PHP | fseek( ) Function

Last Updated : 11 Jul, 2025
The fseek() function in PHP is an inbuilt function which is used to seek in an open file. It moves the file pointer from its current position to a new position, forward or backward specified by the number of bytes. The file and the offset are sent as parameters to the fseek() function and it returns 0 on success, or -1 on failure. Syntax: 
int fseek ( $file, $offset, $whence)
Parameters: The fseek() function in PHP accepts three parameters as described below.
  • $file: It is a mandatory parameter which specifies the file.
  • $offset: It is a mandatory parameter which specifies the new position of the pointer. It is measured in bytes from the beginning of the file.
  • $whence: It is an optional parameter which can have the following possible values-
    • SEEK_SET: It sets position equal to offset.
    • SEEK_CUR: It sets position to current location plus offset.
    • SEEK_END: It sets position to EOF plus offset. To move to a position before EOF, the offset must be a negative value.
Return Value: It returns 0 on success, or -1 on failure. Exceptions:
  • Seeking past EOF(end of file) generates an error.
  • If a file is open in append (a or a+) mode, then any data written to the file will always be appended, regardless of the file position, and the result of calling fseek() will be undefined.
  • Not all streams support seeking. For those that do not support seeking, forward seeking from the current position is accomplished by reading and discarding data; other forms of seeking will fail.
Below programs illustrate the fseek() function in PHP: Program 1: In the below program the file named gfg.txt contains the following content:
Geeksforgeeks is a portal for geeks!
php 
<?php
// Opening a file
$myfile = fopen("gfg.txt", "w");

// reading first line
fgets($myfile);

// moving back to the beginning of the file
echo fseek($myfile, 0);

// closing the file
fclose($myfile);
?>
Output: 
0
Program 2: In the below program the file named gfg.txt contains the following content:
Geeksforgeeks is a portal for geeks!
php 
<?php
// Opening a file
$myfile = fopen("gfg.txt", "w");

// reading first line
fgets($myfile);

// fseek() pointing to the end of the file
fseek(fp, 0, SEEK_END);

// closing the file
fclose($myfile);
?>
Output: 
36
Reference: https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.fseek.php
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