FTP Class

CodeIgniter’s FTP Class permits files to be transferred to a remote server. Remote files can also be moved, renamed, and deleted. The FTP class also includes a “mirroring” function that permits an entire local directory to be recreated remotely via FTP.

• Working with the FTP Class
  • Initializing the Class
  • Usage Examples
• Class Reference

Working with the FTP Class

Initializing the Class

Like most other classes in CodeIgniter, the FTP class is initialized in your controller using the $this->load->library function:

$this->load->library('ftp');

Once loaded, the FTP object will be available using: $this->ftp

Usage Examples

In this example a connection is opened to the FTP server, and a local file is read and uploaded in ASCII mode. The file permissions are set to 755.

$this->load->library('ftp');

$config['hostname'] = 'ftp.example.com';
$config['username'] = 'your-username';
$config['password'] = 'your-password';
$config['debug']        = TRUE;

$this->ftp->connect($config);

$this->ftp->upload('/local/path/to/myfile.html', '/public_html/myfile.html', 'ascii', 0775);

$this->ftp->close();

In this example a list of files is retrieved from the server.

$this->load->library('ftp');

$config['hostname'] = 'ftp.example.com';
$config['username'] = 'your-username';
$config['password'] = 'your-password';
$config['debug']        = TRUE;

$this->ftp->connect($config);

$list = $this->ftp->list_files('/public_html/');

print_r($list);

$this->ftp->close();

In this example a local directory is mirrored on the server.

$this->load->library('ftp');

$config['hostname'] = 'ftp.example.com';
$config['username'] = 'your-username';
$config['password'] = 'your-password';
$config['debug']        = TRUE;

$this->ftp->connect($config);

$this->ftp->mirror('/path/to/myfolder/', '/public_html/myfolder/');

$this->ftp->close();

Class Reference

class CI_FTP

connect([$config = array()])

Parameters:	$config (array) – Connection values
Returns:	TRUE on success, FALSE on failure
Return type:	bool

Connects and logs into to the FTP server. Connection preferences are set by passing an array to the function, or you can store them in a config file.

Here is an example showing how you set preferences manually:

$this->load->library('ftp');

$config['hostname'] = 'ftp.example.com';
$config['username'] = 'your-username';
$config['password'] = 'your-password';
$config['port']     = 21;
$config['passive']  = FALSE;
$config['debug']    = TRUE;

$this->ftp->connect($config);

Setting FTP Preferences in a Config File

If you prefer you can store your FTP preferences in a config file. Simply create a new file called the ftp.php, add the $config array in that file. Then save the file at application/config/ftp.php and it will be used automatically.

Available connection options

Option name	Default value	Description
hostname	n/a	FTP hostname (usually something like: ftp.example.com)
username	n/a	FTP username
password	n/a	FTP password
port	21	FTP server port number
debug	FALSE	TRUE/FALSE (boolean): Whether to enable debugging to display error messages
passive	TRUE	TRUE/FALSE (boolean): Whether to use passive mode

upload($locpath, $rempath[, $mode = 'auto'[, $permissions = NULL]])

Parameters:	$locpath (string) – Local file path $rempath (string) – Remote file path $mode (string) – FTP mode, defaults to ‘auto’ (options are: ‘auto’, ‘binary’, ‘ascii’) $permissions (int) – File permissions (octal)
Returns:	TRUE on success, FALSE on failure
Return type:	bool

Uploads a file to your server. You must supply the local path and the remote path, and you can optionally set the mode and permissions. Example:

$this->ftp->upload('/local/path/to/myfile.html', '/public_html/myfile.html', 'ascii', 0775);

If ‘auto’ mode is used it will base the mode on the file extension of the source file.

If set, permissions have to be passed as an octal value.

download($rempath, $locpath[, $mode = 'auto'])

Parameters:	$rempath (string) – Remote file path $locpath (string) – Local file path $mode (string) – FTP mode, defaults to ‘auto’ (options are: ‘auto’, ‘binary’, ‘ascii’)
Returns:	TRUE on success, FALSE on failure
Return type:	bool

Downloads a file from your server. You must supply the remote path and the local path, and you can optionally set the mode. Example:

$this->ftp->download('/public_html/myfile.html', '/local/path/to/myfile.html', 'ascii');

If ‘auto’ mode is used it will base the mode on the file extension of the source file.

