--- title: How to upload files to Google Cloud using Laravel published: true description: Building an API that generates an API and uploads it to Google Cloud Storage tags: laravel, googlecloud, pdf, api cover_image: https://images.pexels.com/photos/2114014/pexels-photo-2114014.jpeg?cs=srgb&dl=pexels-magda-ehlers-2114014.jpg&fm=jpg --- The aim of this tutorial is to accomplish these tasks - [Prequisities](#prequisities) - [Create a Laravel API that creates and stores PDF locally](#create-a-laravel-api-that-creates-and-stores-pdf-locally) - [INITIALIZE PROJECT](#initialize-project) - [USE COMPOSER PACKAGE](#use-composer-package) - [CREATE SYMBOLIC LINK](#create-symbolic-link) - [CREATING THE BLADE TEMPLATE FILE](#creating-the-blade-template-file) - [CREATE CONTROLLER](#create-controller) - [ROUTING THE REQUEST](#routing-the-request) - [TESTING OUR CODE](#testing-our-code) - [SUCCESSFUL RESPONSE](#successful-response) - [Uploading files to Google Cloud Storage](#uploading-files-to-google-cloud-storage) - [CREATING THE BUCKET](#creating-the-bucket) - [CONFIGURATION FILES AND VARIABLES](#configuration-files-and-variables) - [USING THE GOOGLE CLOUD PACKAGE](#using-the-google-cloud-package) - [Send Email Notification](#send-email-notification) ## Prequisities - Install [Composer]( Composergetcomposer.org) - Get a [Google Cloud](https://console.cloud.google.com/) account - Install [Postman](https://www.postman.com/) or your preferred API testing tool - [Mailtrap](https://mailtrap.io/) account ## Create a Laravel API that creates and stores PDF locally #### INITIALIZE PROJECT First, we will initialize a new Laravel project into a `pdf-generator` directory using composer: ```bash composer create-project laravel/laravel pdf-generator ``` #### USE COMPOSER PACKAGE The composer package we will be using is [laravel-dompdf](https://github.com/barryvdh/laravel-dompdf). To use this package in our project we will use this command: ```bash composer require barryvdh/laravel-dompdf ``` From the `laravel-dompdf` documentation: Add the ServiceProvider to the providers array in `config/app.php` ```bash Barryvdh\DomPDF\ServiceProvider::class, ``` You can optionally use the facade for shorter code. Add this to your facades: ```bash 'PDF' => Barryvdh\DomPDF\Facade::class, ``` #### CREATE SYMBOLIC LINK To store our generated file, we need to create a [symbolic link](https://laravel.com/docs/8.x/filesystem#the-public-disk). From the Laravel Documentation: >To make these files accessible from the web, you should create a symbolic link from public/storage to storage/app/public. Utilizing this folder convention will keep your publicly accessible files in one directory that can be easily shared across deployments when using zero down-time deployment systems like [Envoyer](https://envoyer.io/). To create the symbolic link, you may use the `storage:link` Artisan command: ```bash php artisan storage:link ``` Now, we will create a `pdf` directory in the `public/storage` directory. Every directory and file created/stored here will be mirrored in the `storage/app/public` directory. #### CREATING THE BLADE TEMPLATE FILE Our next step is to create a [`blade template file`](https://laravel.com/docs/8.x/blade) for our pdf view. This view will display two values: the `$firstname` and `$email` of the user. We will name ours: `pdfdocument.blade.php` ```html Laravel PDF demo

