How to get a temporary file path?

Question

I know you can create a temporary file with tmpfile and than write to it, and close it when it is not needed anymore. But the problem I have is that I need the absolute path to the file like this:

"/var/www/html/lolo/myfile.xml"

Can I somehow get the path, even with some other function or trick?

EDIT:

I want to be able to download the file from the database, but without

$fh = fopen("/var/www/html/myfile.xml", 'w') or die("no no");
fwrite($fh, $fileData);
fclose($fh);

because if I do it like this, there is a chance of overlapping, if more people try to download the same file at exactly the same time. Or am I wrong?

EDIT2:

Maybe I can just generate unique(uniqID) filenames like that, and than delete them. Or can this be too consuming for the server if many people are downloading?

then cant you find the path through a ftp client or with ssh? is this path constantly changing? — t q, Aug 23 '12 at 18:14

score 45 · Answer 1 · edited Oct 10 '17 at 14:36

45

There are many ways you can achieve this, here is one

<?php 
// Create a temp file in the temporary 
// files directory using sys_get_temp_dir()
$temp_file = tempnam(sys_get_temp_dir(), 'MyFileName');
echo $temp_file;
?>

The above example will output something similar to: /var/tmp/MyFileNameX322.tmp

edited Oct 10 '17 at 14:36

whlk

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answered Aug 23 '12 at 18:15

legrandviking

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2

Should the temporary file stay if i did not unlink it at the end? – trainoasis Aug 23 '12 at 18:31
Because it doesn't seem to stay anyway – trainoasis Aug 23 '12 at 18:31
If you need your file to persist, this approach is unlikely to help. Please give more details of what you are trying to do, i can help! – legrandviking Aug 23 '12 at 18:36
1

Keep in mind that: sys_get_temp_dir() requires php 5.2.1 or higher – Svetoslav Marinov May 25 '13 at 02:53
If you just want a resource (the same thing you get with fopen()) you can use tmpfile(). However, legrandviking's method is useful if you actually need a file with a path. – Tyler V. Jul 04 '14 at 00:21

score 9 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:25

I know you can create a temporary file with tmpfile

That is a good start, something like this will do:

$fileHandleResource = tmpfile();

Can I somehow get the path, even with some other function or trick?

Yes:

$metaData = stream_get_meta_data($fileHandleResource);
$filepath = $metaData['uri'];

This approach has the benefit of leaving it up to PHP to pick a good place and name for this temporary file, which could end up being a good thing or a bad thing depending on your needs. But it is the simplest way to do this if you don't yet have a specific reason to pick your own directory and filename.

References:

http://us.php.net/manual/en/function.stream-get-meta-data.php

Getting filename (or deleting file) using file handle

score 3 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 23 '12 at 18:15

3

This will give you the directory. I guess after that you are on your own.

answered Aug 23 '12 at 18:15

Ed Heal

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trainoasis · Accepted Answer · 2021-11-23T07:07:43.583

For newer (not very new lol) versions of PHP (requires php 5.2.1 or higher) @whik's answer is better suited:

<?php 
// Create a temp file in the temporary 
// files directory using sys_get_temp_dir()
$temp_file = tempnam(sys_get_temp_dir(), 'MyFileName');
echo $temp_file;
?>

The above example will output something similar to: /var/tmp/MyFileNameX322.tmp

old answer

Just in case someone encounters exactly the same problem. I ended up doing

$fh = fopen($filepath, 'w') or die("Can't open file $name for writing temporary stuff.");
fwrite($fh, $fileData);
fclose($fh);

and

unlink($filepath);

at the end when file is not needed anymore.

Before that, I generated filename like that:

$r = rand();        
$filepath = "/var/www/html/someDirectory/$name.$r.xml";

score 1 · Answer 5 · answered Jun 08 '16 at 15:22

1

I just generated a temporary file, deleted it, and created a folder with the same name

$tempFolder = tempnam(sys_get_temp_dir(), 'MyFileName');
unlink($tempFolder);
mkdir($tempFolder);

answered Jun 08 '16 at 15:22

Shadi

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How to get a temporary file path?

EDIT:

EDIT2:

5 Answers5

old answer

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