---
name: "archive_entry_atime"
section: "3"
platform: "freebsd"
package: "base"
version: "16.0-CURRENT-20261027-61c70dc16a79"
release: "FreeBSD 16.0-CURRENT (2026-10-27)"
platforms: ["freebsd"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/archive_entry_atime"
---

# archive\_entry\_atime(3)

functions for manipulating times in archive entry descriptions

## NAME

**archive\_entry\_atime**, **archive\_entry\_atime\_nsec**, **archive\_entry\_atime\_is\_set**, **archive\_entry\_set\_atime**, **archive\_entry\_unset\_atime**, **archive\_entry\_birthtime**, **archive\_entry\_birthtime\_nsec**, **archive\_entry\_birthtime\_is\_set**, **archive\_entry\_set\_birthtime**, **archive\_entry\_unset\_birthtime**, **archive\_entry\_ctime**, **archive\_entry\_ctime\_nsec**, **archive\_entry\_ctime\_is\_set**, **archive\_entry\_set\_ctime**, **archive\_entry\_unset\_ctime**, **archive\_entry\_mtime**, **archive\_entry\_mtime\_nsec**, **archive\_entry\_mtime\_is\_set**, **archive\_entry\_set\_mtime**, **archive\_entry\_unset\_mtime** – functions for manipulating times in archive entry descriptions

## LIBRARY

Streaming Archive Library (libarchive, -larchive)

## SYNOPSIS

**#include \<archive\_entry.h\>**

*time\_t*\

**archive\_entry\_atime**(*struct archive\_entry \*a*);

*long*\

**archive\_entry\_atime\_nsec**(*struct archive\_entry \*a*);

*int*\

**archive\_entry\_atime\_is\_set**(*struct archive\_entry \*a*);

*void*\

**archive\_entry\_set\_atime**(*struct archive\_entry \*a*, *time\_t sec*, *long nanosec*);

*void*\

**archive\_entry\_unset\_atime**(*struct archive\_entry \*a*);

*time\_t*\

**archive\_entry\_birthtime**(*struct archive\_entry \*a*);

*long*\

**archive\_entry\_birthtime\_nsec**(*struct archive\_entry \*a*);

*int*\

**archive\_entry\_birthtime\_is\_set**(*struct archive\_entry \*a*);

*void*\

**archive\_entry\_set\_birthtime**(*struct archive\_entry \*a*, *time\_t sec*, *long nanosec*);

*void*\

**archive\_entry\_unset\_birthtime**(*struct archive\_entry \*a*);

*time\_t*\

**archive\_entry\_ctime**(*struct archive\_entry \*a*);

*long*\

**archive\_entry\_ctime\_nsec**(*struct archive\_entry \*a*);

*int*\

**archive\_entry\_ctime\_is\_set**(*struct archive\_entry \*a*);

*void*\

**archive\_entry\_set\_ctime**(*struct archive\_entry \*a*, *time\_t sec*, *long nanosec*);

*void*\

**archive\_entry\_unset\_ctime**(*struct archive\_entry \*a*);

*time\_t*\

**archive\_entry\_mtime**(*struct archive\_entry \*a*);

*long*\

**archive\_entry\_mtime\_nsec**(*struct archive\_entry \*a*);

*int*\

**archive\_entry\_mtime\_is\_set**(*struct archive\_entry \*a*);

*void*\

**archive\_entry\_set\_mtime**(*struct archive\_entry \*a*, *time\_t sec*, *long nanosec*);

*void*\

**archive\_entry\_unset\_mtime**(*struct archive\_entry \*a*);

## DESCRIPTION

These functions create and manipulate the time fields in an *archive\_entry*. Supported time fields are atime (access time), birthtime (creation time), ctime (last time an inode property was changed) and mtime (modification time).

[libarchive(3)](/libarchive/3.md) provides a high-resolution interface. The timestamps are truncated automatically depending on the archive format (for archiving) or the filesystem capabilities (for restoring).

All timestamp fields are optional. The **XXX\_unset**() functions can be used to mark the corresponding field as missing. The current state can be queried using **XXX\_is\_set**(). Unset time fields have a second and nanosecond field of 0.

## SEE ALSO

[archive\_entry(3)](/archive_entry/3.md), [libarchive(3)](/libarchive/3.md)

## HISTORY

The **libarchive** library first appeared in FreeBSD 5.3.

## AUTHORS

The **libarchive** library was written by Tim Kientzle ⟨kientzle@acm.org⟩.