How to Use PHP’s stat() Function to Retrieve Detailed File Information

Stat() Function Overview

The stat() function in PHP obtains detailed information about a file, returning an associative array that includes size, timestamps, permissions, and other filesystem attributes.

Stat() Function Syntax

array stat(string $filename)

The single parameter $filename is the path to the file whose information you want to retrieve.

Returned Value

The function returns an associative array where each key corresponds to a specific file attribute.

Array Keys and Their Meanings

dev : Device ID where the file resides.

ino : Inode number of the file.

mode : File type and permission bits.

nlink : Number of hard links to the file.

uid : User ID of the file owner.

gid : Group ID of the file owner.

rdev : Device ID (if the file is a special file).

size : Size of the file in bytes.

atime : Time of last access.

mtime : Time of last modification.

ctime : Time of last status change.

blksize : Preferred block size for filesystem I/O.

blocks : Number of 512‑byte blocks allocated to the file.

Example Usage

<?php
$filename = 'test.txt';
$file_info = stat($filename);

echo 'File size: ' . $file_info['size'] . ' bytes' . PHP_EOL;

echo 'Last access time: ' . date('Y-m-d H:i:s', $file_info['atime']) . PHP_EOL;

echo 'Last modification time: ' . date('Y-m-d H:i:s', $file_info['mtime']) . PHP_EOL;

echo 'Last change time: ' . date('Y-m-d H:i:s', $file_info['ctime']) . PHP_EOL;
?>

This script prints the file size and the formatted timestamps for the last access, modification, and status change of test.txt.

Conclusion

The stat() function provides a convenient way to access a wide range of file metadata in PHP. By examining the returned associative array, developers can retrieve specific attributes such as size, permissions, and timestamps for use in file‑handling logic.