How to Create a Folder if It Doesn't Exist in PHP

1. file_exists() to Check if a File or Directory Exists in PHP
2. is_dir() to Check if a File or Directory Exists in PHP
3. file_exists() vs is_dir() in PHP
4. mkdir() in PHP

It is possible to create a folder and set the proper permission using PHP, specifically using mkdir() function.

The default permission mode is 0777 (widest possible access). Before creating a directory, it’s importing to check first if the directory or a file exists or not. In PHP, it can be done using file_exists or is_dir.

file_exists() to Check if a File or Directory Exists in PHP

The file_exists function is a built-in function to check where a directory or a file exists or not. It accepts a parameter of a path which returns true if it already exists or false if not.

Example using file_exists():

$path = "sample/path/newfolder";
if (!file_exists($path)) {
    mkdir($path, 0777, true);
}

In the above example, it checks the existence of the directory using file_exists() function, then creates the newfolder directory if the result is false, with the permission of 0777.

is_dir() to Check if a File or Directory Exists in PHP

This function is also similar to file_exists, and the only difference is that it will only return true if the passed string is a directory and it will return false if it’s a file.

Example using is_dir:

$path = "sample/path/newfolder";
if (!is_dir($path)) {
    mkdir($path, 0777, true);
}

In the above example, is_dir checks whether the folder already exists before creating a new folder using mkdir.

file_exists() vs is_dir() in PHP

Both functions check the existence of the directory, the only difference is file_exists() also return true if the passed parameter is a file. On the other hand, is_dir is a bit faster than file_exists.

mkdir() in PHP

This function creates a directory that is specified by pathname which is passed as a parameter. The expected return value is true or false.

Example implementation:

mkdir($path, $mode, $recursive, $context);

Parameter Values

Note: PHP checks if the operating script in the directory has the same UID(owner) in the directory when safe mode is enabled.