Email Attachments in Laravel: No Need to Save Files

In web development, sending email attachments is a common requirement, whether it's for sending invoices, reports, or any other document. Laravel, being a versatile PHP framework, provides native support for sending emails. However, many developers often assume that they need to store files on disk before attaching them to an email. Contrary to this belief, Laravel offers a convenient way to attach files without the need for file storage. In this guide, we'll explore how to achieve this with example code and highlight key points along the way.

Key Points:

• No File Storage Required: You can attach files directly from memory without saving them to disk, reducing unnecessary overhead in file management.
• Stream Attachments: Laravel provides functionality to stream file contents directly into an email attachment, eliminating the need for temporary file storage.
• Efficiency: Streamlining the attachment process enhances the efficiency of your application by reducing disk I/O operations and minimizing storage requirements.

Example Code:

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Mail;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Storage;
use Illuminate\Support\Str;
use Illuminate\Mail\Mailable;

class SendEmailWithAttachment extends Mailable
{
    protected $fileContents;

    public function __construct($fileContents)
    {
        $this->fileContents = $fileContents;
    }

    public function build()
    {
        return $this->view('emails.attachment')
                    ->attachData($this->fileContents, 'document.pdf', [
                        'mime' => 'application/pdf',
                    ]);
    }
}

In this example, we create a Mailable class SendEmailWithAttachment responsible for composing the email. The constructor accepts the file contents as a parameter. In the build method, we specify the view for the email (emails.attachment) and attach the file contents using attachData method. We pass the file contents, file name (document.pdf), and MIME type (application/pdf) as arguments.

To use this Mailable class and send an email with an attachment, you can do the following:

use App\Mail\SendEmailWithAttachment;

$fileContents = $request->file('attachment');

Mail::to('[email protected]')
    ->send(new SendEmailWithAttachment($fileContents));

Replace $fileContents with the actual contents of the file you want to attach. This could be fetched from a database, generated dynamically, or retrieved from an external API.

Conclusion:

By leveraging Laravel's built-in features, you can effortlessly attach files to emails without the need for file storage. This approach not only simplifies your code but also enhances the performance of your application by reducing unnecessary disk operations. Whether you're sending invoices, reports, or any other documents, this method provides a streamlined solution for email attachments in Laravel.

Happy Coding!