Easily create a Zip file using PHP

Creating .ZIP archives using PHP can be just as simple as creating them on your desktop. PHP’s ZIP class provides all the functionality you need! To make the process a bit faster for you, I’ve coded a simple create_zip function for you to use on your projects.

The PHP

/* creates a compressed zip file */
function create_zip($files = array(),$destination = '',$overwrite = false) {
  //if the zip file already exists and overwrite is false, return false
  if(file_exists($destination) && !$overwrite) { return false; }
  //vars
  $valid_files = array();
  //if files were passed in...
  if(is_array($files)) {
    //cycle through each file
    foreach($files as $file) {
      //make sure the file exists
      if(file_exists($file)) {
        $valid_files[] = $file;
      }
    }
  }
  //if we have good files...
  if(count($valid_files)) {
    //create the archive
    $zip = new ZipArchive();
    if($zip->open($destination,$overwrite ? ZIPARCHIVE::OVERWRITE : ZIPARCHIVE::CREATE) !== true) {
      return false;
    }
    //add the files
    foreach($valid_files as $file) {
      $zip->addFile($file,$file);
    }
    //debug
    //echo 'The zip archive contains ',$zip->numFiles,' files with a status of ',$zip->status;
    
    //close the zip -- done!
    $zip->close();
    
    //check to make sure the file exists
    return file_exists($destination);
  }
  else
  {
    return false;
  }
}

How to use

$files_to_zip = array(
  'images/im1.jpg',
  'images/im2.jpg',
  'images/im3.jpg',
  'images/im1.gif',
  'docs/doc1.doc'
);
//if true, good; if false, zip creation failed
$result = create_zip($files_to_zip,'my-archive.zip');

The function accepts an array of files, the name of the destination files, and whether or not you’d like the destination file to be overwritten if a file of the same name exists. The function returns true if the file was created, false if the process runs into any problems.