ArticleZip > How To Set A Header For A Http Get Request And Trigger File Download

How To Set A Header For A Http Get Request And Trigger File Download

HTTP GET requests are a fundamental part of web development, allowing your code to retrieve data from a server or trigger specific actions. In many cases, you may need to set headers in your HTTP GET requests to provide additional information to the server or make sure your request is processed correctly. One common use case for setting headers in an HTTP GET request is triggering the download of a file from a server. In this article, we will explore how to set a header for an HTTP GET request and trigger a file download using various programming languages commonly used in web development.

Setting a header for an HTTP GET request is relatively straightforward and involves adding key-value pairs to the request headers. These headers provide essential information to the server, such as the content type of the request, authentication credentials, or any custom data relevant to the request. When triggering a file download, setting specific headers can indicate to the server that the response should be treated as a file to be downloaded by the client browser.

Let's dive into some code examples to demonstrate how you can set a header for an HTTP GET request in different programming languages and trigger a file download:

JavaScript:

Javascript

fetch('https://example.com/file-to-download.pdf', {
  method: 'GET',
  headers: {
    'Content-Type': 'application/pdf',
    'Content-Disposition': 'attachment; filename="downloaded-file.pdf"'
  }
})
.then(response => response.blob())
.then(blob => {
  let url = window.URL.createObjectURL(blob);
  let a = document.createElement('a');
  a.href = url;
  a.download = 'downloaded-file.pdf';
  a.click();
});

Python:

Python

import requests

url = 'https://example.com/file-to-download.pdf'
headers = {
    'Content-Disposition': 'attachment; filename="downloaded-file.pdf"'
}
response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)

with open('downloaded-file.pdf', 'wb') as file:
    file.write(response.content)

By setting the `Content-Disposition` header to `'attachment; filename="downloaded-file.pdf"' in the HTTP GET request, you inform the server that the response should be treated as a file attachment with the specified filename. This prompts the browser to initiate a file download when processing the response.

Remember to adjust the code examples based on your specific requirements and the programming language you are using. Setting headers in HTTP requests is a powerful capability that allows you to customize your interactions with servers and enhance the functionality of your web applications. Experiment with different headers and parameters to unlock even more possibilities in your web development projects.

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