send zip file to browser / force direct download

Question

i created with php zip ( http://php.net/manual/de/book.zip.php ) a zip file

now i have to send it to the browser / force a download for it.

possible duplicate of [Any way to force download a remote file?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/531292/any-way-to-force-download-a-remote-file) — cweiske, Sep 19 '11 at 12:33

score 47 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 19 '11 at 12:30

47

<?php
    // or however you get the path
    $yourfile = "/path/to/some_file.zip";

    $file_name = basename($yourfile);

    header("Content-Type: application/zip");
    header("Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=$file_name");
    header("Content-Length: " . filesize($yourfile));

    readfile($yourfile);
    exit;
?>

answered Sep 19 '11 at 12:30

Amber

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Why do I see it as inline content and I am not prompted to download it instead? – Redoman Jul 07 '14 at 19:43
@jj I was not using the code at the start of the document! – Redoman Jul 07 '14 at 20:08
Is it tested in all os(specially windows) and browsers? – RN Kushwaha Feb 25 '15 at 05:58
exit is bad practice for testing purposes. make sure, that your script finish, but do not use exit. it will also end any phpunit test and there is no way of recovery... – Benjamin Eckstein Jun 24 '15 at 08:43

XDjuj · Answer 2 · 2017-03-14T23:05:51.440

6

If you already have your ZIP on the server, and if this ZIP is reachable by Apache in HTTP or HTTPS, then, you should redirect to this file instead of "reading it" with PHP.

It's much more efficient as you don't use PHP, so no CPU or RAM are needed, and it will be faster to download, as no reading/writing by PHP needed too, only direct download. Let's Apache do the job!

So a nice function could be:

if($is_reachable){
    $file = $relative_path . $filename; // Or $full_http_link
    header('Location: '.$file, true, 302);
}
if(!$is_reachable){
    $file = $relative_path . $filename; // Or $absolute_path.$filename
    $size = filesize($filename); // The way to avoid corrupted ZIP
    header('Content-Type: application/zip');
    header('Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=' . $filename);
    header('Content-Length: ' . $size);
    // Clean before! In order to avoid 500 error
    ob_end_clean();
    flush();
    readfile($file);
}
exit(); // Or not, depending on what you need

I hope that it will help.

edited Mar 14 '17 at 23:05

answered Mar 14 '17 at 22:27

XDjuj

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ob_end_clean(); – zod Jul 26 '17 at 23:01
Where `$is_reachable` comes from...? – Andrei Surdu Jan 05 '18 at 13:41
1

Hi Andrei. From where you want! It can be a test from your own, depending on how is written your code. For example, if you now that the ZIP already exists (because you don't have to generate it for example) AND is accessible with a direct link (no authorization required). To resume: if you can download with a direct link the ZIP is reachable, if not (authentication, stranges links or whatever), you need to "force" the download with PHP. – XDjuj Jan 08 '18 at 13:52

score 6 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 19 '11 at 12:29

6

Set the content-type, content-length and content-disposition headers, then output the file.

header('Content-Type: application/zip');
header('Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="'.$filename.'"');
header('Content-Length: '.filesize($filepath) );
readfile($filepath);

Setting Content-Disposition: attachment will suggest the browser to download the file instead of displaying it directly.

answered Sep 19 '11 at 12:29

Kaivosukeltaja

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Does this mean for a large download the file travels via the php server? – Ben Apr 07 '14 at 14:32

score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Feb 04 '13 at 15:47

2

You need to do it this way, otherwise your zip will be corrupted:

$size = filesize($yourfile);
header("Content-Length: \".$size.\"");

So content-length header needs a real string, and filesize returns and integer.

answered Feb 04 '13 at 15:47

Roger

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thank you for this comment, I waisted hours on corrupt zip file because I was using header('Content-Length: '.filesize($filepath) ); Your solution works better. – niko craft Oct 20 '16 at 15:48

send zip file to browser / force direct download

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