file_exists

PHP 4, PHP 5, PHP 7, PHP 8
file_exists - Checks whether a file or directory exists
Manual
Code Examples

file_exists( string$filename ): bool

Checks whether a file or directory exists.

Parameters

filename

Path to the file or directory.

On windows, use //computername/share/filename or \\computername\share\filename 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.

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.

Exceptions and Errors

Upon failure, an E_WARNING is emitted.

Notes

Note:

The results of this function are cached. See clearstatcache for more details.

As of PHP 5.0.0, this function can also be used with some URL wrappers. Refer to to determine which wrappers support stat family of functionality.

Related Functions

  • file - Reads entire file into an array
  • is_file - Tells whether the filename is a regular file
  • is_readable - Tells whether a file exists and is readable
  • is_writable - Tells whether the filename is writable

Example of file_exists

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Function file_exists:

Filesystem Functions

Most used PHP functions