diff --git a/docs/patterns/fileuploads.rst b/docs/patterns/fileuploads.rst index 1982fe3e..339e6b53 100644 --- a/docs/patterns/fileuploads.rst +++ b/docs/patterns/fileuploads.rst @@ -33,11 +33,7 @@ bootstrapping code for our application:: So first we need a couple of imports. Most should be straightforward, the :func:`werkzeug.secure_filename` is explained a little bit later. The ``UPLOAD_FOLDER`` is where we will store the uploaded files and the -``ALLOWED_EXTENSIONS`` is the set of allowed file extensions. Then we add a -URL rule by hand to the application. Now usually we're not doing that, so -why here? The reasons is that we want the webserver (or our development -server) to serve these files for us and so we only need a rule to generate -the URL to these files. +``ALLOWED_EXTENSIONS`` is the set of allowed file extensions. Why do we limit the extensions that are allowed? You probably don't want your users to be able to upload everything there if the server is directly @@ -108,8 +104,11 @@ before storing it directly on the filesystem. >>> secure_filename('../../../../home/username/.bashrc') 'home_username_.bashrc' -Now one last thing is missing: the serving of the uploaded files. As of -Flask 0.5 we can use a function that does that for us:: +Now one last thing is missing: the serving of the uploaded files. In the +:func:`upload_file()` we redirect the user to +``url_for('uploaded_file', filename=filename)``, that is, ``/uploads/filename``. +So we write the :func:`uploaded_file` function to return the file of that name. As +of Flask 0.5 we can use a function that does that for us:: from flask import send_from_directory diff --git a/docs/patterns/fileuploads.rst~ b/docs/patterns/fileuploads.rst~ new file mode 100644 index 00000000..1982fe3e --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/patterns/fileuploads.rst~ @@ -0,0 +1,190 @@ +.. _uploading-files: + +Uploading Files +=============== + +Ah yes, the good old problem of file uploads. The basic idea of file +uploads is actually quite simple. It basically works like this: + +1. A ``
`` tag is marked with ``enctype=multipart/form-data`` + and an ```` is placed in that form. +2. The application accesses the file from the :attr:`~flask.request.files` + dictionary on the request object. +3. use the :meth:`~werkzeug.datastructures.FileStorage.save` method of the file to save + the file permanently somewhere on the filesystem. + +A Gentle Introduction +--------------------- + +Let's start with a very basic application that uploads a file to a +specific upload folder and displays a file to the user. Let's look at the +bootstrapping code for our application:: + + import os + from flask import Flask, request, redirect, url_for + from werkzeug.utils import secure_filename + + UPLOAD_FOLDER = '/path/to/the/uploads' + ALLOWED_EXTENSIONS = set(['txt', 'pdf', 'png', 'jpg', 'jpeg', 'gif']) + + app = Flask(__name__) + app.config['UPLOAD_FOLDER'] = UPLOAD_FOLDER + +So first we need a couple of imports. Most should be straightforward, the +:func:`werkzeug.secure_filename` is explained a little bit later. The +``UPLOAD_FOLDER`` is where we will store the uploaded files and the +``ALLOWED_EXTENSIONS`` is the set of allowed file extensions. Then we add a +URL rule by hand to the application. Now usually we're not doing that, so +why here? The reasons is that we want the webserver (or our development +server) to serve these files for us and so we only need a rule to generate +the URL to these files. + +Why do we limit the extensions that are allowed? You probably don't want +your users to be able to upload everything there if the server is directly +sending out the data to the client. That way you can make sure that users +are not able to upload HTML files that would cause XSS problems (see +:ref:`xss`). Also make sure to disallow ``.php`` files if the server +executes them, but who has PHP installed on his server, right? :) + +Next the functions that check if an extension is valid and that uploads +the file and redirects the user to the URL for the uploaded file:: + + def allowed_file(filename): + return '.' in filename and \ + filename.rsplit('.', 1)[1] in ALLOWED_EXTENSIONS + + @app.route('/', methods=['GET', 'POST']) + def upload_file(): + if request.method == 'POST': + # check if the post request has the file part + if 'file' not in request.files: + flash('No file part') + return redirect(request.url) + file = request.files['file'] + # if user does not select file, browser also + # submit a empty part without filename + if file.filename == '': + flash('No selected file') + return redirect(request.url) + if file and allowed_file(file.filename): + filename = secure_filename(file.filename) + file.save(os.path.join(app.config['UPLOAD_FOLDER'], filename)) + return redirect(url_for('uploaded_file', + filename=filename)) + return ''' + + Upload new File +

