How To Get File Name From Content Disposition

Have you ever needed to extract the file name from the Content-Disposition header in HTTP responses but weren't sure how to do it? Well, fear not, because in this article, we'll walk you through the simple steps to get the file name from Content-Disposition like a pro.

First things first, let's understand what the Content-Disposition header is. It's a response header that provides information on how to handle the content that is being returned. This header is commonly used when dealing with file downloads over the web.

To extract the file name from the Content-Disposition header, you'll need to parse the header value and locate the filename parameter. The filename parameter usually follows the key "filename=" in the header value.

Here's a simple example of a Content-Disposition header: "attachment; filename=myfile.pdf". In this example, the file name is "myfile.pdf".

Now, let's dive into how you can extract the file name from the Content-Disposition header using different programming languages:

### JavaScript:

const contentDisposition = "attachment; filename=myfile.pdf";
const fileNameMatch = contentDisposition.match(/filename[^;=n]*=((['"]).*?2|[^;n]*)/);

if (fileNameMatch && fileNameMatch[1]) {
    const fileName = fileNameMatch[1].replace(/['"]/g, '');
    console.log(fileName);
}

### Python:

import re

content_disposition = "attachment; filename=myfile.pdf"
file_name_match = re.search(r'filename=([^;]+)', content_disposition)

if file_name_match:
    file_name = file_name_match.group(1)
    print(file_name)

### Ruby:

content_disposition = "attachment; filename=myfile.pdf"
file_name_match = content_disposition.match(/filename=([^;]+)/)

if file_name_match
    file_name = file_name_match[1]
    puts file_name
end

By following these code snippets, you should be able to extract the file name from the Content-Disposition header in your web applications effortlessly.

In conclusion, extracting the file name from the Content-Disposition header is a relatively simple task once you understand the structure of the header and how to parse it effectively. With the examples provided in this article, you'll be equipped to handle this process confidently in various programming languages. So, next time you encounter the Content-Disposition header, you'll know exactly how to retrieve the file name like a tech-savvy pro!