PHP Directory readdir() Function

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The PHP Directory readdir() function is used to find the names of the files or folders inside a directory. As the name suggests readdir stands for "Read Directory." This function basically reads the names of files or folders one at a time. The filesystem stores the order in which entries are returned. The function is called "readdir" because it reads content from a directory.

It returns the filename of the next file from the directory. The filenames are returned in the order in which they are stored by the filesystem.

As this function only returns one element at a time from the directory, you are likely thinking how to retrieve all the items at once in a directory if there are multiple files or folders present. To do this, you can either run a loop or use the scandir() method.

Syntax

Here is the syntax of the PHP Directory readdir() function −

string readdir ( resource $dir_handle );

Parameters

The parameters are needed to use the readdir() function are mentioned below −

Return Value

It returns the filename on success, or FALSE on failure.

PHP Version

First appeared in core PHP 4, the readdir() function continues to function easily in PHP 5, PHP 7, and PHP 8.

Example

In this example we will show you how we can use use the PHP Directory readdir() function after opening the directory using opendir() function using while loop.

<?php
   $dir = opendir("/var/www/images");

   while (($file = readdir($dir)) !== false) {

      echo "filename: " . $file . "<br />";
   }

   closedir($dir);
?> 

Output

This will produce the following result −

filename: .
filename: ..
filename: logo.gif
filename: mohd.gif

Example

Previously we have seen how we can retrieve files using while loop and readdir() function now we will see how we can display file names using if-else statement.

<?php
   // declare the directory path (You can replace it with your specific directory path)
   $directory = "/Applications/XAMPP/xamppfiles/htdocs/mac/new dir";

   if(is_dir($directory)){
      if($dir_handle = opendir($directory)){
         while(false !== ($entry = readdir($dir_handle))){
               echo "My Directory Content is: " . $entry . "<br>";
         }
      }
   }else{
      echo "This is not a directory.";
   }
?> 

Output

This will lead to the following outcome −

My Directory Content is: .
My Directory Content is: ..
My Directory Content is: .DS_Store
My Directory Content is: Pictures
My Directory Content is: my_folder
My Directory Content is: index.txt
My Directory Content is: my.txt

Example

In the last example you can see that in the output there is . or .. present so in this example we will remove them for better view of files or folders. To have this functionality we will just use if condition.

<?php
   // declare the directory path (You can replace it with your specific directory path)
   $directoryPath = "/Applications/XAMPP/xamppfiles/htdocs/mac/new dir";

   if(is_dir($directoryPath)){
      if($handle = opendir($directoryPath)){
         while(false !== ($item = readdir($handle))){
               if ($item != "." && $item != "..") {
                  echo "Item in Directory: " . $item . "<br>";
               }
         }
         closedir($handle); // Close the directory handle
      }
   }else{
      echo "The specified path is not a directory.";
   }

?> 

Output

The result of this PHP code is −

Item in Directory: .DS_Store
Item in Directory: Pictures
Item in Directory: my_folder
Item in Directory: index.txt
Item in Directory: my.txt

Example

As we have seen different examples of how we can use readdir() function to read the entities present in the directory. Now we will only read the files and leave other content line images and folders present.

<?php
   // declare the directory path (You can replace it with your specific directory path)
   $directory = "/Applications/XAMPP/xamppfiles/htdocs/mac/new dir";

   // check if the specified path is a directory
   if(is_dir($directory)){
      // open the directory
      if($dir_handle = opendir($directory)){
         // Loop over each entry in the directory
         while(false !== ($entry = readdir($dir_handle))){
               // check if the entry is a file
               if (is_file($directory . "/" . $entry)) {
                  // echo the name of the file
                  echo "File in Directory: " . $entry . "<br>";
               }
         }
         // close the directory handle
         closedir($dir_handle);
      }
   } else {
      // echo an error message if the specified path is not a directory
      echo "The specified path is not a directory.";
   }
?> 

Output

This will produce the below output −

File in Directory: .DS_Store
File in Directory: index.txt
File in Directory: my.txt

Note

When you call the readdir() method two different items appear: one dot (.) for the current directory and two dots (..) for the parent directory. The parent directory is the folder that is now directly above this one. In general, you will not need to use these particular items when working with the files in the directory.

Summary

PHP's readdir() method is used to read the names of files and directories one at a time inside a directory. The next file or folder name in the directory is given back. This approach is useful for listing directory contents sequentially; it includes special entries for the current directory (.) and parent directory (..).