diff --git a/contrib/check-code.py b/contrib/check-code.py
--- a/contrib/check-code.py
+++ b/contrib/check-code.py
@@ -203,6 +203,7 @@ utestpats = [
      'use test -f to test for file existence'),
     (r'^  diff -[^ -]*p',
      "don't use (external) diff with -p for portability"),
+    (r' readlink ', 'use readlink.py instead of readlink'),
     (r'^  [-+][-+][-+] .* [-+]0000 \(glob\)',
      "glob timezone field in diff output for portability"),
     (r'^  @@ -[0-9]+ [+][0-9]+,[0-9]+ @@',