The filemtime Function

The filemtime function returns the Unix timestamp of the last modification time of a file. The file path is passed as a parameter. If the file does not exist, the function returns false.

Syntax

phpfilemtime(string $filename): int|false

Example

Get the modification time of the current file:

php<?php
  $res = filemtime(__FILE__);
  echo $res;
?>

Code execution result:

php1672531200

Example

Check if the file exists and output the modification date:

php<?php
  $file = 'test.txt';
  if (file_exists($file)) {
    echo 'Last modified: ' . date('Y-m-d H:i:s', filemtime($file));
  } else {
    echo 'File not found';
  }
?>

Code execution result:

php'Last modified: 2023-01-01 12:00:00'

Example

Compare the modification time of two files:

php<?php
  $file1 = 'file1.txt';
  $file2 = 'file2.txt';
  
  if (filemtime($file1) > filemtime($file2)) {
    echo 'File1 is newer';
  } else {
    echo 'File2 is newer or equal';
  }
?>

Code execution result:

php'File1 is newer'

See Also