PHP fileatime Function

last modified April 3, 2025

The PHP fileatime function gets the last access time of a file. It returns a Unix timestamp representing when the file was last accessed.

Basic Definition

The fileatime function returns the time the file was last accessed. It takes one parameter: the filename path as a string.

Syntax: fileatime(string $filename): int|false. Returns Unix timestamp on success, false on failure. Requires file existence and permissions.

Basic fileatime Example

This shows the simplest usage of fileatime to get access time.

basic_fileatime.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

$filename = “example.txt”; $accessTime = fileatime($filename);

if ($accessTime !== false) { echo “Last accessed: " . date(“Y-m-d H:i:s”, $accessTime); } else { echo “Could not get access time”; }

This gets the access time of “example.txt” and formats it. The function returns false if the file doesn’t exist or can’t be accessed.

Comparing Access Times

We can compare access times of two files to see which was accessed more recently.

compare_times.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

$file1 = “file1.txt”; $file2 = “file2.txt”;

$time1 = fileatime($file1); $time2 = fileatime($file2);

if ($time1 > $time2) { echo “$file1 was accessed more recently”; } elseif ($time2 > $time1) { echo “$file2 was accessed more recently”; } else { echo “Both files were accessed at the same time”; }

This compares access times of two files. Note that some filesystems disable access time recording for performance reasons.

Checking Recent Access

We can check if a file was accessed within a certain time period.

recent_access.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

$filename = “data.log”; $accessTime = fileatime($filename); $oneDayAgo = time() - 86400; // 24 hours ago

if ($accessTime !== false && $accessTime > $oneDayAgo) { echo “File was accessed within the last 24 hours”; } else { echo “File not accessed recently or error occurred”; }

This checks if the file was accessed in the last 24 hours. The example uses time() to get the current timestamp for comparison.

Handling Errors

Proper error handling is important when working with filesystem functions.

error_handling.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

$filename = “nonexistent.txt”; $accessTime = fileatime($filename);

if ($accessTime === false) { if (!file_exists($filename)) { echo “File does not exist”; } elseif (!is_readable($filename)) { echo “File is not readable”; } else { echo “Unknown error getting access time”; } } else { echo “Last accessed: " . date(“Y-m-d H:i:s”, $accessTime); }

This demonstrates comprehensive error handling. We check for file existence and readability when fileatime returns false.

Using with Directory

fileatime can also be used with directories, not just files.

directory_access.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

$dir = “/var/www/html”; $accessTime = fileatime($dir);

if ($accessTime !== false) { echo “Directory last accessed: " . date(“Y-m-d H:i:s”, $accessTime); echo “<br>”; echo “Days since last access: " . round((time() - $accessTime) / 86400); } else { echo “Could not get directory access time”; }

This gets the access time of a directory and calculates days since last access. Directory access times work similarly to file access times on most systems.

Best Practices

• Performance: Access time recording may be disabled.

• Error Handling: Always check for false return value.

• Permissions: Ensure proper file permissions.

• Timezones: Be aware of timezone settings when formatting.

Source

PHP fileatime Documentation

This tutorial covered the PHP fileatime function with practical examples showing its usage in different scenarios.

Author

My name is Jan Bodnar, and I am a passionate programmer with extensive programming experience. I have been writing programming articles since 2007. To date, I have authored over 1,400 articles and 8 e-books. I possess more than ten years of experience in teaching programming.

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