How to create a route that handles file downloads in Laravel?

To create a route that handles file downloads in Laravel, you can follow these steps:

Define a route in your routes/web.php file or in a specific route file:

Route::get('download/{file}', 'DownloadController@download')->name('download.file');

Create a DownloadController (or use an existing one) using the following command:

php artisan make:controller DownloadController

In the DownloadController, add a download method that will handle the file download:

<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Storage;

class DownloadController extends Controller
{
    public function download($file)
    {
        $filePath = storage_path('app/public/' . $file);
        
        if (file_exists($filePath)) {
            return response()->download($filePath);
        }
        
        abort(404, 'File not found.');
    }
}

Make sure the file you want to download is stored in the storage/app/public directory. Alternatively, you can modify the $filePath variable in the download method to match your file storage location.
To protect the file downloads, you can add authorization middleware to the download method or the route itself.
You can now use the route helper function in your views or controllers to generate the download URL:

<a href="{{ route('download.file', ['file' => 'example.pdf']) }}">Download</a>

Make sure to replace 'example.pdf' with the actual file name you want to download.

Now, when a user clicks on the download link, it will trigger the download method and initiate the file download.