- 1 year ago
How to get file created data using Unix FTP?
When using Unix FTP (File Transfer Protocol) to transfer files, you can retrieve the file creation date (also known as the file birth time) of a remote file by using the MDTM
(Modification Time) command. The MDTM
command is used to retrieve the last modification time of a file on the remote server.
Unfortunately, FTP servers do not universally support a standard command to retrieve the file creation date directly. The MDTM
command is used to get the modification time, which may be the closest available timestamp on many FTP servers.
Here's how you can use the MDTM
command in Unix FTP to retrieve the last modification time of a remote file:
- Open a terminal or command prompt.
- Enter
ftp
followed by the address of the FTP server you want to connect to. For example:ftp example.com
- Enter your FTP username and password when prompted.
- Use the
cd
command to navigate to the directory where the file is located. For example:bashcd /path/to/directory
- Use the
MDTM
command followed by the filename to retrieve the modification time. For example:
ReplaceMDTM example_file.txt
example_file.txt
with the name of the file you want to check.
Keep in mind that the availability of the MDTM
command and its accuracy depend on the FTP server configuration. Some FTP servers may not support this command or may provide inaccurate timestamps.
If you need to access more detailed file attributes, including the creation time, you may need to consider using a different protocol, such as SSH (SFTP) or HTTP, which can provide richer file metadata.