list_files( string $folder = '', int $levels = 100, string[] $exclusions = array(), bool $include_hidden = false ): string[]|false

Returns a listing of all files in the specified folder and all subdirectories up to 100 levels deep.

Description

The depth of the recursiveness can be controlled by the $levels param.

Parameters

$folderstringoptional: Full path to folder.
Default:''
$levelsintoptional: Levels of folders to follow, Default 100 (PHP Loop limit).
Default:100
$exclusionsstring[]optional: List of folders and files to skip.
Default:array()
$include_hiddenbooloptional: Whether to include details of hidden ("." prefixed) files.

Default:false

Return

string[]|false Array of files on success, false on failure.

Source

function list_files( $folder = '', $levels = 100, $exclusions = array(), $include_hidden = false ) {
	if ( empty( $folder ) ) {
		return false;
	}

	$folder = trailingslashit( $folder );

	if ( ! $levels ) {
		return false;
	}

	$files = array();

	$dir = @opendir( $folder );

	if ( $dir ) {
		while ( ( $file = readdir( $dir ) ) !== false ) {
			// Skip current and parent folder links.
			if ( in_array( $file, array( '.', '..' ), true ) ) {
				continue;
			}

			// Skip hidden and excluded files.
			if ( ( ! $include_hidden && '.' === $file[0] ) || in_array( $file, $exclusions, true ) ) {
				continue;
			}

			if ( is_dir( $folder . $file ) ) {
				$files2 = list_files( $folder . $file, $levels - 1, array(), $include_hidden );
				if ( $files2 ) {
					$files = array_merge( $files, $files2 );
				} else {
					$files[] = $folder . $file . '/';
				}
			} else {
				$files[] = $folder . $file;
			}
		}

		closedir( $dir );
	}

	return $files;
}

View all references View on Trac View on GitHub

Uses	Description
list_files()`wp-admin/includes/file.php`	Returns a listing of all files in the specified folder and all subdirectories up to 100 levels deep.
trailingslashit()`wp-includes/formatting.php`	Appends a trailing slash.

Used by	Description
wp_privacy_delete_old_export_files()`wp-includes/functions.php`	Cleans up export files older than three days old.
get_plugin_files()`wp-admin/includes/plugin.php`	Gets a list of a plugin’s files.
list_files()`wp-admin/includes/file.php`	Returns a listing of all files in the specified folder and all subdirectories up to 100 levels deep.

Changelog

Version	Description
6.3.0	Added the `$include_hidden` parameter.
4.9.0	Added the `$exclusions` parameter.
2.6.0	Introduced.

User Contributed Notes

Sarankumar 5 years ago

Example for listing all files in the upload directory

$upload_dir = wp_upload_dir();
$folder = $upload_dir['basedir']
$files = list_files( $folder, 2 );
foreach ( $files as $file ) {
	if ( is_file( $file ) ) {
		$filesize = size_format( filesize( $file ) );
		$filename = basename( $file ); 
	}
	echo esc_html( $filename . "-" . $filesize );
}

Philipp Stracker 3 years ago

This function returns a list of absolute paths (not file names!)

print_r( list_files( __DIR__ ) );

/*
Output:

Array (
    [0] => /Users/philipp/Sites/public/dev-site/wp-content/plugins/test/test.php
    [1] => /Users/philipp/Sites/public/dev-site/wp-content/plugins/test/readme.txt
    [2] => /Users/philipp/Sites/public/dev-site/wp-content/plugins/test/license.txt
)
*/

Skip to note 6 content

vee 6 months ago

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Please note that this function seems to list only files but it is not.
Some folder is empty, it’s showing in the list. Some folder is not empty, it’s showing only files.

For example I have folders & files:
wp-content/my/a
wp-content/my/a/a.txt
wp-content/my/b

list_files() showing..
wp-content/my/a/a.txt
wp-content/my/b/

Testing in WordPress 6.9-alpha-60636.

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