File

Validates that a value is a valid "file", which can be one of the following:

A string (or object with a __toString() method) path to an existing file;
A valid File object (including objects of UploadedFile class).

This constraint is commonly used in forms with the FileType form field.

Basic Usage

This constraint is most commonly used on a property that will be rendered in a form as a FileType field. For example, suppose you're creating an author form where you can upload a "bio" PDF for the author. In your form, the bioFile property would be a file type. The Author class might look as follows:

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        // src/Entity/Author.php
namespace App\Entity;

use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\File\File;

class Author
{
    protected File $bioFile;

    public function setBioFile(?File $file = null): void
    {
        $this->bioFile = $file;
    }

    public function getBioFile(): File
    {
        return $this->bioFile;
    }
}
    

To guarantee that the bioFile File object is valid and that it is below a certain file size and a valid PDF, add the following:

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        // src/Entity/Author.php
namespace App\Entity;

use Symfony\Component\Validator\Constraints as Assert;

class Author
{
    #[Assert\File(
        maxSize: '1024k',
        extensions: ['pdf'],
        extensionsMessage: 'Please upload a valid PDF',
    )]
    protected File $bioFile;
}
    

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        # config/validator/validation.yaml
App\Entity\Author:
    properties:
        bioFile:
            - File:
                maxSize: 1024k
                extensions: [pdf]
                extensionsMessage: Please upload a valid PDF
    

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        <!-- config/validator/validation.xml -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<constraint-mapping xmlns="http://symfony.com/schema/dic/constraint-mapping"
    xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
    xsi:schemaLocation="http://symfony.com/schema/dic/constraint-mapping https://symfony.com/schema/dic/constraint-mapping/constraint-mapping-1.0.xsd">

    <class name="App\Entity\Author">
        <property name="bioFile">
            <constraint name="File">
                <option name="maxSize">1024k</option>
                <option name="extensions">
                    <value>pdf</value>
                </option>
                <option name="extensionsMessage">Please upload a valid PDF</option>
            </constraint>
        </property>
    </class>
</constraint-mapping>
    

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        // src/Entity/Author.php
namespace App\Entity;

use Symfony\Component\Validator\Constraints as Assert;
use Symfony\Component\Validator\Mapping\ClassMetadata;

class Author
{
    // ...

    public static function loadValidatorMetadata(ClassMetadata $metadata): void
    {
        $metadata->addPropertyConstraint('bioFile', new Assert\File([
            'maxSize' => '1024k',
            'extensions' => [
                'pdf',
            ],
            'extensionsMessage' => 'Please upload a valid PDF',
        ]));
    }
}
    

The bioFile property is validated to guarantee that it is a real file. Its size and mime type are also validated because the appropriate options have been specified.

Note

As with most of the other constraints, null and empty strings are considered valid values. This is to allow them to be optional values. If the value is mandatory, a common solution is to combine this constraint with NotBlank.

Options

`binaryFormat`

type: boolean default: null

When true, the sizes will be displayed in messages with binary-prefixed units (KiB, MiB). When false, the sizes will be displayed with SI-prefixed units (kB, MB). When null, then the binaryFormat will be guessed from the value defined in the maxSize option.

For more information about the difference between binary and SI prefixes, see Wikipedia: Binary prefix.

`extensions`

type: array or string

6.2

The extensions option was introduced in Symfony 6.2.

If set, the validator will check that the extension and the media type (formerly known as MIME type) of the underlying file are equal to the given extension and associated media type (if a string) or exist in the collection (if an array).

By default, all media types associated with an extension are allowed. The list of supported extensions and associated media types can be found on the IANA website.

It's also possible to explicitly configure the authorized media types for an extension.

In the following example, allowed media types are explicitly set for the xml and txt extensions, and all associated media types are allowed for jpg:

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        [
    'xml' => ['text/xml', 'application/xml'],
    'txt' => 'text/plain',
    'jpg',
]
    

`disallowEmptyMessage`

type: string default: An empty file is not allowed.

This constraint checks if the uploaded file is empty (i.e. 0 bytes). If it is, this message is displayed.

You can use the following parameters in this message:

Parameter	Description
`{{ file }}`	Absolute file path
`{{ name }}`	Base file name

`groups`

type: array | string default: null

It defines the validation group or groups of this constraint. Read more about validation groups.

`maxSize`

type: mixed

If set, the size of the underlying file must be below this file size in order to be valid. The size of the file can be given in one of the following formats:

Suffix	Unit Name	Value	Example
(none)	byte	1 byte	`4096`
`k`	kilobyte	1,000 bytes	`200k`
`M`	megabyte	1,000,000 bytes	`2M`
`Ki`	kibibyte	1,024 bytes	`32Ki`
`Mi`	mebibyte	1,048,576 bytes	`8Mi`

For more information about the difference between binary and SI prefixes, see Wikipedia: Binary prefix.

`maxSizeMessage`

type: string default: The file is too large ({{ size }} {{ suffix }}). Allowed maximum size is {{ limit }} {{ suffix }}.

