Check File Type (whether a file is a directory or a file)

The following functions take a filename (for example file.txt, /home/file.txt, ../file.txt, etc.), so the files do not have to be opened before you use these functions. If the filename is a relative filename, it will be checked relative to the current working directory.

• filetype($path) Returns file type (dir, file, etc.).
• is_dir($path) Whether the path is a directory.
• is_file($path) Whether the path is a (regular) file.
• is_link($path) Whether the path is a symbolic link.
• is_uploaded_file($path) Whether the path is a file uploaded via HTTP.

Note: The results of the above functions are cached in order to provide faster performance. You can clear the cache with the clearstatcache() function.

filetype()

<?php
 //Syntax
 filetype(string $filename): string|false

The filetype() function returns the type of file given in path. The possible types are:

• block – Space reserved by the filesystem on the disk.
• char – A special type.
• dir – The path is a directory.
• fifo – A special file, also called a named pipe.
• file – The path is a regular file.
• link – The path is a symbolic link.
• unknown – The type could not be determined.

Example: Determine the type of given path:

<?php
 echo filetype('/home/htdocs');
 // Prints: dir

 echo filetype('/home/htdocs/log.txt');
 // Prints: file

is_dir()

<?php
 //Syntax
 is_dir(string $filename): bool

The is_dir() function returns true if the given filename exists and is a directory; otherwise, returns false.

Example: Check whether the filename is a directory

<?php
 if ( is_dir('/home/htdocs') )
  echo 'dir';
 else
  echo 'not a dir';
 //Prints: dir

 if ( is_dir('/dir-not-exits/dir') )
  echo 'dir';
 else
  echo 'not a dir';
 //Prints: 'not a dir';

is_file()

<?php
 //Syntax
 is_file(string $filename): bool

The is_file() function returns true if the path exists and is a file; otherwise, it returns false.

Example: Check whether the filename is a file

<?php
 if ( is_file('file.txt') )
  echo 'file';
 else
  echo 'not a file';
 //Prints: file

 if ( is_file('/file-not-exits/file.txt') )
  echo 'file';
 else
  echo 'not a file';
 //Prints: 'not a file';

is_link()

<?php
 //Syntax
 is_link(string $filename): bool

The is_link() function returns true if the filename exists and is a symbolic link otherwise, returns false.

Example: Check whether the filename is a symbolic link

<?php
 $filename = '/home/slink';
 if ( is_link($filename) )
   echo 'link';
 else
  echo 'not a link';
 //Prints: link

is_uploaded_file()

<?php
 //Syntax
 is_uploaded_file(string $filename): bool

The is_uploaded_file() function returns true if the file exists and was uploaded to the web server via an HTML form. For more information, see How to upload and move files safely.

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Working with Files in PHP: