How to Retrieve and Use File Last Access Time with PHP's fileatime()

In PHP, the fileatime() function retrieves the last access time of a file, i.e., the time it was last read via readfile() or fread().

int fileatime ( string $filename )

Parameter description:

filename (required): the path of the file whose last access time is to be obtained.

Return value:

Returns a UNIX timestamp (seconds) representing the file's last access time.

Example of using fileatime():

$file = 'example.txt';

// Get the file's last access time
$lastAccessTime = fileatime($file);

// Format the timestamp as a readable date-time string
$lastAccessTime = date('Y-m-d H:i:s', $lastAccessTime);

// Output the result
echo 'File last access time: ' . $lastAccessTime;

The example shows obtaining the timestamp, converting it with date(), and echoing the formatted string.

Because fileatime() returns a UNIX timestamp, you must use date() or similar functions to format it.

You can also use fileatime() for file management tasks, such as checking if a file hasn't been accessed for a certain period and performing cleanup.

$file = 'example.txt';

// Get the file's last access time
$lastAccessTime = fileatime($file);

// Check if the file has not been accessed for more than 30 days
if (time() - $lastAccessTime > 30 * 24 * 60 * 60) {
    // Perform cleanup, e.g., delete the file
    unlink($file);
    echo 'File deleted';
} else {
    echo 'File recently accessed';
}

This demonstrates using fileatime() to decide whether to delete an old file or report recent access.

Summary

Using fileatime(), you can easily obtain a file's last access time and apply further processing or decisions, making it a useful tool for file management in PHP.