CodeIgniter File Upload Tutorial with Example

File uploading is a very common feature in web applications. CodeIgniter makes file upload handling easy and secure using its File Uploading Class.

With just a few lines of configuration, you can upload images, documents, and other file types.

🔹 Step 1: Create Upload Form

First, create a simple HTML form in application/views/upload_form.php:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>File Upload in CodeIgniter</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h2>Upload a File</h2>

    <!-- Show error message if any -->
    <?php if(isset($error)) { echo $error; } ?>

    <!-- Show success message -->
    <?php if(isset($success)) { echo $success; } ?>

    <!-- Upload form -->
    <?php echo form_open_multipart('upload/do_upload'); ?>
        <input type="file" name="userfile" size="20" />
        <br><br>
        <input type="submit" value="Upload" />
    </form>
</body>
</html>

🔹 Step 2: Create Controller

Create application/controllers/Upload.php:

<?php
defined('BASEPATH') OR exit('No direct script access allowed');

class Upload extends CI_Controller {

    public function __construct() {
        parent::__construct();
        $this->load->helper(array('form', 'url'));
    }

    public function index() {
        $this->load->view('upload_form', array('error' => ' ' ));
    }

    public function do_upload() {
        $config['upload_path']   = './uploads/';  // Folder where files will be uploaded
        $config['allowed_types'] = 'gif|jpg|png|pdf|docx';
        $config['max_size']      = 2048; // 2MB
        $config['max_width']     = 2000;
        $config['max_height']    = 2000;

        $this->load->library('upload', $config);

        if (!$this->upload->do_upload('userfile')) {
            // Upload failed → show error
            $error = array('error' => $this->upload->display_errors());
            $this->load->view('upload_form', $error);
        } else {
            // Upload success → show file data
            $data = array('success' => 'File uploaded successfully!',
                          'file_data' => $this->upload->data());
            $this->load->view('upload_form', $data);
        }
    }
}

🔹 Step 3: Create Uploads Folder

Make sure you create an uploads folder in your project’s root directory:

/application
/system
/uploads   ← create this folder

⚠️ Give write permissions to the uploads folder.

🔹 Step 4: Upload Preferences

You can control how uploads work with these preferences:

upload_path → Folder to save files.
allowed_types → File types allowed (e.g., jpg|png|gif).
max_size → File size limit (in KB).
max_width / max_height → For image uploads.
file_name → Rename uploaded file.

Example (renaming file):

$config['file_name'] = 'my_custom_name';

🔹 Step 5: Access Uploaded File Data

After successful upload, you can access details:

$fileData = $this->upload->data();

echo "File Name: " . $fileData['file_name'];
echo "File Size: " . $fileData['file_size'];
echo "File Path: " . $fileData['full_path'];

🔹 Step 6: Handling Multiple File Uploads

You can also upload multiple files by looping through $_FILES:

foreach ($_FILES['userfiles']['name'] as $key => $name) {
    $_FILES['file']['name'] = $_FILES['userfiles']['name'][$key];
    $_FILES['file']['type'] = $_FILES['userfiles']['type'][$key];
    $_FILES['file']['tmp_name'] = $_FILES['userfiles']['tmp_name'][$key];
    $_FILES['file']['error'] = $_FILES['userfiles']['error'][$key];
    $_FILES['file']['size'] = $_FILES['userfiles']['size'][$key];

    if ($this->upload->do_upload('file')) {
        $data = $this->upload->data();
        echo "Uploaded: " . $data['file_name'] . "<br>";
    }
}

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