Java - get the newest file in a directory?

Question

Does anybody have a snippet of Java that can return the newest file in a directory (or knowledge of a library that simplifies this sort of thing)?

Answer 1

In Java 8:

Path dir = Paths.get("./path/somewhere");  // specify your directory

Optional lastFilePath = Files.list(dir)    // here we get the stream with full directory listing
    .filter(f -> !Files.isDirectory(f))  // exclude subdirectories from listing
    .max(Comparator.comparingLong(f -> f.toFile().lastModified()));  // finally get the last file using simple comparator by lastModified field

if ( lastFilePath.isPresent() ) // your folder may be empty
{
    // do your code here, lastFilePath contains all you need
}