diff --git a/src/compile/recipe.ts b/src/compile/recipe.ts
index 2b3a1aa7d..2b712bd3e 100644
--- a/src/compile/recipe.ts
+++ b/src/compile/recipe.ts
@@ -95,13 +95,19 @@ function createOutputSubFolders(rootFile: string) {
         outDir = path.resolve(rootDir, outDir)
     }
     logger.log(`outDir: ${outDir} .`)
-    lw.cache.getIncludedTeX(rootFile).forEach(file => {
+    lw.cache.getIncludedTeX(rootFile).forEach(async file => {
         const relativePath = path.dirname(file.replace(rootDir, '.'))
         const fullOutDir = path.resolve(outDir, relativePath)
         // To avoid issues when fullOutDir is the root dir
         // Using fs.mkdir() on the root directory even with recursion will result in an error
         try {
-            if (! (lw.external.existsSync(fullOutDir) && lw.external.statSync(fullOutDir)?.isDirectory())) {
+            const fileStat = await lw.file.exists(fullOutDir)
+            if (
+                !fileStat ||
+                ![vscode.FileType.Directory, vscode.FileType.Directory | vscode.FileType.SymbolicLink].includes(
+                    fileStat.type
+                )
+            ) {
                 lw.external.mkdirSync(fullOutDir, { recursive: true })
             }
         } catch (e) {
diff --git a/src/core/file.ts b/src/core/file.ts
index 5ff626a44..31edede2b 100644
--- a/src/core/file.ts
+++ b/src/core/file.ts
@@ -490,23 +490,22 @@ async function read(filePath: string, raise: boolean = false): Promise<string |
  * the input is a string, it is converted to a file URI using
  * `vscode.Uri.file()`. The function then attempts to retrieve the status of the
  * file or directory at the given URI using `stat()` of VS Code workspace file
- * system API. If the status retrieval is successful, the function returns
- * `true`, indicating that the file or directory exists. If an error occurs
- * (e.g., the file or directory does not exist), the function catches the error
- * and returns `false`.
+ * system API. If the status retrieval is successful, the function returns the
+ * file stat, which can also be used to indicate that the file or directory
+ * exists. If an error occurs (e.g., the file or directory does not exist), the
+ * function catches the error and returns `false`.
  *
  * @param {vscode.Uri | string} uri - The URI or file path to check for
  * existence.
  * @returns {Promise<boolean>} - A promise that resolves to `true` if the file
  * or directory exists, and `false` otherwise.
  */
-async function exists(uri: vscode.Uri | string): Promise<boolean> {
+async function exists(uri: vscode.Uri | string): Promise<vscode.FileStat | false> {
     if (typeof(uri) === 'string') {
         uri = vscode.Uri.file(uri)
     }
     try {
-        await lw.external.stat(uri)
-        return true
+        return await lw.external.stat(uri)
     } catch {
         return false
     }
diff --git a/src/lw.ts b/src/lw.ts
index 43186ab21..230d916b7 100644
--- a/src/lw.ts
+++ b/src/lw.ts
@@ -50,9 +50,7 @@ export const lw = {
         spawn: wrapper(cs.spawn),
         sync: wrapper(cs.sync),
         stat: wrapper(vscode.workspace.fs.stat),
-        existsSync: wrapper(fs.existsSync),
         mkdirSync: wrapper(fs.mkdirSync),
-        statSync: wrapper(fs.statSync),
         chmodSync: wrapper(fs.chmodSync)
     },
     onConfigChange,
diff --git a/test/units/06_compile_recipe.test.ts b/test/units/06_compile_recipe.test.ts
index 3f3f86458..b7dd0a000 100644
--- a/test/units/06_compile_recipe.test.ts
+++ b/test/units/06_compile_recipe.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 import * as vscode from 'vscode'
 import * as path from 'path'
-import * as fs from 'fs'
 import Sinon, * as sinon from 'sinon'
 import { assert, get, log, mock, set, sleep } from './utils'
 import { lw } from '../../src/lw'
@@ -209,15 +208,13 @@ describe(path.basename(__filename).split('.')[0] + ':', () => {
             const rootFile = set.root(fixture, 'main.tex')
             const relativeOutDir = 'output'
             const expectedOutDir = path.resolve(path.dirname(rootFile), relativeOutDir)
-            const existsStub = sinon.stub(lw.external, 'existsSync').returns(false)
-            const statStub = sinon.stub(lw.external, 'statSync').returns(fs.statSync(get.path(fixture)))
             const mkdirStub = sinon.stub(lw.external, 'mkdirSync').returns(undefined)
+            const stub = sinon.stub(lw.file, 'exists').resolves(false)
             getOutDirStub.returns(relativeOutDir)
 
             await build(rootFile, 'latex', async () => {})
-            existsStub.restore()
-            statStub.restore()
             mkdirStub.restore()
+            stub.restore()
 
             assert.pathStrictEqual(mkdirStub.getCalls()[0].args[0].toString(), expectedOutDir)
             assert.deepStrictEqual(mkdirStub.getCalls()[0].args[1], { recursive: true })
@@ -226,8 +223,7 @@ describe(path.basename(__filename).split('.')[0] + ':', () => {
         it('should not create the output directory if it already exists', async () => {
             const rootFile = set.root(fixture, 'main.tex')
             const relativeOutDir = 'output'
-            const existsStub = sinon.stub(lw.external, 'existsSync').returns(true)
-            const statStub = sinon.stub(lw.external, 'statSync').returns(fs.statSync(get.path(fixture)))
+            const stub = sinon.stub(lw.file, 'exists').resolves({ type: vscode.FileType.Directory, ctime: 0, mtime: 0, size: 0 })
             const mkdirStub = sinon.stub(lw.external, 'mkdirSync').returns(undefined)
             getOutDirStub.returns(relativeOutDir)
 
@@ -235,9 +231,8 @@ describe(path.basename(__filename).split('.')[0] + ':', () => {
             mkdirStub.resetHistory()
 
             await build(rootFile, 'latex', async () => {})
-            existsStub.restore()
-            statStub.restore()
             mkdirStub.restore()
+            stub.restore()
 
             assert.ok(!mkdirStub.called)
         })