How to Force File Downloads in PHP When Hosted on a Separate Server?

Forcing File Downloads in PHP When Hosted on a Separate Server

When providing users with a "Download this file" option, particularly for videos, it's essential to force the download to prevent in-browser playback. Here's how you can achieve this in PHP even if the video files are stored on a different server:

<?php

// Set file details.
$file_name = 'file.avi';
$file_url = 'http://www.myremoteserver.com/' . $file_name;

// Configure download headers.
header('Content-Type: application/octet-stream');
header("Content-Transfer-Encoding: Binary");
header("Content-disposition: attachment; filename=\"\"" . $file_name . "\"\"");

// Initiate download.
readfile($file_url);

// Prevent further script output.
exit;

This PHP script configures the necessary headers to force the browser to download the file instead of playing it in-browser. It also uses the readfile() function to retrieve and output the file from the remote server.

Note: To enable readfile() to read from a remote URL, ensure that fopen_wrappers is enabled.

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