Laravel zip file not downloading

Question

I have a function to download a zip file with or without folders based on the file_type_id. However when file_type_id is 1 my server is returning a empty 200 response. When i look at the temp folder i created the zip file is there and all the files are in it when i unzip it in the command line. So my question would be why this behaviour exists and if someone got a solution? The there is also nothing in the laravel.log or nginx/apache logs.

    public function downloadZip($file_type, $resId)
    {
        $reservation = Reservation::with('contact.insurer')->where('id', $resId)->first();

        if (Auth::user()->hasRole('verzekeraar')) {
            $contact = Auth::user()->userable;

            if ($contact->insurer_id != $reservation->contact->insurer_id) {
                return AppJsonResponse::UnAuthorized('U heeft geen rechten voor dit dossier.');
            }
        }
        $files = [];
        $dirs = [];
        if ($file_type == 2) {
            $files = $reservation->files;
        } else {
            $dirs = Folder::whereNull('parent_id')->where('reservation_id', $reservation->id)->get();
            $files = File::whereNull('parent_id')->where('reservation_id', $reservation->id)->where('file_type_id', 1)->get();
        }

        $zip_file = storage_path('app/tmp/wrapper.zip');

        // Ensure tmp directory exists
        if (!file_exists(storage_path('app/tmp'))) {
            mkdir(storage_path('app/tmp'), 0755, true);
        }

        // Initializing PHP class
        $zip = new \ZipArchive();
        if ($zip->open($zip_file, \ZipArchive::CREATE | \ZipArchive::OVERWRITE) !== TRUE) {
            \Log::error("Cannot open <$zipPath>\n");
            return AppJsonResponse::Error('ZIP creation failed.');
        }

        if ($file_type == 2) {
            foreach ($files as $file) {
                if ($file->file_type_id == $file_type) {
                    $zip->addFile(Storage::disk('private')->getDriver()->getAdapter()->applyPathPrefix($file->path), 'storage/' . $file->name . '.' . strtolower($file->ext));
                }
            }
        } else {
            $ultPath = 'storage/';
            $this->zipDocuments($dirs, $files, $ultPath, $reservation->id, $zip);
        }
       if (!$zip->close()) {
            \Log::error("Failed to close the zip file.");
        } else {
            \Log::debug("Successfully closed zip file: $zip_file");
        }

        if (file_exists($zip_file)) {
            Log::info("File size of ZIP: " . filesize($zip_file));
        return response()->download($zip_file, 'wrapper.zip', [
    'Content-Type' => 'application/zip',
        ]);

        } else{
            \Log::error('ZIP file is missing or too small: ' . $zip_file);
            return AppJsonResponse::Error('ZIP creation failed.');
        }
    }

And this is the zipdocuments function

public function zipDocuments($dirs, $files, $ultPath, $resId, $zip)
{
    foreach ($dirs as $dir) {
        $currentPath = $ultPath . $dir->name . '/';

        // Log current directory
        \Log::debug("Entering directory: $currentPath");

        // Add all files in current directory
        $filesInDir = File::where('parent_id', $dir->id)
            ->where('reservation_id', $resId)
            ->where('file_type_id', 1)
            ->get();

        foreach ($filesInDir as $file) {
            $fullPath = Storage::disk('private')->getDriver()->getAdapter()->applyPathPrefix($file->path);
            if (!file_exists($fullPath)) {
                \Log::warning("File not found: $fullPath");
                continue;
            }

            if($zip->addFile($fullPath, $currentPath . $file->name . '.' . strtolower($file->ext)) === true){

            }

        }

        // Recursively process subfolders
        $subDirs = Folder::where('parent_id', $dir->id)->where('reservation_id', $resId)->get();
        $this->zipDocuments($subDirs, [], $currentPath, $resId, $zip);
    }

    // Add top-level files (only for first call)
    foreach ($files as $file) {
        $fullPath = Storage::disk('private')->getDriver()->getAdapter()->applyPathPrefix($file->path);
        if (!file_exists($fullPath)) {
            \Log::warning("Top-level file not found: $fullPath");
            continue;
        }

        $zip->addFile($fullPath, $ultPath . $file->name . '.' . strtolower($file->ext));
    }

    return $zip;
}

I just call the endpoint using my angular application like this:

downloadZip(id, file_type): any {
    return this.http.get('/audits/downloadzip/'+file_type+'/'+id, {observe: 'response', responseType: 'blob', headers: new HttpHeaders({'Cache-Control': 'no-cache'})});
  }

and this gives the following message in the console and the response is empty

auditor-reservation-…ge.component.ts:174 
 GET http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/audits/downloadzip/1/2 net::ERR_FAILED 200 (OK)

You say there was nothing in the logs - not even whether it failed to close the zip file, or did that successfully? We have not seen the code for $this->zipDocuments, please include that as well. — C3roe
– C3roe, Commented Jun 19 at 6:22
Sorry i wasn't clear. this is the output in my log: [2025-06-19 11:52:10] test.DEBUG: Entering directory: storage/test/ [2025-06-19 11:52:10] test.DEBUG: Entering directory: storage/test 2/ [2025-06-19 11:52:12] test.DEBUG: Successfully closed zip file: storage\app/tmp/wrapper.zip [2025-06-19 11:52:12] test.INFO: File size of ZIP: 23443567 and i just checked again and it seems it doesn't work locally as well now — Jimbo
– Jimbo, Commented Jun 19 at 9:55
@C3roe and i am also able to just open the zip file with rar when i copy it to my desktop — Jimbo
– Jimbo, Commented Jun 19 at 10:46

Coder · Accepted Answer · 2025-06-19 13:25:50Z

This usually happens due to issues with how Laravel streams the file — especially if the ZIP contains nested folders or if output buffering interferes. Here’s what worked for me:

1. Replace response()->download() with manual streaming using readfile():

if (ob_get_length()) {
    ob_end_clean(); // Clear any previous output
}

return response()->streamDownload(function () use ($zip_file) {
    readfile($zip_file);
}, 'wrapper.zip', [
    'Content-Type' => 'application/zip',
    'Content-Length' => filesize($zip_file),
]);

This bypasses Laravel’s default file streaming and sends the file directly.

2. Double-check the file exists and has size:


if (!file_exists($zip_file)) {
    \Log::error("ZIP file not found: $zip_file");
    abort(404, 'ZIP file not found.');
}

$size = filesize($zip_file);
\Log::info("ZIP size: $size bytes");

3. Frontend (Angular) should handle the blob properly:

this.http.get('/api/your-download-endpoint', {
  responseType: 'blob',
  observe: 'response'
}).subscribe(response => {
  const blob = new Blob([response.body], { type: 'application/zip' });
  const url = window.URL.createObjectURL(blob);
  const a = document.createElement('a');
  a.href = url;
  a.download = 'wrapper.zip';
  a.click();
  window.URL.revokeObjectURL(url);
});

Summary:
• The ZIP file is created correctly.
• response()->download() may silently fail with complex ZIP structures.
• Use streamDownload() with readfile() instead.
• Clean output buffer before returning.
• Make sure Angular correctly handles binary blob responses.

For me this still gives me a Err:failed 200 response from the api where the response data is just empty.

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