Laravel Livewire File Download: Best Practices and Examples

Laravel Livewire has emerged as a powerful tool for building interactive and dynamic web applications. While Livewire simplifies many aspects of web development. It’s no surprise that it’s gaining widespread popularity among developers. One common task in web development is handling file downloads. Handling file downloads can sometimes be a challenge. In this article, we’ll explore the best practices for implementing Laravel Livewire file download. The file downloads in Laravel Livewire will be very smooth and easy. So, I will implement this in Laravel and provide practical examples to help you get started. In our previous post on Livewire, I implemented multiple file uploads in Livewire. I recommend you check out that post as well so that you will have a better understanding of Livewire file handling.

Why File Download in Laravel Livewire?

File downloads are a common requirement in web applications. Whether you need to provide users with downloadable PDFs, images, or any other type of file. This offers a seamless download experience and it is even essential. Laravel Livewire, with its real-time features, can make file downloads more interactive and user-friendly.

Best Practices for Laravel Livewire File Download

Before we dive into the examples, let’s establish some best practices for implementing file download in Laravel Livewire:

• Use Response Objects: In Laravel, you can return file downloads as response objects. This approach ensures proper headers are set for the file. Also, it allows for smooth downloads. For example, use response()->file($pathToFile).
• Protect Files: If your files should only be accessible to authorized users, consider storing them in a protected directory (e.g., outside the web root) and using a route to serve them. Also, ensure that users have the necessary permissions as well.
• Sanitize File Names: Before serving a file, sanitize the file name to prevent directory traversal attacks. You can use Laravel’s basename function for this.
• Provide Feedback: Give users feedback during the download process. Such as a loading spinner or success message. This will make more interaction with the application. Livewire makes it easy to show real-time updates to the user.
• Handle Errors Gracefully: Consider different scenarios, such as the file not existing or an unauthorized download request. Implement error handling to provide a good user experience.

Before implementing the functionality, let’s take a recap of the result that we are going to achieve in this post.

So, very first, we’ll have a list of files in which we will have a View and Download option.

By clicking the download option, the file will be downloaded with the actual readable name instead of hash encrypted name.

The view action is opening the file simply in a new tab.

That’s the result. So, let’s move to the prerequisites that you need to follow to achieve this result.

Recommended: Handling Multiple File Uploads in Laravel with Livewire

Prerequisites

Before moving to the example, you will have to follow the below prerequisites.

1. A Laravel development environment set up.
2. Basic knowledge of Laravel and Livewire.

Once, you are ready with these, let’s move to the Laravel installation.

Step 1 – Setting Up the Laravel Project

I am assuming you are ready with the Laravel environment setup. Therefore, I am going to create a Laravel application.

composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel file-download

Also, you will have to configure the database after having the Laravel application. Hence, create a database and configure it with the Laravel application.

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE={{ YOUR_DATABASE_NAME }}
DB_USERNAME={{ YOUR_DB_USER_NAME }}
DB_PASSWORD={{ YOUR_DB_PASSWORD }}

After that, you will be required to install the Livewire package in Laravel.

composer require livewire/livewire

This is all about project setup.

Now, let’s move the Laravel livewire file download functionality implementation.

Recommended: Livewire File Upload with Preview: Tips and Best Practices

Step 2 – Laravel Livewire File Download Functionality

In the previous posts, we implemented the file upload functionality in Livewire. So, currently, we will fetch those files from the database and will implement the download for the same.

However, if you don’t have an uploaded file then you can implement this functionality with a static file path.

In order to fetch the uploaded file path from the database, you will require a controller. So, I have already created the controller, and model along with migration.

But, you will require a Livewire component for Livewire file download. Hence, let’s create a Livewire component.

Step 3 – Create a Livewire Component For File Download

For creating a Livewire component, you can use the below artisan command.

php artisan make:livewire FileDownload

This will create a Livewire component having a class and a view file.

So, after having the component, let’s move out to the functionality part.

