diff --git a/internal/fs/const_windows.go b/internal/fs/const_windows.go
index 4c29e0b9d..b2b1bab86 100644
--- a/internal/fs/const_windows.go
+++ b/internal/fs/const_windows.go
@@ -5,8 +5,10 @@ package fs
 
 // TODO honor flags when opening files
 
-// O_NOFOLLOW is a noop on Windows.
-const O_NOFOLLOW int = 0
+// O_NOFOLLOW is currently only interpreted by FS.OpenFile in metadataOnly mode and ignored by OpenFile.
+// The value of the constant is invented and only for use within this fs package. It must not be used in other contexts.
+// It must not conflict with the other O_* values from go/src/syscall/types_windows.go
+const O_NOFOLLOW int = 0x40000000
 
 // O_DIRECTORY is a noop on Windows.
 const O_DIRECTORY int = 0
diff --git a/internal/fs/file.go b/internal/fs/file.go
index 81ee4bc7a..57f1a996a 100644
--- a/internal/fs/file.go
+++ b/internal/fs/file.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package fs
 import (
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
+	"runtime"
 )
 
 // MkdirAll creates a directory named path, along with any necessary parents,
@@ -47,6 +48,9 @@ func Lstat(name string) (os.FileInfo, error) {
 // methods on the returned File can be used for I/O.
 // If there is an error, it will be of type *PathError.
 func OpenFile(name string, flag int, perm os.FileMode) (*os.File, error) {
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		flag &^= O_NOFOLLOW
+	}
 	return os.OpenFile(fixpath(name), flag, perm)
 }