---
title: "path_filestat_get()"
description: "Access metadata about a file or directory."
url: "https://wasix.org/docs/api-reference/wasi/path_filestat_get/"
markdown: "https://wasix.org/docs/api-reference/wasi/path_filestat_get.md"
---

# `path_filestat_get()`

Access metadata about a file or directory.

## Description

The `path_filestat_get()` function allows accessing metadata (file statistics) for a file or directory specified by a path relative to the given directory. It retrieves information such as the size, timestamps, and file type.

On POSIX systems, a similar functionality is provided by the `stat()` or `lstat()` functions, depending on whether symbolic links should be followed or not. These functions retrieve information about a file or symbolic link and store it in a `struct stat` object.

## Syntax

```ebnf
  ;;; Note: This is similar to `stat` in POSIX.
  ;;; Return the attributes of a file or directory.
  (@interface func (export "path_filestat_get")
    (param $fd $fd)
    ;;; Flags determining the method of how the path is resolved.
    (param $flags $lookupflags)
    ;;; The path of the file or directory to inspect.
    (param $path string)
    ;;; The buffer where the file's attributes are stored.
    (result $error (expected $filestat (error $errno)))
  )
```

## Parameters

- `ctx`: A mutable reference to the function environment.
- `fd`: The file descriptor representing the directory that the `path` is relative to.
- `flags`: Flags to control how the `path` is understood.
- `path`: A wasm pointer to a null-terminated string containing the file path.
- `path_len`: The length of the `path` string.
- `buf`: A wasm pointer to a `Filestat` object where the metadata will be stored.

## Return Value

The function returns an `Errno` value indicating the success or failure of the operation. If the operation is successful, it returns `Errno::Success`. Otherwise, it returns an appropriate `Errno` value.

## Logging

This function has been instrumented with trace-level logging. It will log the following information:

- `%fd`: The file descriptor representing the directory.
- `path`: The path string.

## Note

The `path_filestat_get()` function allows accessing metadata (file statistics) for a file or directory specified by a path relative to the given directory. It checks if the specified directory has the necessary rights and retrieves the file statistics accordingly. On POSIX systems, a similar functionality is provided by the `stat()` or `lstat()` functions.

---

[Documentation index](https://wasix.org/llms.txt) · [HTML version](https://wasix.org/docs/api-reference/wasi/path_filestat_get/)