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Benyamin Khalife edited this page May 11, 2026 · 1 revision

File

The File class provides a comprehensive set of file and directory utilities for Webrium applications. It covers reading and writing files, serving and streaming media, directory management, file metadata, and hashing.

Table of Contents

Checking Files

use Webrium\File;

File::exists('/path/to/file.txt');       // true if file or directory exists
File::isFile('/path/to/file.txt');       // true only for files (not directories)
File::isDirectory('/path/to/dir');       // true only for directories
File::isReadable('/path/to/file.txt');   // true if readable
File::isWritable('/path/to/file.txt');   // true if writable

Reading Files

// Read entire file as a string
$content = File::read('/path/to/file.txt');
// false if file does not exist

// Alias
$content = File::getContent('/path/to/file.txt');

// Read as an array of lines (empty lines skipped)
$lines = File::lines('/path/to/file.txt');
// ['line one', 'line two', ...]
// false if file does not exist

Writing Files

// Write (overwrites existing content)
File::write('/path/to/file.txt', 'Hello, World!');

// Alias
File::putContent('/path/to/file.txt', 'Hello, World!');

// Append to a file
File::append('/path/to/log.txt', "New log entry\n");

// Prepend to a file
File::prepend('/path/to/file.txt', "First line\n");

All write methods return the number of bytes written, or false on failure.

Copying, Moving & Deleting

// Copy
File::copy('/source/file.txt', '/destination/file.txt');

// Move / rename
File::move('/old/path/file.txt', '/new/path/file.txt');

// Delete a single file
File::delete('/path/to/file.txt');

// Delete multiple files at once
$deleted = File::deleteMultiple([
    '/path/file1.txt',
    '/path/file2.txt',
]);
// Returns count of successfully deleted files

Serving Files to the Browser

download()

Trigger a file download in the browser. Sets the correct headers so the browser presents a Save As dialog.

// Download with original filename
File::download('/storage/reports/q3.pdf');

// Download with a custom filename
File::download('/storage/reports/q3.pdf', 'Q3-Report-2024.pdf');

stream()

Stream a file directly to the browser with support for HTTP range requests. This is the correct method for serving audio and video files, as it allows the browser to seek to any position.

// Stream a video
File::stream('/storage/videos/intro.mp4');

// Stream with a custom filename hint
File::stream('/storage/videos/intro.mp4', 'welcome.mp4');

How range requests work automatically:

  • If the browser sends an HTTP_RANGE header (e.g. when seeking in a video), a 206 Partial Content response is returned with only the requested byte range.
  • Otherwise, the full file is sent with a 200 OK response.

showImage()

Serve an image file inline with the correct Content-Type header. Supports jpg, jpeg, png, gif, svg, webp, bmp, and ico.

File::showImage('/storage/images/avatar.png');

Returns a 404 response if the file does not exist.

Directory Operations

// Create a directory (recursive by default)
File::makeDirectory('/storage/uploads/avatars');
File::makeDirectory('/storage/cache', mode: 0755, recursive: false);

// List files in a directory (excludes . .. .gitignore by default)
$files = File::getFiles('/storage/uploads');
// ['file1.jpg', 'file2.png', 'subdir']

// List files with a custom exclusion list
$files = File::getFiles('/storage/uploads', ['.', '..', 'tmp']);

// List all files recursively (returns full paths)
$all = File::getFilesRecursive('/storage/uploads');
// ['/storage/uploads/a.jpg', '/storage/uploads/sub/b.png', ...]

// Delete a directory and all its contents
File::deleteDirectory('/storage/cache');

// Alias
File::delete_dir('/storage/cache');

File Metadata

$path = '/storage/uploads/report.pdf';

File::size($path);            // size in bytes (int), or false
File::humanSize($path);       // human-readable: "1.23 MB"
File::humanSize($path, 0);    // "1 MB" (0 decimal places)

File::lastModified($path);    // Unix timestamp, or false

File::extension($path);       // 'pdf'
File::name($path);            // 'report' (no extension)
File::basename($path);        // 'report.pdf'
File::dirname($path);         // '/storage/uploads'

File::mimeType($path);        // 'application/pdf', or false

File Hashing

Useful for verifying file integrity or detecting duplicate files.

