FILE_EXISTS(3) 1 FILE_EXISTS(3)
file_exists - Checks whether a file or directory exists
SYNOPSIS
bool file_exists (string $filename)
DESCRIPTION
Checks whether a file or directory exists.
PARAMETERS
o $filename
- Path to the file or directory. On windows, use //computername/share/filename or \computernamesharefilename to check files on
network shares.
RETURN VALUES
Returns TRUE if the file or directory specified by $filename exists; FALSE otherwise.
Note
This function will return FALSE for symlinks pointing to non-existing files.
Warning
This function returns FALSE for files inaccessible due to safe mode restrictions. However these files still can be included if they
are located in safe_mode_include_dir.
Note
The check is done using the real UID/GID instead of the effective one.
Note
Because PHP's integer type is signed and many platforms use 32bit integers, some filesystem functions may return unexpected results
for files which are larger than 2GB.
EXAMPLES
Example #1
Testing whether a file exists
<?php
$filename = '/path/to/foo.txt';
if (file_exists($filename)) {
echo "The file $filename exists";
} else {
echo "The file $filename does not exist";
}
?>
ERRORS
/EXCEPTIONS
Upon failure, an E_WARNING is emitted.
NOTES
Note
The results of this function are cached. See clearstatcache(3) for more details.
Tip
As of PHP 5.0.0, this function can also be used with some URL wrappers. Refer to "Supported Protocols and Wrappers" to determine
which wrappers support stat(3) family of functionality.
SEE ALSO
is_readable(3), is_writable(3), is_file(3), file(3).
PHP Documentation Group FILE_EXISTS(3)