Returns FALSE if the download does not execute successfully (including if PHP does not have permission to write the local file).

rename($old_file, $new_file[, $move = FALSE])

Parameters:	$old_file (string) – Old file name $new_file (string) – New file name $move (bool) – Whether a move is being performed
Returns:	TRUE on success, FALSE on failure
Return type:	bool

Permits you to rename a file. Supply the source file name/path and the new file name/path.

// Renames green.html to blue.html
$this->ftp->rename('/public_html/foo/green.html', '/public_html/foo/blue.html');

move($old_file, $new_file)

Parameters:	$old_file (string) – Old file name $new_file (string) – New file name
Returns:	TRUE on success, FALSE on failure
Return type:	bool

Lets you move a file. Supply the source and destination paths:

// Moves blog.html from "joe" to "fred"
$this->ftp->move('/public_html/joe/blog.html', '/public_html/fred/blog.html');

Note

If the destination file name is different the file will be renamed.

delete_file($filepath)

Parameters:	$filepath (string) – Path to file to delete
Returns:	TRUE on success, FALSE on failure
Return type:	bool

Lets you delete a file. Supply the source path with the file name.

$this->ftp->delete_file('/public_html/joe/blog.html');

delete_dir($filepath)

Parameters:	$filepath (string) – Path to directory to delete
Returns:	TRUE on success, FALSE on failure
Return type:	bool

Lets you delete a directory and everything it contains. Supply the source path to the directory with a trailing slash.

Important

Be VERY careful with this method! It will recursively delete everything within the supplied path, including sub-folders and all files. Make absolutely sure your path is correct. Try using list_files() first to verify that your path is correct.

$this->ftp->delete_dir('/public_html/path/to/folder/');

list_files([$path = '.'])

Parameters:	$path (string) – Directory path
Returns:	An array list of files or FALSE on failure
Return type:	array

Permits you to retrieve a list of files on your server returned as an array. You must supply the path to the desired directory.

$list = $this->ftp->list_files('/public_html/');
print_r($list);

mirror($locpath, $rempath)

Parameters:	$locpath (string) – Local path $rempath (string) – Remote path
Returns:	TRUE on success, FALSE on failure
Return type:	bool

Recursively reads a local folder and everything it contains (including sub-folders) and creates a mirror via FTP based on it. Whatever the directory structure of the original file path will be recreated on the server. You must supply a source path and a destination path:

$this->ftp->mirror('/path/to/myfolder/', '/public_html/myfolder/');

mkdir($path[, $permissions = NULL])

Parameters:	$path (string) – Path to directory to create $permissions (int) – Permissions (octal)
Returns:	TRUE on success, FALSE on failure
Return type:	bool

Lets you create a directory on your server. Supply the path ending in the folder name you wish to create, with a trailing slash.

Permissions can be set by passing an octal value in the second parameter.

// Creates a folder named "bar"
$this->ftp->mkdir('/public_html/foo/bar/', 0755);

chmod($path, $perm)

Parameters:	$path (string) – Path to alter permissions for $perm (int) – Permissions (octal)
Returns:	TRUE on success, FALSE on failure
Return type:	bool

Permits you to set file permissions. Supply the path to the file or directory you wish to alter permissions on:

// Chmod "bar" to 755
$this->ftp->chmod('/public_html/foo/bar/', 0755);

changedir($path[, $suppress_debug = FALSE])

Parameters:	$path (string) – Directory path $suppress_debug (bool) – Whether to turn off debug messages for this command
Returns:	TRUE on success, FALSE on failure
Return type:	bool

Changes the current working directory to the specified path.

The $suppress_debug parameter is useful in case you want to use this method as an is_dir() alternative for FTP.

close()

Returns:	TRUE on success, FALSE on failure
Return type:	bool

Closes the connection to your server. It’s recommended that you use this when you are finished uploading.