How can I download a file that is in my server to my machine accessing a page in a nodeJS server?
I'm using the ExpressJS and I've been trying this:
app.get('/download', function(req, res){ var file = fs.readFileSync(__dirname + '/upload-folder/dramaticpenguin.MOV', 'binary'); res.setHeader('Content-Length', file.length); res.write(file, 'binary'); res.end(); }); But I can't get the file name and the file type ( or extension ). Can anyone help me with that?
Express has a helper for this to make life easier.
app.get('/download', function(req, res){ const file = `${__dirname}/upload-folder/dramaticpenguin.MOV`; res.download(file); // Set disposition and send it. }); As far as your browser is concerned, the file's name is just 'download', so you need to give it more info by using another HTTP header.
res.setHeader('Content-disposition', 'attachment; filename=dramaticpenguin.MOV'); You may also want to send a mime-type such as this:
res.setHeader('Content-type', 'video/quicktime'); If you want something more in-depth, here ya go.
var path = require('path'); var mime = require('mime'); var fs = require('fs'); app.get('/download', function(req, res){ var file = __dirname + '/upload-folder/dramaticpenguin.MOV'; var filename = path.basename(file); var mimetype = mime.getType(file); res.setHeader('Content-disposition', 'attachment; filename=' + filename); res.setHeader('Content-type', mimetype); var filestream = fs.createReadStream(file); filestream.pipe(res); }); You can set the header value to whatever you like. In this case, I am using a mime-type library - node-mime, to check what the mime-type of the file is.
Another important thing to note here is that I have changed your code to use a readStream. This is a much better way to do things because using any method with 'Sync' in the name is frowned upon because node is meant to be asynchronous.
res.setHeader('Content-disposition', 'attachment; filename=' + filename); tnx!
.set() instead of .setHeader() btw
res.download()It transfers the file at path as an “attachment”. For instance:
var express = require('express'); var router = express.Router(); // ... router.get('/:id/download', function (req, res, next) { var filePath = "/my/file/path/..."; // Or format the path using the `id` rest param var fileName = "report.pdf"; // The default name the browser will use res.download(filePath, fileName); }); res.download()
nodejs proxy file download response for best practicerouter.get(API_PREFIX + '/file-download', function (req, res, next) { var file = process.env.FILE_DOWNLOAD_LOCATION + '/' + req.query.filename res.download(file); });https://.../api?filename=../../../keys/my-secret-ssl-key.pem. to avoid that, you need to validate the query paramFor static files like pdfs, Word docs, etc. just use Express's static function in your config:
// Express config var app = express().configure(function () { this.use('/public', express.static('public')); // <-- This right here }); And then just put all your files inside that 'public' folder, for example:
/public/docs/my_word_doc.docx And then a regular old link will allow the user to download it:
<a href="public/docs/my_word_doc.docx">My Word Doc</a> 
this.use('/topsecret', mGetLoggedInUser, mEnsureAccess, express.static('topsecret')) ...and then each request goes through mEnsureAccess. Of course, that means you'll need to be able to figure out a user's access level just based on the url of the secure document, or whatever.Here's how I do it:
Code:
let fs = require('fs'); let path = require('path'); let myController = (req, res) => { let filename = 'myFile.ext'; let absPath = path.join(__dirname, '/my_files/', filename); let relPath = path.join('./my_files', filename); // path relative to server root fs.writeFile(relPath, 'File content', (err) => { if (err) { console.log(err); } res.download(absPath, (err) => { if (err) { console.log(err); } fs.unlink(relPath, (err) => { if (err) { console.log(err); } console.log('FILE [' + filename + '] REMOVED!'); }); }); }); }; 
window.open("/api/get_audio_file");, see: stackoverflow.com/a/20177012In Express 4.x, there is an attachment() method to Response:
res.attachment(); // Content-Disposition: attachment res.attachment('path/to/logo.png'); // Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="logo.png" // Content-Type: image/png 
'use strict'; var express = require('express'); var fs = require('fs'); var compress = require('compression'); var bodyParser = require('body-parser'); var app = express(); app.set('port', 9999); app.use(bodyParser.json({ limit: '1mb' })); app.use(compress()); app.use(function (req, res, next) { req.setTimeout(3600000) res.header('Access-Control-Allow-Origin', '*'); res.header('Access-Control-Allow-Headers', 'Origin, X-Requested-With, Content-Type, Accept,' + Object.keys(req.headers).join()); if (req.method === 'OPTIONS') { res.write(':)'); res.end(); } else next(); }); function readApp(req,res) { var file = req.originalUrl == "/read-android" ? "Android.apk" : "Ios.ipa", filePath = "/home/sony/Documents/docs/"; fs.exists(filePath, function(exists){ if (exists) { res.writeHead(200, { "Content-Type": "application/octet-stream", "Content-Disposition" : "attachment; filename=" + file}); fs.createReadStream(filePath + file).pipe(res); } else { res.writeHead(400, {"Content-Type": "text/plain"}); res.end("ERROR File does NOT Exists.ipa"); } }); } app.get('/read-android', function(req, res) { var u = {"originalUrl":req.originalUrl}; readApp(u,res) }); app.get('/read-ios', function(req, res) { var u = {"originalUrl":req.originalUrl}; readApp(u,res) }); var server = app.listen(app.get('port'), function() { console.log('Express server listening on port ' + server.address().port); }); you can use res.sendFile()... the Sample-download.xlsx should be in the same directory as this function.
const downloadFile = (req,res) => { var options = { root: path.join(__dirname), }; let fileName = "Sample-download.xlsx"; res.sendFile(fileName, options, function (err) { if (err) { console.log(err); return res.status(500).json({ success: false, message: "internal server error. please try again later" }); } else { console.log("Sent:", fileName, "at", new Date().toString()); } }); } 