POST method uploads

This feature lets people upload both text and binary files. With PHP's authentication and file manipulation functions, you have full control over who is allowed to upload and what is to be done with the file once it has been uploaded.

PHP is capable of receiving file uploads from any RFC-1867 compliant browser.

Note: Related Configurations Note

See also the file_uploads, upload_max_filesize, upload_tmp_dir, post_max_size and max_input_time directives in php.ini

PHP also supports PUT-method file uploads as used by Netscape Composer and W3C's Amaya clients. See the PUT Method Support for more details.

<!-- The data encoding type, enctype, MUST be specified as below -->
<form enctype="multipart/form-data" action="__URL__" method="POST">
    <!-- MAX_FILE_SIZE must precede the file input field -->
    <input type="hidden" name="MAX_FILE_SIZE" value="30000" />
    <!-- Name of input element determines name in $_FILES array -->
    Send this file: <input name="userfile" type="file" />
    <input type="submit" value="Send File" />
</form>

Note:

Be sure your file upload form has attribute enctype="multipart/form-data" otherwise the file upload will not work.

The global $_FILES will contain all the uploaded file information. Its contents from the example form is as follows. Note that this assumes the use of the file upload name userfile, as used in the example script above. This can be any name.

$_FILES['userfile']['name']

The original name of the file on the client machine.

$_FILES['userfile']['type']

The mime type of the file, if the browser provided this information. An example would be "image/gif". This mime type is however not checked on the PHP side and therefore don't take its value for granted.

$_FILES['userfile']['size']

The size, in bytes, of the uploaded file.

$_FILES['userfile']['tmp_name']

The temporary filename of the file in which the uploaded file was stored on the server.

$_FILES['userfile']['error']

The error code associated with this file upload.

$_FILES['userfile']['full_path']

The full path as submitted by the browser. This value does not always contain a real directory structure, and cannot be trusted. Available as of PHP 8.1.0.

Files will, by default be stored in the server's default temporary directory, unless another location has been given with the upload_tmp_dir directive in php.ini. The server's default directory can be changed by setting the environment variable TMPDIR in the environment in which PHP runs. Setting it using putenv() from within a PHP script will not work. This environment variable can also be used to make sure that other operations are working on uploaded files, as well.

The PHP script which receives the uploaded file should implement whatever logic is necessary for determining what should be done with the uploaded file. You can, for example, use the $_FILES['userfile']['size'] variable to throw away any files that are either too small or too big. You could use the $_FILES['userfile']['type'] variable to throw away any files that didn't match a certain type criteria, but use this only as first of a series of checks, because this value is completely under the control of the client and not checked on the PHP side. Also, you could use $_FILES['userfile']['error'] and plan your logic according to the error codes. Whatever the logic, you should either delete the file from the temporary directory or move it elsewhere.

If no file is selected for upload in your form, PHP will return $_FILES['userfile']['size'] as 0, and $_FILES['userfile']['tmp_name'] as none.

The file will be deleted from the temporary directory at the end of the request if it has not been moved away or renamed.

<form action="" method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data">
<p>Pictures:
<input type="file" name="pictures[]" />
<input type="file" name="pictures[]" />
<input type="file" name="pictures[]" />
<input type="submit" value="Send" />
</p>
</form>

File upload progress bar can be implemented using Session Upload Progress.