@@ -280,7 +280,7 @@ def _file_type(repository_ctx, path):
         A `string` representing the file type for the path as returned by the
         `file` utility.
     """
-    file_args = ["file", "--brief", path]
+    file_args = ["file", "--dereference", "--brief", path]
     exec_result = repository_ctx.execute(file_args, quiet = True)
     if exec_result.return_code != 0:
         fail("Failed to determine the file type for {path}. stderr:\n{stderr}".format(
diff --git a/swiftpkg/tests/testutils.bzl b/swiftpkg/tests/testutils.bzl
index 822a0b8ad..5e505f9b5 100644
--- a/swiftpkg/tests/testutils.bzl
+++ b/swiftpkg/tests/testutils.bzl
@@ -36,9 +36,9 @@ def _new_stub_repository_ctx(
             exec_result = _new_exec_result(
                 stdout = "\n".join(results),
             )
-        elif args_len == 3 and args[0] == "file" and args[1] == "--brief":
-            # Expected command: `file --brief path`
-            path = args[2]
+        elif args_len == 4 and args[0] == "file" and args[1] == "--dereference" and args[2] == "--brief":
+            # Expected command: `file --dereference --brief path`
+            path = args[3]
             results = file_type_results.get(path, "")
             exec_result = _new_exec_result(stdout = results)
         elif args_len == 3 and args[0] == "otool" and args[1] == "-l":