CodeIgniter User Guide Version 1.7.3


FTP Class

CodeIgniter's FTP Class permits files to be transfered 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.

Note:  SFTP and SSL FTP protocols are not supported, only standard FTP.

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. Note: Setting permissions requires PHP 5.

$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();

Function Reference

$this->ftp->connect()

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 config/ftp.php and it will be used automatically.

Available connection options:

$this->ftp->upload()

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);

Mode options are:  ascii, binary, and auto (the default). If auto is used it will base the mode on the file extension of the source file.

Permissions are available if you are running PHP 5 and can be passed as an octal value in the fourth parameter.

$this->ftp->rename()

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');

$this->ftp->move()

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.

$this->ftp->delete_file()

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

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

$this->ftp->delete_dir()

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

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

$this->ftp->list_files()

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);

$this->ftp->mirror()

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/');

$this->ftp->mkdir()

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 passed an octal value in the second parameter (if you are running PHP 5).

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

$this->ftp->chmod()

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

// Chmod "bar" to 777
$this->ftp->chmod('/public_html/foo/bar/', DIR_WRITE_MODE);

$this->ftp->close();

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