How to upload a file in Laravel 8

With file upload, a user can import file data to the database, upload media files, etc.

In this tutorial, I show how you can upload a file and add validation in the Laravel 8 project.

Controller
Route
View
Output
Conclusion

1. Controller

Create a PageController controller.

php artisan make:controller PageController

Create 2 methods –

index() – Load index view.
uploadFile() – This method is used to upload the file.

Define file validation. I set the max upload file size to 2 MB (2048 KB).

If successfully validated then assign the file name to $filename and upload location "files" to the $location variable.

Execute $file->move($location,$filename); to store the file.

Use SESSION flash to store upload status and class name.

Redirect to "/".

Completed Code

<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Session;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class PageController extends Controller {
   
   public function index(){
      return view('index');
   }

   public function uploadFile(Request $request){

      // Validation
      $request->validate([
        'file' => 'required|mimes:png,jpg,jpeg,csv,txt,pdf|max:2048'
      ]); 

      if($request->file('file')) {
         $file = $request->file('file');
         $filename = time().'_'.$file->getClientOriginalName();

         // File upload location
         $location = 'files';

         // Upload file
         $file->move($location,$filename);

         Session::flash('message','Upload Successfully.');
         Session::flash('alert-class', 'alert-success');
      }else{
         Session::flash('message','File not uploaded.');
         Session::flash('alert-class', 'alert-danger');
      }

      return redirect('/');
   }

}

2. Route

Open routes/web.php file.
Define 2 routes –
- / – Load index view.
- /uploadFile – This use to upload a file.

Completed Code

<?php

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;
use App\Http\Controllers\PageController;

Route::get('/', [PageController::class, 'index']);
Route::post('/uploadFile', [PageController::class, 'uploadFile'])->name('uploadFile');

3. View

Create index.blade.php file in resources/views/.

Display bootstrap alert message if 'message' Session exists. Also, set alert class using 'alert-class' Session.

Create <form action="{{route('uploadFile')}}" enctype='multipart/form-data' method="post" >.

In the <form > create a file element and a submit button.

Display error in <span > if not validated.

Completed Code

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <title>How to upload a file in Laravel 8</title>

  <!-- Meta -->
  <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
  <meta charset="utf-8">

  <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.5.2/css/bootstrap.min.css">

</head>
<body>

  <div class="container">

    <div class="row">

       <div class="col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12">

         <!-- Alert message (start) -->
         @if(Session::has('message'))
         <div class="alert {{ Session::get('alert-class') }}">
            {{ Session::get('message') }}
         </div>
         @endif 
         <!-- Alert message (end) -->

         <form action="{{route('uploadFile')}}" enctype='multipart/form-data' method="post" >
           {{csrf_field()}}

           <div class="form-group">
             <label class="control-label col-md-3 col-sm-3 col-xs-12" for="name">File <span class="required">*</span></label>
             <div class="col-md-6 col-sm-6 col-xs-12">

               <input type='file' name='file' class="form-control">

               @if ($errors->has('file'))
                 <span class="errormsg text-danger">{{ $errors->first('file') }}</span>
               @endif
             </div>
           </div>

           <div class="form-group">
             <div class="col-md-6">
               <input type="submit" name="submit" value='Submit' class='btn btn-success'>
             </div>
           </div>

         </form>

       </div>
    </div>
  </div>

</body>
</html>

4. Output

View Output

5. Conclusion

Modify the validation according to your requirement in the controller. Specify upload location in $location variable.

Folder created while uploading if not exists.

If you are allowing to upload large files then make sure to check upload_max_filesize and post_max_size values in the php.ini file and update it if required.

You can view this tutorial to know jQuery AJAX file upload in Laravel 8.

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How to upload a file in Laravel 8

Contents

1. Controller

2. Route

3. View

4. Output

5. Conclusion

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