PHP Filesystem filectime() Function

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The PHP Filesystem filectime() function is used to return the last modification time of the specified file. This function can check the daily modification of a file and modification of inode.

If the function is successful, it can return the last modification time of the file as a Unix timestamp. If it fails, then returns false.

The result of this function can be cached, and use clearstatcache() to clear the cache. We can use the filemtime () function to return the time when the file content was last modified.

Syntax

Below is the syntax of the PHP Filesystem filectime() function −

int filectime ( string $filename )

Parameters

The parameters are needed to use the filectime() function are mentioned below −

Return Value

The function returns the time as a Unix timestamp. If the function fails, it returns FALSE.

PHP Version

The filectime() function was first introduced as part of core PHP 4 and work well with the PHP 5, PHP 7, PHP 8.

Example

In the below PHP code we will use the PHP Filesystem filectime() function to display the last modification time of the specified file. So check the below code for demonstration −

<?php
   echo filectime("/PhpProject/sample.txt");
   echo "\n";
   echo "Last change: ".date("F d Y H:i:s.",filectime("/PhpProject/sample.txt"));
?>

Output

This will generate the below result −

1590217956
Last change: May 23 2020 09:12:36.

Example

In this example, we will get the creation time of a config.php configuration file. It can be useful to know when the configuration file's contents were last uploaded or modified.

<?php
   // Path to the configuration file
   $configFile = 'config.php';

   // get the last modification time of the config file
   $creationTime = filectime($configFile);

   // Handle error
   if ($creationTime !== false) {
      echo "The configuration file was created or changed on: " . date("F d Y H:i:s.", $creationTime);
   } else {
      echo "Could not retrieve the creation time of the configuration file.";
   }
?> 

Output

This will create the below outcome −

The configuration file was created or changed on: May 31 2024 11:21:16.

Example

In this example, the last modification time of a user's profile image is logged. The last time the image was changed can be useful for auditing or maintenance purposes.

<?php
   // profile image file location
   $profilePic = '/Applications/XAMPP/xamppfiles/htdocs/mac/pp.jpg';

   // get the last change time for a profile picture
   $picChangeTime = filectime($profilePic);

   //Handle error here
   if ($picChangeTime !== false) {
      echo "The profile picture was last changed on: " . date("F d Y H:i:s.", $picChangeTime);
   } else {
      echo "Could not retrieve the change time of the profile picture.";
   }
?> 

Output

This will produce the following result −

The profile picture was last changed on: May 24 2024 13:07:37.

Example

In this example, we will keep an eye on any changes to the metadata of a log file called error_log.txt. This can be useful for tracking the last time the log file was changed.

<?php
   //Log file directory path
   $logFile = 'error_log.txt';

   //get the last time change of log file
   $logChangeTime = filectime($logFile);

   //handle error here
   if ($logChangeTime !== false) {
      echo "The log file's metadata was last changed on: " . date("F d Y H:i:s.", $logChangeTime);
   } else {
      echo "Could not retrieve the metadata change time of the log file.";
   }
?> 

Output

This will lead to the following outcome −

The log file's metadata was last changed on: May 20 2024 10:09:41.

Note

The function returns the latest modification date of a file's metadata, not its contents. Examples of this include modifications to ownership, permissions, or other metadata attributes.

Summary

Use PHP's filectime() method to find the most recent modification date of a file's metadata. It returns false if it is unsuccessful and generates a Unix timestamp if successful.