Upload new File

+ +

+ +

+ ''' + +So what does that :func:`~werkzeug.utils.secure_filename` function actually do? +Now the problem is that there is that principle called "never trust user +input". This is also true for the filename of an uploaded file. All +submitted form data can be forged, and filenames can be dangerous. For +the moment just remember: always use that function to secure a filename +before storing it directly on the filesystem. + +.. admonition:: Information for the Pros + + So you're interested in what that :func:`~werkzeug.utils.secure_filename` + function does and what the problem is if you're not using it? So just + imagine someone would send the following information as `filename` to + your application:: + + filename = "../../../../home/username/.bashrc" + + Assuming the number of ``../`` is correct and you would join this with + the ``UPLOAD_FOLDER`` the user might have the ability to modify a file on + the server's filesystem he or she should not modify. This does require some + knowledge about how the application looks like, but trust me, hackers + are patient :) + + Now let's look how that function works: + + >>> secure_filename('../../../../home/username/.bashrc') + 'home_username_.bashrc' + +Now one last thing is missing: the serving of the uploaded files. As of +Flask 0.5 we can use a function that does that for us:: + + from flask import send_from_directory + + @app.route('/uploads/') + def uploaded_file(filename): + return send_from_directory(app.config['UPLOAD_FOLDER'], + filename) + +Alternatively you can register `uploaded_file` as `build_only` rule and +use the :class:`~werkzeug.wsgi.SharedDataMiddleware`. This also works with +older versions of Flask:: + + from werkzeug import SharedDataMiddleware + app.add_url_rule('/uploads/', 'uploaded_file', + build_only=True) + app.wsgi_app = SharedDataMiddleware(app.wsgi_app, { + '/uploads': app.config['UPLOAD_FOLDER'] + }) + +If you now run the application everything should work as expected. + + +Improving Uploads +----------------- + +.. versionadded:: 0.6 + +So how exactly does Flask handle uploads? Well it will store them in the +webserver's memory if the files are reasonable small otherwise in a +temporary location (as returned by :func:`tempfile.gettempdir`). But how +do you specify the maximum file size after which an upload is aborted? By +default Flask will happily accept file uploads to an unlimited amount of +memory, but you can limit that by setting the ``MAX_CONTENT_LENGTH`` +config key:: + + from flask import Flask, Request + + app = Flask(__name__) + app.config['MAX_CONTENT_LENGTH'] = 16 * 1024 * 1024 + +The code above will limited the maximum allowed payload to 16 megabytes. +If a larger file is transmitted, Flask will raise an +:exc:`~werkzeug.exceptions.RequestEntityTooLarge` exception. + +This feature was added in Flask 0.6 but can be achieved in older versions +as well by subclassing the request object. For more information on that +consult the Werkzeug documentation on file handling. + + +Upload Progress Bars +-------------------- + +A while ago many developers had the idea to read the incoming file in +small chunks and store the upload progress in the database to be able to +poll the progress with JavaScript from the client. Long story short: the +client asks the server every 5 seconds how much it has transmitted +already. Do you realize the irony? The client is asking for something it +should already know. + +Now there are better solutions to that work faster and more reliable. The +web changed a lot lately and you can use HTML5, Java, Silverlight or Flash +to get a nicer uploading experience on the client side. Look at the +following libraries for some nice examples how to do that: + +- `Plupload `_ - HTML5, Java, Flash +- `SWFUpload `_ - Flash +- `JumpLoader `_ - Java + + +An Easier Solution +------------------ + +Because the common pattern for file uploads exists almost unchanged in all +applications dealing with uploads, there is a Flask extension called +`Flask-Uploads`_ that implements a full fledged upload mechanism with +white and blacklisting of extensions and more. + +.. _Flask-Uploads: http://pythonhosted.org/Flask-Uploads/