Chilkat2-Python

Set a Remote File's Creation Time

Demonstrates the Chilkat SFtp.SetCreateTimeStr method, which sets a remote file's creation date and time. The arguments are the remote path (or handle), whether the first argument is a handle, and an RFC 822 formatted date/time string such as Fri, 21 Nov 1997 09:55:06 -0600.

Background: Setting timestamps matters when preserving a file's original chronology — migrating an archive, restoring a backup, or mirroring a directory so the copies look identical to the source. Whether creation time can actually be set depends on the server and filesystem; many do not support a settable creation time even when they can set the modified and accessed times. The RFC 822 format includes a timezone offset, so the moment is unambiguous.

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Chilkat2-Python

import sys
import chilkat2

success = False

# Demonstrates the SFtp.SetCreateTimeStr method, which sets a remote file's creation date and
# time.  The 1st argument is the remote path (or handle), the 2nd (bIsHandle) indicates which,
# and the 3rd is an RFC 822 formatted date/time string.

sftp = chilkat2.SFtp()

# Connect, authenticate, and initialize the SFTP subsystem.
port = 22
success = sftp.Connect("sftp.example.com",port)
if (success == False):
    print(sftp.LastErrorText)
    sys.exit()

# Normally you would not hard-code the password in source.  You should instead obtain it
# from an interactive prompt, environment variable, or a secrets vault.
password = "mySshPassword"

success = sftp.AuthenticatePw("mySshLogin",password)
if (success == False):
    print(sftp.LastErrorText)
    sys.exit()

success = sftp.InitializeSftp()
if (success == False):
    print(sftp.LastErrorText)
    sys.exit()

# The 1st argument is a path, so bIsHandle is False.
bIsHandle = False
dateTimeStr = "Fri, 10 Jul 2026 20:15:30 -0600"
success = sftp.SetCreateTimeStr("subdir/report.pdf",bIsHandle,dateTimeStr)
if (success == False):
    print(sftp.LastErrorText)
    sys.exit()

print("Creation time set.")

sftp.Disconnect()