Download File from FTP Server to Browser without Saving Locally

This question seeks an efficient way to retrieve a file from an FTP server and send it directly to the user's browser, bypassing local storage and redirects.

The provided PHP function, getFtpFileContents, fetches the file into memory but requires subsequent manual steps to send it to the browser. To remove the need for intermediate storage, simply remove the output buffering code:

ftp_get($conn_id, "php://output", $file, FTP_BINARY);

If you wish to include the Content-Length header, it is necessary to query the file size first:

$size = ftp_size($conn_id, $file_path);

header("Content-Type: application/octet-stream");
header("Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=" . basename($file_path));
header("Content-Length: $size"); 

ftp_get($conn_id, "php://output", $file_path, FTP_BINARY);

Remember to incorporate error handling into your code for robust operation.