Where is a PHP session file stored?
I have read about files related to $_SESSION, but I would like to find them. Where are they stored?
2 answers
The storage location of the variable $ _SESSION is determined by the configuration session.save_path from PHP. Typically, the path is /tmp on a Linux/Unix system.
Use the function phpinfo() to see your settings if you are not 100% sure of the location. Just create a .php file with this code in your domain's DocumentRoot:
<?php
phpinfo();
?>
Note
As said in the comments, and also very important to point out:
Form simplified, you can use the
session_save_path()that controls that directive.
If you use session_save_path() you can easily find out the location of the storage of session variables:
<?php
echo session_save_path();
?>
We also have an answered question about this in our Big Brother SO.
On the server, of course, it would not make sense to keep this control on the client, this information is necessary precisely for the application to maintain some state between requests.