How to Acquire File Creation Dates in PHP

When navigating through directories containing numerous files, the need to retrieve their creation dates may arise. Unlike other properties such as modification time, PHP does not provide a direct function for accessing file creation dates. However, alternative approaches exist.

Utilizing filectime()

For Windows systems, the filectime() function fills this niche. It returns the file's creation time accurately. However, for Unix-based systems, a caveat applies.

Unix-Specific Considerations

On Unix systems, file creation dates are often unavailable. Instead, filectime() reports the file's "change time," which represents the latest modification or metadata update performed. This limitation arises from the absence of a specific creation timestamp within most Unix filesystems.

Case of Unmodified Files

If a file has remained unmodified since its creation, both filemtime() and filectime() will return identical timestamps. This outcome aligns with the behavior observed on both Windows and Unix systems.