PHP fopen() Function

Example

Open file, read lines - until EOF is reached:

<?php
$file = fopen("test.txt", "r");

//Output lines until EOF is reached
while(! feof($file)) {
$line = fgets($file);
echo $line. "<br>";
}

fclose($file);
?>

Run Example »

Definition and Usage

The fopen() function opens a file or URL.

Note: When writing to a text file, be sure to use the correct line-ending character! Unix systems use \n, Windows systems use \r\n, and Macintosh systems use \r as the line ending character. Windows offers a translation flag ('t') which will translate \n to \r\n when working with the file. You can also use 'b' to force binary mode. To use these flags, specify either 'b' or 't' as the last character of the mode parameter.

Syntax

fopen(filename, mode, include_path, context)

Parameter Values

Parameter	Description
filename	Required. Specifies the file or URL to open
mode	Required. Specifies the type of access you require to the file/stream. Possible values: "r" - Read only. Starts at the beginning of the file "r+" - Read/Write. Starts at the beginning of the file "w" - Write only. Opens and truncates the file; or creates a new file if it doesn't exist. Place file pointer at the beginning of the file "w+" - Read/Write. Opens and truncates the file; or creates a new file if it doesn't exist. Place file pointer at the beginning of the file "a" - Write only. Opens and writes to the end of the file or creates a new file if it doesn't exist "a+" - Read/Write. Preserves file content by writing to the end of the file "x" - Write only. Creates a new file. Returns FALSE and an error if file already exists "x+" - Read/Write. Creates a new file. Returns FALSE and an error if file already exists "c" - Write only. Opens the file; or creates a new file if it doesn't exist. Place file pointer at the beginning of the file "c+" - Read/Write. Opens the file; or creates a new file if it doesn't exist. Place file pointer at the beginning of the file "e" - Only available in PHP compiled on POSIX.1-2008 conform systems.
include_path	Optional. Set this parameter to '1' if you want to search for the file in the include_path (in php.ini) as well
context	Optional. Specifies the context of the file handle. Context is a set of options that can modify the behavior of a stream

Technical Details

Return Value:	A file pointer resource on success, FALSE and an error on failure. You can hide the error by adding an "@" in front of the function name.
PHP Version:	4.3+
PHP Changelog:	PHP 7.1: Added "e" option PHP 5.2: Added "c" and "c+" options

❮ PHP Filesystem Reference