ARTICLE AD BOX
In production you should NOT rely on webserver file access to storage/app (that's why you get 404). Instead store export files on the local disk and serve them through a Laravel route that checks auth/signature and streams the file (or use a temporary signed URL). That keeps the file private while allowing downloads in production.
Why this happens
In development Laravel's server, local file access (or a symlink) can make files appear to be available. In production your web server (nginx/apache) will only serve files from public/, and a URL returned to the browser that points to storage/app/..... will 404 unless you made the file publicly available (public/storage symlink) - which you don’t want.
Also if the export runs on a queue on a different machine than the web node, a local disk file won't be accessible from the web node.
Recommended solution
Store the exported file on the local disk (storage/app/....) so it remains private.
Create a signed or authenticated route that streams the file via Storage::disk('local')->download(...) (or returns a StreamedResponse). Use URL::temporarySignedRoute for time-limited access.
Ensure exports and the web process share the same filesystem (or use a shared disk) and give correct permissions.
2 Comments
Fun Fact: It is not permitted for you to use generative AI to create content on Stack Overflow during this ban. This also includes rewording, translating or explaining text or code written by you.
2025-11-25T22:07:57.547Z+00:00
Fun Fact: I did not use AI.... I used Translation (DeepL not ChatGPT xD) because I wrote it in German.. Even tho you are a Moderator, you guys are more into punishing and terrorizing people than solving Problems on Stackoverflow, thats crazy. If you insist i wrote it with AI cause one guy said so, delete the answer and punish me lol
2025-11-27T11:23:41.9Z+00:00