The message displayed if the file is larger than the maxSize option.

You can use the following parameters in this message:

Parameter	Description
`{{ file }}`	Absolute file path
`{{ limit }}`	Maximum file size allowed
`{{ name }}`	Base file name
`{{ size }}`	File size of the given file
`{{ suffix }}`	Suffix for the used file size unit (see above)

`mimeTypes`

type: array or string

Warning

You should always use the extensions option instead of mimeTypes except if you explicitly don't want to check that the extension of the file is consistent with its content (this can be a security issue).

By default, the extensions option also checks the media type of the file.

If set, the validator will check that the media type (formerly known as MIME type) of the underlying file is equal to the given mime type (if a string) or exists in the collection of given mime types (if an array).

You can find a list of existing mime types on the IANA website.

Note

When using this constraint on a FileType field, the value of the mimeTypes option is also used in the accept attribute of the related <input type="file"> HTML element.

This behavior is applied only when using form type guessing (i.e. the form type is not defined explicitly in the ->add() method of the form builder) and when the field doesn't define its own accept value.

`filenameMaxLength`

type: integer default: null

6.3

The filenameMaxLength was introduced in Symfony 6.3.

If set, the validator will check that the filename of the underlying file doesn't exceed a certain length.

`filenameTooLongMessage`

type: string default: The filename is too long. It should have {{ filename_max_length }} character or less.|The filename is too long. It should have {{ filename_max_length }} characters or less.

6.3

The filenameTooLongMessage was introduced in Symfony 6.3.

The message displayed if the filename of the file exceeds the limit set with the filenameMaxLength option.

You can use the following parameters in this message:

Parameter	Description
`{{ filename_max_length }}`	Maximum number of characters allowed

`extensionsMessage`

type: string default: The extension of the file is invalid ({{ extension }}). Allowed extensions are {{ extensions }}.

6.2

The extensionsMessage option was introduced in Symfony 6.2.

The message displayed if the extension of the file is not a valid extension per the extensions option.

You can use the following parameters in this message:

Parameter	Description
`{{ file }}`	Absolute file path
`{{ name }}`	Base file name
`{{ type }}`	The MIME type of the given file
`{{ types }}`	The list of allowed MIME types

`mimeTypesMessage`

type: string default: The mime type of the file is invalid ({{ type }}). Allowed mime types are {{ types }}.

The message displayed if the media type of the file is not a valid media type per the mimeTypes option.

You can use the following parameters in this message:

Parameter	Description
`{{ file }}`	Absolute file path
`{{ name }}`	Base file name
`{{ type }}`	The MIME type of the given file
`{{ types }}`	The list of allowed MIME types

`notFoundMessage`

type: string default: The file could not be found.

The message displayed if no file can be found at the given path. This error is only likely if the underlying value is a string path, as a File object cannot be constructed with an invalid file path.

You can use the following parameters in this message:

Parameter	Description
`{{ file }}`	Absolute file path

`notReadableMessage`

type: string default: The file is not readable.

The message displayed if the file exists, but the PHP is_readable() function fails when passed the path to the file.

You can use the following parameters in this message:

Parameter	Description
`{{ file }}`	Absolute file path

`payload`

type: mixed default: null

This option can be used to attach arbitrary domain-specific data to a constraint. The configured payload is not used by the Validator component, but its processing is completely up to you.

For example, you may want to use several error levels to present failed constraints differently in the front-end depending on the severity of the error.

`uploadCantWriteErrorMessage`

type: string default: Cannot write temporary file to disk.

The message that is displayed if the uploaded file can't be stored in the temporary folder.

This message has no parameters.

`uploadErrorMessage`

type: string default: The file could not be uploaded.

The message that is displayed if the uploaded file could not be uploaded for some unknown reason.

This message has no parameters.

`uploadExtensionErrorMessage`

type: string default: A PHP extension caused the upload to fail.

The message that is displayed if a PHP extension caused the file upload to fail.

This message has no parameters.

`uploadFormSizeErrorMessage`

type: string default: The file is too large.

The message that is displayed if the uploaded file is larger than allowed by the HTML file input field.

This message has no parameters.

`uploadIniSizeErrorMessage`

type: string default: The file is too large. Allowed maximum size is {{ limit }} {{ suffix }}.

The message that is displayed if the uploaded file is larger than the upload_max_filesize php.ini setting.

You can use the following parameters in this message:

Parameter	Description
`{{ limit }}`	Maximum file size allowed
`{{ suffix }}`	Suffix for the used file size unit (see above)

`uploadNoFileErrorMessage`

type: string default: No file was uploaded.

The message that is displayed if no file was uploaded.

This message has no parameters.

`uploadNoTmpDirErrorMessage`

type: string default: No temporary folder was configured in php.ini.

The message that is displayed if the php.ini setting upload_tmp_dir is missing.

This message has no parameters.

`uploadPartialErrorMessage`

type: string default: The file was only partially uploaded.

The message that is displayed if the uploaded file is only partially uploaded.

This message has no parameters.

This work, including the code samples, is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-SA 3.0 license.

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