Laravel PDF demo

Firstname: {{$firstname}}

Email: {{$email}}

``` >Blade template files are created in the `resources/views` directory #### CREATE CONTROLLER At this stage we have

Initialized a laravel project
Pulled in the laravel-dompdf package to generate pdf
Created a symbolic link and folder to store the generated pdf
Created a blade template file which will be used for the pdf

Now, let us create the controller to bring it all together. We will create a Controller in an `Api` folder with this artisan command: ```bash php artisan make:controller Api/PdfGeneratorController ``` ```php validate([ 'firstname' => ['required', 'min:3', 'max:50'], 'email' => ['required', 'email'], ]); $pdf = App::make('dompdf.wrapper'); $pdf->loadView('pdfdocument', $validatedData); $filename = $request['firstname'] . '.pdf'; $fileStoragePath = '/storage/pdf/' . $filename; $publicPath = public_path($fileStoragePath); $pdf->save($publicPath); return response()->json([ "status" => "success", "message" => "PDF saved successfully ", "data" => [ "url" => url($fileStoragePath) ] ]); } } ``` >You can use the [laravel-jsend](https://github.com/shalvah/laravel-jsend) package to generate [JSend-compliant](https://labs.omniti.com/labs/jsend) responses for your Laravel app #### ROUTING THE REQUEST Next, we will create a route in our `api.php` file that will point to the `store()` method in the `PdfGeneratorController`. >The `api.php` file is located in the `pdf-generator/routes` directory The line below ensures that only post requests are made to the `store` method with a [slug](https://devdojo.com/devdojo/what-is-a-slug) of `generate-pdf` ```php Route::post('/Api/generate-pdf', [PdfGeneratorController::class, 'store']); ``` #### TESTING OUR CODE For testing, we will use Postman or any API testing tools of your choice. We will make a post request to the store method ```bash [POST] http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/Api/generate-pdf ``` Set the `Headers` to ```bash KEY VALUE Accept application/json ``` And the body of the request to `JSON` ```json { "firstname" : "YourFirstName", "email" : "yourEmailAddress@domain.com" } ``` #### SUCCESSFUL RESPONSE A successful response returns this `JSON` ```json { "status": "success", "message": "PDF saved successfully ", "data": { "url": "url-of-the-generated-pdf-file" } } ``` ## Uploading files to Google Cloud Storage #### CREATING THE BUCKET >[Buckets](https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/key-terms#buckets) are the basic containers that hold your data. Everything that you store in Cloud Storage must be contained in a bucket. You can use buckets to organize your data and control access to your data, but unlike directories and folders, you cannot nest buckets. To create a bucket on Google Cloud Storage, you can follow this tutorial and skip to `02:13 to 03:44` to first create a Service Account and then skip to `05:21 to 05:31` to create Cloud Storage. {% youtube hJdN2TUQr_4 %} Optionally, you can also check out this slide on [How to create a bucket on Google Cloud](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vRgaRIMIuYpCSqQOFOh3WDmb1sNUpipwpKsdHQJWu38EpHV8Lz5Cv1jZBH6t-dDBsMKb1Be02FE82do/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000) that contains a guide similar to the YouTube video above #### CONFIGURATION FILES AND VARIABLES Rename the json key generated to `googlecloud.json` and move/copy it into the `config` directory like so: `config/googlecloud.json`. Next, in the `.env` file, create add these [environment variables](https://laravel.com/docs/8.x/configuration#environment-configuration): ```bash # GOOGLE CLOUD GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT_ID=laravel-tutorial GOOGLE_CLOUD_STORAGE_BUCKET=laravel-pdf-bucket ``` Now, we will create a [configuration file](https://laravel-news.com/creating-configuration-in-laravel) that will access the environment variables in the `.env` file. Create a file in in the `config` directory and name it `googlecloud.php` like so: `config/googlecloud.php` and pass in this code: ```php env('GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT_ID'), 'storage_bucket' => env('GOOGLE_CLOUD_STORAGE_BUCKET'), ]; ``` Run this command after making the configuration changes: ```bash composer dump-autoload php artisan config:clear php artisan config:cache ``` #### USING THE GOOGLE CLOUD PACKAGE Our next step is to use the [Google Cloud Storage Client for PHP](https://packagist.org/packages/google/cloud-storage). We pull in the package with this composer command ```bash composer require google/cloud-storage ``` Next, we will add the class ```php use Google\Cloud\Storage\StorageClient; ``` And now we will upload our generated file to Google Cloud and return the google cloud storage url in the `response()->json()` ```php $googleConfigFile = file_get_contents(config_path('googlecloud.json')); $storage = new StorageClient([ 'keyFile' => json_decode($googleConfigFile, true) ]); $storageBucketName = config('googlecloud.storage_bucket'); $bucket = $storage->bucket($storageBucketName); $fileSource = fopen($publicPath, 'r'); $newFolderName = $request['firstname'].'_'.date("Y-m-d").'_'.date("H:i:s"); $googleCloudStoragePath = $newFolderName.'/'.$filename; /* Upload a file to the bucket. Using Predefined ACLs to manage object permissions, you may upload a file and give read access to anyone with the URL.*/ $bucket->upload($fileSource, [ 'predefinedAcl' => 'publicRead', 'name' => $googleCloudStoragePath ]); return response()->json([ "status" => "success", "message" => "PDF saved successfully ", "data" => [ "url" => url($fileStoragePath), "google_storage_url" => 'https://storage.cloud.google.com/'.$storageBucketName.'/'.$googleCloudStoragePath ] ]); ``` If you see this error: `ext-json is missing in composer.json`, this solves it: ```json "require": { "ext-json": "*" }, ``` ## Send Email Notification After signing up on mailtrap.io, you can get your configuration settings from your inbox by clicking the settings icon: ![image](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/22425217/111836668-f5141b00-88f6-11eb-8329-d68e5e6d10c1.png) And selecting your desired language from the dropdown: ![image](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/22425217/111836866-4b815980-88f7-11eb-8a34-481b1f2c6eb8.png) Your smtp settings will be displayed below the dropdown. Copy the settings and add them to your `.env` file. Run this command after making the configuration changes: ```bash composer dump-autoload php artisan config:clear php artisan config:cache ``` Now we will create a nofication using Laravel's Artisan command ```bash php artisan make:notification PdfNotification ``` This command will place a fresh notification class in the `app/Notifications` directory. In the `__constructor()` add this code: ```php filePath = $filePath; $this->fileUrl = $fileUrl; } ``` In the `toMail()` method, add this code: ```php subject('Laravel Notification') ->from('youremail@domain.com') ->greeting("Dear " . $notifiable->name . ",") ->line("Please find attached your document") ->line('Thank you for using our application!') ->action('Download File', url($this->fileUrl)) ->attach($this->filePath); } ``` In the `PdfGeneratorController`, add these classes: ```php use App\Models\User; use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Notification; ``` Next, inside the `store()` method, before the returning the `response()->json()` create a `User` and send them a notification: ```php $request['email'], 'name' => $request['firstname'] ]); Notification::send($user, new PdfNotification($publicPath, url($fileStoragePath))); ``` The email should look like this: ![image](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/22425217/111843594-c485ae80-8901-11eb-94b8-4075231f0ff9.png)

ediri_aghwotu

How to upload files to Google Cloud using Laravel

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