PHP Create temporary link to page/file-CodePudding

I am working on a website project, where you can login.

I want to make a system where you can request a file, but the link to the file should only be valid for a certain amount of time. After the certain amount of time the link should expire and stop working (maybe a show a 404 error).

-I am using php and MySQL database

Thank you! BTW: I am new on this platform

CodePudding user response：

OK I think I found the answer to my question: https://www.tutorialswebsite.com/how-to-create-one-time-temporary-download-link-with-expiration-in-php/

CodePudding user response：

Start with these 2 tables. Whenever you upload file or manually add it, add an entry in the files table. Whenever someone request a file, generate a link for it in links table like https://host/download.php?id=the_random_string which will point to the real file_id, with an expiry date.

files

id
name
physical_path

links

id
file_id
random_string
expiry

So now you should have a file download.php (pseudo code)

$str = $_REQUEST['id'];
$sql = "select file_id from links where random_string=$str AND expiry hasn't passed";
$file_id = $row->file_id;
$sql = "select physical_path from files where id = $file_id";
$physical_path = $row->physical_path;
do_download($physical_path);