$path = '/storage/uploads/archive.zip';

File::hash($path);                      // MD5 hash
File::sha1($path);                      // SHA-1 hash
File::hashFile($path, 'sha256');        // any supported algorithm
File::hashFile($path, 'md5');           // equivalent to hash()

All methods return false if the file does not exist.

Advanced / Internal Use

The methods below are primarily used by the framework itself. You may encounter them when building low-level tooling, but most applications will not need them directly.

PHP File Execution

Include or require PHP files at runtime:

// Include (re-includable)
File::run('/path/to/file.php');

// Include once
File::runOnce('/path/to/file.php');

// Require (same as include but triggers a fatal error on failure at PHP level)
File::requireFile('/path/to/file.php');

// Require once
File::requireOnce('/path/to/file.php');

All methods return true on success and false if the file does not exist.

source()

Include multiple PHP files from a named directory in one call. Used internally by Route::source().

$count = File::source('routes', ['web.php', 'api.php']);
// Returns the number of files successfully included

The directory name is resolved through Directory::path().

executeControllerMethod()

Instantiate a controller class and call one of its methods. Used internally by the router when handling "Controller@method" strings.

File::executeControllerMethod('controllers', 'UserController', 'show', [$id]);

Lifecycle hooks are called automatically if they exist on the controller:

  • __init() — called before the target method
  • __end() — called after the target method

Glob & Pattern Matching

// Find files matching a glob pattern
$files = File::glob('/storage/uploads/*.jpg');

// Check if a single path matches a pattern
$match = File::matches('/storage/uploads/photo.jpg', '*.jpg'); // true

Permissions & Ownership

// Get permissions as an integer
$perms = File::permissions('/path/to/file.txt');

// Set permissions
File::chmod('/path/to/file.txt', 0644);

// Get owner (returns user ID)
$uid = File::owner('/path/to/file.txt');

API Reference

Common Methods

Method Description
File::exists($path) Check if a file or directory exists
File::isFile($path) Check if path is a file
File::isDirectory($path) Check if path is a directory
File::isReadable($path) Check if file is readable
File::isWritable($path) Check if file is writable
File::read($path) Read file contents as string
File::getContent($path) Alias for read()
File::lines($path) Read file as array of lines
File::write($path, $content, $append) Write content to a file
File::putContent($path, $content) Alias for write()
File::append($path, $content) Append content to a file
File::prepend($path, $content) Prepend content to a file
File::copy($source, $destination) Copy a file
File::move($source, $destination) Move or rename a file
File::delete($path) Delete a file
File::deleteMultiple($paths) Delete multiple files
File::download($path, $name) Serve a file as a browser download
File::stream($path, $name) Stream a file with range support
File::showImage($path) Serve an image inline
File::makeDirectory($path, $mode, $recursive) Create a directory
File::getFiles($path, $exclude) List files in a directory
File::getFilesRecursive($path, $exclude) List all files recursively
File::deleteDirectory($dir) Delete a directory recursively
File::delete_dir($dir) Alias for deleteDirectory()
File::size($path) Get file size in bytes
File::humanSize($path, $precision) Get human-readable file size
File::lastModified($path) Get last modified timestamp
File::extension($path) Get file extension
File::name($path) Get filename without extension
File::basename($path) Get filename with extension
File::dirname($path) Get directory portion of path
File::mimeType($path) Get MIME type
File::hash($path) Get MD5 hash of file
File::sha1($path) Get SHA-1 hash of file
File::hashFile($path, $algorithm) Get hash using any algorithm

Internal / Advanced Methods

Method Description
File::run($path) Include a PHP file
File::runOnce($path) Include a PHP file once
File::requireFile($path) Require a PHP file
File::requireOnce($path) Require a PHP file once
File::source($dirName, $files) Include multiple files from a directory
File::executeControllerMethod(...) Instantiate a controller and call a method
File::glob($pattern, $flags) Find files matching a glob pattern
File::matches($path, $pattern) Check if a path matches a pattern
File::permissions($path) Get file permissions
File::chmod($path, $mode) Set file permissions
File::owner($path) Get file owner user ID

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