PHP create random tmp file and get its full path

$path = tempnam(sys_get_temp_dir(), 'prefix');

See this example.

tmpfile returns a stream-able file pointer.

To get the corresponding path, ask the stream for its meta data:

$file = tmpfile();
$path = stream_get_meta_data($file)['uri']; // eg: /tmp/phpFx0513a

The benefit of the tmpfile approach? PHP automatically removes the $path when $file goes out of scope. With tempnam, you must manually remove the created file.