In the web application, generally, the file is downloaded from the same server. But sometimes the file needs to be downloaded from the remote server. To download file with PHP, you need to force the browser to download the file.&nbsp;<a href="/how-to-force-download-file-in-php/">Force download in PHP</a>&nbsp;helps to download file from the server and save to the local drive.

In the example code snippet, we will show you how to force download file from URL in PHP. You can download any types of file (image, ZIP, video, audio, etc) from the remote server using PHP.

Use the&nbsp;<b>readfile()</b>&nbsp;function with&nbsp;<code>application/x-file-to-save</code>&nbsp;<b>Content-type</b>&nbsp;header, to download a ZIP file from remote URL using PHP.
<pre>//&nbsp;Remote&nbsp;download&nbsp;URL
$remoteURL&nbsp;=&nbsp;'https://www.example.com/files/project.zip';

//&nbsp;Force&nbsp;download
header("Content-type:&nbsp;application/x-file-to-save");&nbsp;
header("Content-Disposition:&nbsp;attachment;&nbsp;filename=".basename($remoteURL));
ob_end_clean();
readfile($remoteURL);
exit;</pre>
Note that: The&nbsp;<b>ob_end_clean()</b>&nbsp;function will help to download a large file from the remote server in PHP.

In the web application, generally, the file is downloaded from the same server. But sometimes the file needs to be downloaded from the remote ser...

How to Force Download File from Remote Server in PHP - TCMHACK

How to Force Download File from Remote Server in PHP

<p>To download a file in PHP, you need to force the browser to download file except display. In this article, we are going to show how to download a file from directory or server in PHP. Using&nbsp;<code>header()</code>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<code>readfile()</code>&nbsp;function, you can easily download a file in PHP. Here we&rsquo;ll provide the example PHP code to force download file in PHP. Also, this simple PHP script helps to implement a download link which downloads a file from the directory. The following example script can be used for download any types of file like text, image, document, pdf, zip, etc.</p>
<h2>Download a File in PHP</h2>
<pre>$fileName = basename('tcmhack.txt');
$filePath&nbsp;=&nbsp;'files/'.$fileName;
if(!empty($fileName)&nbsp;&amp;&amp;&nbsp;file_exists($filePath)){
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;//&nbsp;Define&nbsp;headers
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;header("Cache-Control:&nbsp;public");
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;header("Content-Description:&nbsp;File&nbsp;Transfer");
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;header("Content-Disposition:&nbsp;attachment;&nbsp;filename=$fileName");
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;header("Content-Type:&nbsp;application/zip");
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;header("Content-Transfer-Encoding:&nbsp;binary");
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;//&nbsp;Read&nbsp;the&nbsp;file
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;readfile($filePath);
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;exit;
}else{
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;echo&nbsp;'The&nbsp;file&nbsp;does&nbsp;not&nbsp;exist.';
}</pre>
<h2>Download a File Through Anchor Link</h2>
<p>Sometimes you need to provide a link to the user for download file from the server. Use the below sample code to display an HTML link to download a file from the directory using PHP. <strong>HTML Code:</strong></p>
<pre>&lt;a href="download.php?file=tcmhack.png"&gt;Dowload File&lt;/a&gt;
</pre>
<p><strong>PHP Code (download.php):</strong></p>
<pre>&lt;?php
if(!empty($_GET['file'])){
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;$fileName&nbsp;=&nbsp;basename($_GET['file']);
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;$filePath&nbsp;=&nbsp;'files/'.$fileName;
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;if(!empty($fileName)&nbsp;&amp;&amp;&nbsp;file_exists($filePath)){
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;//&nbsp;Define&nbsp;headers
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;header("Cache-Control:&nbsp;public");
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;header("Content-Description:&nbsp;File&nbsp;Transfer");
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;header("Content-Disposition:&nbsp;attachment;&nbsp;filename=$fileName");
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;header("Content-Type:&nbsp;application/zip");
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;header("Content-Transfer-Encoding:&nbsp;binary");
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;//&nbsp;Read&nbsp;the&nbsp;file
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;readfile($filePath);
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;exit;
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;}else{
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;echo&nbsp;'The&nbsp;file&nbsp;does&nbsp;not&nbsp;exist.';
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;}
}</pre>

To download a file in PHP, you need to force the browser to download file except display. In this article, we are going to show how to download a...

How to Force Download File from Remote Server in PHP

How to Force Download File in PHP