To better understand this function you should execute this code first :<?php // First of all choose your path , For e.g. C:/session session_save_path('Your Path here !'); session_start(); // Define a Session Variable $_SESSION['Key'] = 'value' ; Var_dump(session_status() == PHP_SESSION_ACTIVE); // Output : bool(True) , it means you have an open session !?>Then you should execute this code :<?php // Choose the path that you used it in first part session_save_path('Your path here'); session_start(); // If you want to close session and keep your original data in your path , you should use session_abort() session_abort(); var_dump(session_status()== PHP_SESSION_ACTIVE); // Output : bool(False) , it means your session closed .?>So if you have an open session , session_abort() will simply close it without effecting the external session data , so you can reload your data again from your path that you chose .