Create ZIP File using PHP

The ZIP is a commonly used file format to archive files with data compression. When you want to allow the user to download multiple folders and files at once from the server, you need to create a ZIP file on the fly. It helps to compress files and create an archive to download multiple files at once. The ZIP file can be created dynamically using PHP, and the archive file can be saved on the server from the PHP script easily.

Creating a ZIP archive from the directory can be easily implemented using PHP. The ZipArchive class in PHP provides an instant ability to compress files or folders into a ZIP file. You can archive the entire directory recursively to a ZIP file using PHP. In this tutorial, we will show you how to create ZIP file from a folder using PHP.

ZIP Extension

The zip extension must be installed and enabled on the server to make this script work. Check whether the following line is available in the php.ini configuration file. If already present in the php.ini, remove the semicolon to enable the ZIP extension.

extension=zip

You can also check the availability of the ZIP extension on your server by running the phpinfo() command on the browser.

ZipArchiver Class

The ZipArchiver is a custom PHP class that helps to create a ZIP file from folder (files and sub-directories) on the server using the ZIP extension.

• zipDir() – This function creates a Zip of a folder recursively including the parent directory.
  • $sourcePath – Relative path of the directory to be zipped.
  • $outZipPath – Path to save the zip file.
• dirToZip() – It is a helper function of ZipArchiver class that adds files and sub-directories in a folder to the zip file.

<?php
Class ZipArchiver {
    
    /**
     * Zip a folder (including itself).
     * 
     * Usage:
     * Folder path that should be zipped.
     * 
     * @param $sourcePath string 
     * Relative path of directory to be zipped.
     * 
     * @param $outZipPath string 
     * Path of output zip file. 
     *
     */
    public static function zipDir($sourcePath, $outZipPath){
        $pathInfo = pathinfo($sourcePath);
        $parentPath = $pathInfo['dirname'];
        $dirName = $pathInfo['basename'];
    
        $z = new ZipArchive();
        $z->open($outZipPath, ZipArchive::CREATE);
        $z->addEmptyDir($dirName);
        if($sourcePath == $dirName){
            self::dirToZip($sourcePath, $z, 0);
        }else{
            self::dirToZip($sourcePath, $z, strlen("$parentPath/"));
        }
        $z->close();
        
        return true;
    }
    
    /**
     * Add files and sub-directories in a folder to zip file.
     * 
     * @param $folder string
     * Folder path that should be zipped.
     * 
     * @param $zipFile ZipArchive
     * Zip file where files end up.
     * 
     * @param $exclusiveLength int 
     * Number of text to be excluded from the file path. 
     *
     */
    private static function dirToZip($folder, &$zipFile, $exclusiveLength){
        $handle = opendir($folder);
        while(FALSE !== $f = readdir($handle)){
            // Check for local/parent path or zipping file itself and skip
            if($f != '.' && $f != '..' && $f != basename(__FILE__)){
                $filePath = "$folder/$f";
                // Remove prefix from file path before add to zip
                $localPath = substr($filePath, $exclusiveLength);
                if(is_file($filePath)){
                    $zipFile->addFile($filePath, $localPath);
                }elseif(is_dir($filePath)){
                    // Add sub-directory
                    $zipFile->addEmptyDir($localPath);
                    self::dirToZip($filePath, $zipFile, $exclusiveLength);
                }
            }
        }
        closedir($handle);
    }
    
}

Create ZIP File in PHP

Use ZipArchiver class to archive all files and sub-directories of the given folder and create ZIP file from the script in PHP.

• Include and initialize the ZipArchive class.
• Specify the path of the directory which you want to archive as a ZIP.
• Specify the path to save the ZIP file on the server.
• Call the zipDir() function of ZipArchiver class to create ZIP.

// Include and initialize ZipArchive class
require_once 'ZipArchiver.class.php';
$zipper = new ZipArchiver;

// Path of the directory to be zipped
$dirPath = '/path/to/sourceDir';

// Path of output zip file
$zipPath = '/path/to/archive-'.time().'.zip';

// Create zip archive
$zip = $zipper->zipDir($dirPath, $zipPath);

if($zip){
    echo 'ZIP archive created successfully.';
}else{
    echo 'Failed to create ZIP.';
}

Extract ZIP File using PHP

Conclusion

This ZIP file creation script is very useful to generate an archive dynamically on the server using PHP. The dynamic ZIP creation functionality can be used for many purposes, downloading multiple files and folders from the server, reducing the usage of the server space, taking a backup of files and directories, etc. You can easily enhance the functionality of this code as per your needs.