Monday, February 23, 2026
HomeLanguagesPHP | opendir() Function

PHP | opendir() Function

The opendir() function in PHP is an inbuilt function which is used to open a directory handle. The path of the directory to be opened is sent as a parameter to the opendir() function and it returns a directory handle resource on success, or FALSE on failure.

The opendir() function is used to open up a directory handle to be used in subsequent with other directory functions such as closedir(), readdir(), and rewinddir().

Syntax:

opendir($path, $context)

Parameters Used: The opendir() function in PHP accepts two parameters.

  • $path : It is a mandatory parameter which specifies the path of the directory to be opened.
  • $context : It is an optional parameter which specifies the behavior of the stream.

Return Value: It returns a directory handle resource on success, or FALSE on failure.

Errors And Exceptions:

  1. A PHP error of level E_WARNING is generated and opendir() returns FALSE if the path is not a valid directory or the directory cannot be opened due to permission restrictions or filesystem errors.
  2. The error output of opendir() can be suppressed by prepending ‘@’ to the front of the function name.

Below programs illustrate the opendir() function:
Program 1:




<?php
  
// Opening a directory
$dir_handle = opendir("/user/gfg/docs/");
  
if(is_resource($dir_handle))
{ 
    echo("Directory Opened Successfully.");
} 
  
// closing the directory
closedir($dir_handle);
  
else
{
    echo("Directory Cannot Be Opened.");
} 
  
?>


Output:

Directory Opened Successfully.

Program 2:




<?php
  
// opening a directory and reading its contents
$dir_handle = opendir("user/gfg/sample.docx");
  
if(is_resource($dir_handle)) 
{ 
    while(($file_name = readdir($dir_handle)) == true) 
    { 
        echo("File Name: " . $file_Name);
        echo "<br>" ; 
    } 
  
    // closing the directory
    closedir($dir_handle);
}
else
{
echo("Directory Cannot Be Opened.");
}
?>


Output:

File Name: sample.docx

Reference: http://php.net/manual/en/function.opendir.php

RELATED ARTICLES

1 COMMENT

Most Popular

Dominic
32506 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Milvus
131 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Nango Kala
6882 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Nicole Veronica
12005 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Nokonwaba Nkukhwana
12099 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Shaida Kate Naidoo
7011 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Ted Musemwa
7255 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Thapelo Manthata
6967 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Umr Jansen
6956 POSTS0 COMMENTS