How to upload a file using Java HttpClient library working with PHP

Question

I want to write Java application that will upload a file to the Apache server with PHP. The Java code uses Jakarta HttpClient library version 4.0 beta2:

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Answer 1

I ran into the same problem and found out that the file name is required for httpclient 4.x to be working with PHP backend. It was not the case for httpclient 3.x.

So my solution is to add a name parameter in the FileBody constructor. ContentBody cbFile = new FileBody(file, "image/jpeg", "FILE_NAME");

Hope it helps.

Answer 2

If you are testing this on your local WAMP you might need to set up the temporary folder for file uploads. You can do this in your PHP.ini file:

upload_tmp_dir = "c:\mypath\mytempfolder\"

You will need to grant permissions on the folder to allow the upload to take place - the permission you need to grant vary based on your operating system.

Answer 3

Ok, the Java code I used was wrong, here comes the right Java class:

import java.io.File;
import org.apache.http.HttpEntity;
import org.apache.http.HttpResponse;
import org.apache.http.HttpVersion;
import org.apache.http.client.HttpClient;
import org.apache.http.client.methods.HttpPost;
import org.apache.http.entity.mime.MultipartEntity;
import org.apache.http.entity.mime.content.ContentBody;
import org.apache.http.entity.mime.content.FileBody;
import org.apache.http.impl.client.DefaultHttpClient;
import org.apache.http.params.CoreProtocolPNames;
import org.apache.http.util.EntityUtils;


public class PostFile {
  public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
    HttpClient httpclient = new DefaultHttpClient();
    httpclient.getParams().setParameter(CoreProtocolPNames.PROTOCOL_VERSION, HttpVersion.HTTP_1_1);

    HttpPost httppost = new HttpPost("http://localhost:9001/upload.php");
    File file = new File("c:/TRASH/zaba_1.jpg");

    MultipartEntity mpEntity = new MultipartEntity();
    ContentBody cbFile = new FileBody(file, "image/jpeg");
    mpEntity.addPart("userfile", cbFile);


    httppost.setEntity(mpEntity);
    System.out.println("executing request " + httppost.getRequestLine());
    HttpResponse response = httpclient.execute(httppost);
    HttpEntity resEntity = response.getEntity();

    System.out.println(response.getStatusLine());
    if (resEntity != null) {
      System.out.println(EntityUtils.toString(resEntity));
    }
    if (resEntity != null) {
      resEntity.consumeContent();
    }

    httpclient.getConnectionManager().shutdown();
  }
}

note using MultipartEntity.

Answer 4

Aah you just need to add a name parameter in the

FileBody constructor. ContentBody cbFile = new FileBody(file, "image/jpeg", "FILE_NAME");

Hope it helps.

Answer 5

The correct way will be to use multipart POST method. See here for example code for the client.

For PHP there are many tutorials available. This is the first I've found. I recommend that you test the PHP code first using an html client and then try the java client.

Answer 6

An update for those trying to use MultipartEntity...

org.apache.http.entity.mime.MultipartEntity is deprecated in 4.3.1.

You can use MultipartEntityBuilder to create the HttpEntity object.

File file = new File();

HttpEntity httpEntity = MultipartEntityBuilder.create()
    .addBinaryBody("file", file, ContentType.create("image/jpeg"), file.getName())
    .build();

For Maven users the class is available in the following dependency (almost the same as fervisa's answer, just with a later version).

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.apache.httpcomponents</groupId>
  <artifactId>httpmime</artifactId>
  <version>4.3.1</version>
</dependency>