PHP | ftp_nlist() function

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The ftp_nlist() function is an inbuilt function in PHP which is used to get the list of all the filename and sub-directory in a specific directory on FTP server.

Syntax:

ftp_nlist( $ftp_connection, $directory );

Parameters: This function accepts two parameters as mentioned above and described below:

$ftp_connection: It is required parameter. It specifies the already existing FTP connection to get the list of all files and sub-directory of a directory in FTP server.
$directory: It is required parameter of String type. It specifies the directory in remote server i.e. FTP server whose file & sub-directory is to list.

Return Value: It returns array of file names and sub-directory on success and false on failure.

Note:

This function is available for PHP 4.0.0 and newer version.
The following examples cannot be run on online IDE. So try to run in some PHP hosting server or localhost with proper ftp server name.
Don’t confused with filename and sub-directory! Many websites assumed sub-directory name also as filename.

Below examples illustrate the ftp_nlist() function in PHP:

Example 1:

PHP

<?php
 
// Connect to FTP server
 
// Use a correct ftp server
$ftp_server = "localhost";
 
// Use correct ftp username
$ftp_username="username";
 
// Use correct ftp password corresponding
// to the ftp username
$ftp_userpass="password";
 
// File name or path to upload to ftp server
$file = "filetoupload.txt";
  
// Establishing ftp connection 
$ftp_connection = ftp_connect($ftp_server)
    or die("Could not connect to $ftp_server");
 
if($ftp_connection) {
    echo "successfully connected to the ftp server!";
     
    // Logging in to established connection
    // with ftp username password
    $login = ftp_login($ftp_connection, $ftp_username, $ftp_userpass);
     
    if($login){
         
        // Checking whether logged in successfully or not
        echo "<br>logged in successfully!";
          
        // Get file & directory list of current directory
        $file_list = ftp_nlist($ftp_connection, ".");
         
        //output the array stored in $file_list using foreach loop
        foreach($file_list as $key=>$dat) {
            echo $key."=>".$dat."<br>";
       }
    } 
    else {
        echo "<br>login failed!";
    }
     
    // echo ftp_get_option($ftp_connection, 1);
    // Closing  connection
    if(ftp_close($ftp_connection)) {
        echo "<br>Connection closed Successfully!";
    } 
}
 
?>

Output:

Content of that directory in file manager:

Example 2: Connect to ftp server using port number 21 and then list directory content.

PHP

<?php
 
// Connect to FTP server
 
// Use a correct ftp server
$ftp_server = "localhost";
 
// Use correct ftp username
$ftp_username="username";
 
// Use correct ftp password corresponding
// to the ftp username
$ftp_userpass="password";
 
// File name or path to upload to ftp server
$file = "filetoupload.txt";
  
// Establishing ftp connection 
$ftp_connection = ftp_connect($ftp_server, 21)
    or die("Could not connect to $ftp_server");
 
if($ftp_connection) {
    echo "successfully connected to the ftp server!";
     
    // Logging in to established connection
    // with ftp username password
    $login = ftp_login($ftp_connection, $ftp_username, $ftp_userpass);
     
    if($login){
         
        // Checking whether logged in successfully or not
        echo "<br>logged in successfully!";
          
        // Get file & directory list of current directory
        $file_list = ftp_nlist($ftp_connection, ".");
         
        //output the array stored in $file_list using foreach loop
        foreach($file_list as $key=>$dat) {
            echo $key."=>".$dat."<br>";
       }
    } 
    else {
        echo "<br>login failed!";
    }
     
    // echo ftp_get_option($ftp_connection, 1);
    // Closing  connection
    if(ftp_close($ftp_connection)) {
        echo "<br>Connection closed Successfully!";
    } 
}
 
?>