filetype()
filetype() — Gets file type.
Built-in function of PHP 8.5. The manual lists it as available in PHP 4, PHP 5, PHP 7, PHP 8. This page is the reference card: signature, parameters and return value, plus the changelog and the example the manual provides.
Signature
filetype(string $filename): string|false
Parameters
| Parameter | Type | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| $filename | string | Path to the file. |
Return value
Returns the type of the file. Possible values are fifo, char, dir, block, link, file, socket and unknown. Returns false if an error occurs. filetype() will also produce an E_NOTICE message if the stat call fails or if the file type is unknown.
Example
A runnable snippet:
echo filetype('/etc/passwd'); echo "\n"; echo filetype('/etc/');
Output:
file dir
See also
is_dir(), is_file(), is_link(), file_exists(), pathinfo(), stat()
All PHP 8.5 built-in functions
Reference card built from the PHP manual page filetype() (PHP documentation, CC BY 3.0). The page is generated from the manual, so the wording of the parameter and return value text follows php.net.