What is the best practice for checking if an uploaded file exists in PHP?

When uploading files in PHP, it's important to check if the file already exists in the destination directory to avoid overwriting existing files. One way to do this is by using the `file_exists()` function to check if a file with the same name already exists. If the file exists, you can handle the situation accordingly, such as renaming the file or displaying an error message. 

$uploadDir = 'uploads/';
$uploadedFile = $uploadDir . $_FILES['file']['name'];

if (file_exists($uploadedFile)) {
    // File already exists, handle accordingly
    echo "File already exists.";
} else {
    // File doesn't exist, proceed with uploading
    move_uploaded_file($_FILES['file']['tmp_name'], $uploadedFile);
    echo "File uploaded successfully.";
}

Keywords

file_exists is_uploaded_file move_uploaded_file error handling security

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