How can PHP be used to deliver files located outside the document root to authenticated users?

To deliver files located outside the document root to authenticated users using PHP, you can create a script that checks user authentication and then reads and serves the file using appropriate headers. This ensures that only authenticated users can access the files. 

<?php
// Check user authentication here

if($authenticated) {
    $file = '/path/to/file/outside/document/root.txt';
    
    if(file_exists($file)) {
        header('Content-Description: File Transfer');
        header('Content-Type: application/octet-stream');
        header('Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="' . basename($file) . '"');
        header('Expires: 0');
        header('Cache-Control: must-revalidate');
        header('Pragma: public');
        header('Content-Length: ' . filesize($file));
        readfile($file);
        exit;
    } else {
        echo 'File not found.';
    }
} else {
    echo 'Access denied.';
}
?>

Keywords

PHP file delivery document root authenticated users security

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