Files.getAttribute() and readAttributes()

Files.getAttribute() and readAttributes()

The NIO.2 API allows for querying both basic and platform-specific file attributes (metadata) like creation time, last modified time, and file size.

How it Works

Files.readAttributes() returns a BasicFileAttributes object containing common metadata. For platform-specific attributes (like Windows hidden or Linux POSIX), specific view interfaces are used.

Java Example

import java.nio.file.*;
import java.nio.file.attribute.*;
import java.io.IOException;

public class FileAttributesExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
        Path path = Paths.get(".");
        BasicFileAttributes attrs = Files.readAttributes(path, BasicFileAttributes.class);
        System.out.println("Creation Time: " + attrs.creationTime());
        System.out.println("Is Directory: " + attrs.isDirectory());
    }
}

Output

Creation Time: 2026-06-13T...
Is Directory: true

Key Points

• Access rich file metadata
• Supports Basic, Posix, and Dos views
• Query creation and modification times
• Unified API for metadata