fopen()

fopen() — Opens file or URL.

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.

What it does

fopen() binds a named resource, specified by filename, to a stream.

Signature

fopen(string $filename, string $mode, bool $use_include_path = false, ?resource $context = null): resource|false

Parameters

Parameter	Type	What it takes
$filename	string	If filename is of the form "scheme://...", it is assumed to be a URL and PHP will search for a protocol handler (also known as a wrapper) for that scheme. If no wrappers for that protocol are registered, PHP will emit a notice to help you track potential problems in your script and then continue as though filename specifies a regular file.
$mode	string	The mode parameter specifies the type of access you require to the stream. It may be any of the following: A list of possible modes for fopen() using mode mode Description 'r' Open for reading only; place the file pointer at the beginning of the file. 'r+' Open for reading and writing; place the file pointer at the beginning of the file. 'w' Open for writing only; place the file pointer at the beginning of the file ...
$use_include_path	bool	The optional third use_include_path parameter can be set to true if you want to search for the file in the include_path, too.
$context	?resource	A context stream resource.

Return value

Returns a file pointer resource on success, or false on failure

Example

A runnable snippet:

$handle = fopen("/home/rasmus/file.txt", "r"); $handle = fopen("/home/rasmus/file.gif", "wb"); $handle = fopen("http://www.example.com/", "r"); $handle = fopen("ftp://user:password@example.com/somefile.txt", "w");

Changelog

Version	Change
7.0.16, 7.1.2	The 'e' option was added.