Spring Boot - File download Example | Spring Boot - File Download

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How to Implement File Downloads in Spring Boot

In many web applications, you need a way for users to download files—whether it's a PDF report, an image, or a text file. Today, we're looking at how Spring Boot makes this process incredibly simple using REST controllers.

The Core Concept

To allow a file download, your application needs to send the file's data back to the browser along with some specific instructions in the HTTP Response Header.

The most important header is Content-Disposition. This tells the browser, "Hey, don't just display this data—download it as a file with this specific name!"

Simple Implementation Steps

To get a file download working, you generally follow these steps in your code:

• Load the file from your system or a database as a Resource.
• Prepare the HttpHeaders to set the file name.
• Return a ResponseEntity containing the file data.

Beginner-Friendly Code Snippet

Here is what the basic structure of your controller method might look like:

@GetMapping("/download")
public ResponseEntity<Resource> downloadFile() {
    // Logic to load file...
    return ResponseEntity.ok()
        .header(HttpHeaders.CONTENT_DISPOSITION, "attachment; filename=\"my-file.txt\"")
        .body(resource);
}

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➜ Mastering Amazon S3 Integration with Spring Boot: Automate Your File Management! ➜ Unlocking JSON in Restful Web Services: Spring Boot, JPA & Jersey Explained! ➜ Exploring HATEOAS in Spring Boot: Adding Links to Endpoints