Recommended: Livewire Pagination in Laravel: Making Your App Dynamic and Responsive

Step 4 – Implement Livewire File Download Functionality in Laravel

To implement the file download functionality in Livewire, you need to navigate to the component class file. Therefore, let’s add the below snippet inside it.

<?php

namespace App\Http\Livewire;

use Livewire\Component;
use App\Models\File;

class FileDownload extends Component
{
    public function render()
    {
        $files = File::all();
        return view('livewire.file-download', compact('files'));
    }

    public function downloadFile($fileName, $fileNameOriginal)
    {
        $file = public_path('documents/'.$fileName);
        
        // Download with original name
        return response()->download($file, $fileNameOriginal);
    }
}

So, in the above component, I have fetched a list of uploaded files from the database. I already covered the File upload in Livewire in the previous post.

• In the render function, I have passed files to the component view. That we will capture and display in the tabular list.
• Then the next function contains the file download functionality. This function takes two parameters. One is for the hash file that is stored in the database and the second one is the actual file for the display purpose.

Now, let’s move to the component view file and we will design the user interface.

Step 5 – Component Design For File Laravel Livewire File Download

Here, we will have to design the user interface just for listing the files that are coming from the component class. Therefore, we will display those files and then we will have a download option.

<div class="container py-5">
    <h3 class="text-center fw-bold border-bottom pb-2"> Livewire File Download in Laravel 10 </h1>
    <div class="table-responsive mt-4">
        <table class="table table-striped">
            <thead>
                <tr>
                    <th>Sl</th>
                    <th>File</th>
                    <th>File name</th>
                    <th>Action</th>
                </tr>
            </thead>
            <tbody>
                @foreach ($files as $file)
                <tr>
                    <td>{{ $file->id }}</td>
                    <td>{{ $file->file_name_original }}</td>
                    <td>{{ $file->file_name }}</td>
                    <td>
                        {{-- View --}}
                        <a href="{{ asset('documents/'.$file->file_name) }}" target="_blank" class="btn btn-sm btn-info">View </a>

                        {{-- Download Button --}}
                        <button type="button" class="btn btn-sm btn-danger mx-2" wire:click="downloadFile('{{ $file->file_name }}', '{{ $file->file_name_original }}')">Download </button>
                    </td>
                </tr>
                @endforeach
            </tbody>
        </table>
    </div>
</div>

In the above snippet, I have iterated the list of files and against every file, there is a view and download button. So, in the download button, I have added the click function that is already defined in the class file.

Now, next, you will have to render this component in a view or route itself.

However, I am going to create a view and inside that view, I will render this Livewire component. We will use the Bootstrap CSS for a basic style.

Recommended: Building a Dynamic Livewire CRUD Application in Laravel 10

Step 6 – Render Livewire Component in Laravel

So, I will create a view with the name master.blade.php as of now. This file will contain a basic structure with Bootstrap CSS along with livewire styles and scripts.

Here, is how it will look after adding the Bootstrap.

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
  <title>Files Downloads Using Livewire in Laravel 10</title>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, shrink-to-fit=no">

  <!-- Bootstrap CSS v5.2.1 -->
  <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.2.1/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet" />

    @livewireStyles
</head>

<body>
  <main>
    @livewire('file-download')
  </main>

  <!-- JQuery CDN -->
  <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.7.1.min.js"></script>
  <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.0.2/dist/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js"></script>
  @livewireScripts
</body>

</html>

At last, you will require a route or controller in order to render this Laravel view. So, I am going with the route directly because we have to render only one view.

Step 7 – Create Route in Laravel

To create a web route, you will have to navigate to the web.php file. Inside that, you will need to add the below route.

<?php

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;

Route::get('/files', function() {
    return view('master');
});

After adding the route, you can run the application using the artisan command.

php artisan serve

Conclusion

In this step-by-step guide, we’ve walked through the process of creating a Livewire component for file Laravel Livewire file download. Livewire makes it easy to build real-time, interactive features, and you can extend its capabilities to include various functionality, including file downloads. By following these steps, you can empower your users to download files with ease, enhancing their experience on your Laravel-powered website. Happy coding!