Deleting a File from Storage after Download in Laravel

Deleting a File from Storage after Download in Laravel

Let's assume you have a file in storage/app/download.zip:

Because Laravel uses Symfony's HttpFoundation internally, you can use the deleteFileAfterSend method:

public function download()
{
    return response()
        ->download(storage_path('app/download.zip'))
        ->deleteFileAfterSend(true);
}

or you can  create a Terminable Middleware that deletes the file after the download response was prepared.

class StorageDownload
{
    /**
     * Handle an incoming request.
     *
     * @param  \Illuminate\Http\Request  $request
     * @param  \Closure  $next
     * @return mixed
     */
    public function handle($request, Closure $next)
    {
        return $next($request);
    }

    public function terminate($request, $response)
    {
        \Storage::delete('download.zip');
    }
}

As for triggering the download using JavaScript, something as trivial as setting the window location will work:

axios.post('files/export/' + file.id, formData)
    .then(function() {
        window.location = 'files/download/' + file.id
    });

Don't worry, this will not navigate away from your current page, it will just trigger the download.