Sample code for 30+ languages & platforms
Delphi DLL

Get a Remote File's Last-Access Time

See more SFTP Examples

Demonstrates the Chilkat SFtp.GetFileLastAccessStr method, which returns a remote file's last-access date and time. The arguments are the remote path (or handle), whether symbolic links are followed, and whether the first argument is a handle.

Background: The access time is meant to update whenever a file is read, but in practice it is often unreliable: many systems mount filesystems with options like noatime to avoid a disk write on every read, so the value may not reflect recent reads. Treat it as a hint rather than an authoritative record of when a file was last opened.

Chilkat Delphi DLL Downloads

Delphi DLL
var
success: Boolean;
sftp: HCkSFtp;
port: Integer;
password: PWideChar;
bFollowLinks: Boolean;
bIsHandle: Boolean;
lastAccess: PWideChar;

begin
success := False;

//  Demonstrates the SFtp.GetFileLastAccessStr method, which returns a remote file's last-access
//  date and time.  The 1st argument is the remote path (or handle), the 2nd selects whether
//  symbolic links are followed, and the 3rd indicates whether the 1st argument is a handle.

sftp := CkSFtp_Create();

//  Connect, authenticate, and initialize the SFTP subsystem.
port := 22;
success := CkSFtp_Connect(sftp,'sftp.example.com',port);
if (success = False) then
  begin
    Memo1.Lines.Add(CkSFtp__lastErrorText(sftp));
    Exit;
  end;

//  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 := CkSFtp_AuthenticatePw(sftp,'mySshLogin',password);
if (success = False) then
  begin
    Memo1.Lines.Add(CkSFtp__lastErrorText(sftp));
    Exit;
  end;

success := CkSFtp_InitializeSftp(sftp);
if (success = False) then
  begin
    Memo1.Lines.Add(CkSFtp__lastErrorText(sftp));
    Exit;
  end;

//  The 2nd argument (bFollowLinks) selects whether a symbolic link is followed to its target.
//  The 3rd argument (bIsHandle) is 0 here because the 1st argument is a path, not an
//  open handle.
bFollowLinks := True;
bIsHandle := False;

lastAccess := CkSFtp__getFileLastAccessStr(sftp,'subdir/report.pdf',bFollowLinks,bIsHandle);
if (CkSFtp_getLastMethodSuccess(sftp) = False) then
  begin
    Memo1.Lines.Add(CkSFtp__lastErrorText(sftp));
    Exit;
  end;
Memo1.Lines.Add('Last accessed: ' + lastAccess);

CkSFtp_Disconnect(sftp);

CkSFtp_Dispose(sftp);