| Your scenario | Recommended solution | | :--- | :--- | | Average file size < 10MB, total < 500MB, low concurrency | Level 1 (Streamed store) | | Total size > 500MB, users are on fast internet | Level 2 (Chunked deflate) | | Total size > 5GB or generation takes > 30 seconds | Level 3 (Async job) | | Files are already compressed (images, video) | Level 1 (store, no CPU waste) | | You control both client & server (internal tool) | Level 3 + direct disk mount |
(also known as streaming or dynamic ZIP) is a memory-efficient alternative. The server creates the ZIP archive in real-time. As the user requests the download, the server:
Some modern file managers (like Nextcloud) allow you to toggle how downloads are handled. Look for settings related to —sometimes disabling the zipping process and allowing the browser to handle multiple streams can solve the issue. | Your scenario | Recommended solution | |
memory_limit = 1024M max_execution_time = 300 max_input_time = 300
Legacy users (IE11) could not use background jobs or S3 links. Required direct HTTP download. Look for settings related to —sometimes disabling the
Are you managing this server yourself, or are you a trying to grab files from someone else's link?
For shared hosting, add these to .htaccess or wp-config.php (not always allowed): Are you managing this server yourself, or are
To understand the error, we must first understand the process. Traditionally, if you wanted to send someone a folder of 100 images, you would first compress them into a ZIP file on your computer, upload that ZIP file to a server, and send the link. The file sits on the server, taking up space, waiting to be downloaded.
use ZipStream\ZipStream; use ZipStream\File;
This keeps memory under 10MB even for 100GB archives.
