PHP: unlink cannot delete file even the file exists and writable

Question

I've been trying to figure out why unlink is not working. I've tried stackoverflow previous questions and answers but no luck. The exact filename that needs to be deleted is 'upload/test.png'. First I made a check if file exists.

$filename = 'upload/test.png';
if(file_exists($filename)){
// file_exists returns true
    if(is_writable($filename)){
        // is_writable also returns true
        if(unlink($filename)){
            echo 'file deleted';
        }
        else{
            echo 'cant delete file';
            print_r(error_get_last());
            // this gives me
            // unlink() function.unlink: No such file or directory
        }
    }
}

give complete physical path of file, on windows starting from C: or on linux /... — Sumit Gupta
– Sumit Gupta, Commented Oct 11, 2013 at 12:13
realpath() and $_SERVER options, or full path also return error. As the checking is done, we can assume that the file is read before the unlink executes thus it means that the file has a working path. — nickanor
– nickanor, Commented Oct 11, 2013 at 12:17
Are you working on a live server or from your computer? Try using virtual paths ./upload/test.png and make sure you have write permissions? — GroovyCarrot
– GroovyCarrot, Commented Oct 11, 2013 at 12:25
I tested your code, it is working perfectly. Also if file is not present at the location, it shows blank screen but no errors. — Vikas Arora
– Vikas Arora, Commented Oct 11, 2013 at 12:32
@GroovyCarrot is_writable returns true. i've tried virtual paths but still gives error. — nickanor
– nickanor, Commented Oct 11, 2013 at 12:43

Yang · Accepted Answer · 2013-10-11 12:23:15Z

6

Give the full path instead, like

$filename = dirname(__FILE__) . '/upload/test.png';

Then try this,

if (is_file($filename)) {

   chmod($filename, 0777);

   if (unlink($filename)) {
      echo 'File deleted';
   } else {
      echo 'Cannot remove that file';
   }

} else {
  echo 'File does not exist';
}

answered Oct 11, 2013 at 12:23

Yang

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Comments

Black · Accepted Answer · 2017-07-03 11:05:28Z

2

If you are saying that everything is ok and no permission issue then you can try this way too:

unlink(realpath("upload/test.png"));

edited Jul 3, 2017 at 11:05

Black

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answered Oct 11, 2013 at 12:23

Satyam Saxena

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1 Comment

Satyam Saxena Over a year ago

Working for me perfectly!!

BT643 · Accepted Answer · 2013-10-11 12:14:30Z

0

Try this and post what output you get (if any).

$filename = 'upload/test.png';

@unlink($filename);

if(is_file($filename)) {
   echo "file was locked (or permissions error)";
}

answered Oct 11, 2013 at 12:14

BT643

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4 Comments

nickanor Over a year ago

is_file returns nothing

Yang Over a year ago

@nickanor It returns either false or true. Since it didn't return true, then that file was deleted.

nickanor Over a year ago

the file is still here.

BT643 Over a year ago

You're using a relative path, don't mean to sound condescending but are you sure you're not looking in a different folder? Try changing the path to an absolute path! /path/to/the/file/upload/test.png or C:/path/to/the/file/upload/test.png

Don't Panic · Accepted Answer · 2020-09-28 07:19:56Z

0

I have found out that unlink is sensitive to encoding. I also had such kind of problem, but then I used:

$filename= iconv("UTF-8", "Windows-1251", $filename);

and that worked for me.

edited Sep 28, 2020 at 7:19

Don't Panic

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answered Sep 27, 2020 at 15:10

AnKov

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Comments

Clive Miller · Accepted Answer · 2024-02-19 08:49:38Z

0

I was trying to use my php script to modify a file in a subdirectory of where the script was running. When I tried to delete the file, it was not possible. However, when I moved it to a completely different part of the filesystem, it worked. Seems like a security feature of php (8.1).

answered Feb 19, 2024 at 8:49

Clive Miller

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