Laravel storage::disk [In-Depth Tutorial]

Laravel Storage::disk() – File Storage Made Easy

One of Laravel's most powerful features is its flexible storage system. The the Storage::disk() method allows you to work with different file systems—whether it’s local storage, public folders, or cloud services like Amazon S3.

What is Storage::disk()?

The the disk() method retrieves a file system instance for a given disk configuration. A disk refers to a specific storage driver and location, such as:

• Local filesystem

• Public directory

• Amazon S3 (cloud)

$disk = Storage::disk('local');

You can then use this $disk instance to perform operations like creating, reading, updating, and deleting files.

Configuration: config/filesystems.php

return [
    'default' => env('FILESYSTEM_DISK', 'local'),

    'disks' => [
        'local' => [
            'driver' => 'local',
            'root' => storage_path('app'),
        ],

        'public' => [
            'driver' => 'local',
            'root' => storage_path('app/public'),
            'url' => env('APP_URL').'/storage',
            'visibility' => 'public',
        ],

        's3' => [
            'driver' => 's3',
            'key' => env('AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID'),
            'secret' => env('AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY'),
            'region' => env('AWS_DEFAULT_REGION'),
            'bucket' => env('AWS_BUCKET'),
            'url' => env('AWS_URL'),
            'endpoint' => env('AWS_ENDPOINT'),
            'use_path_style_endpoint' => env('AWS_USE_PATH_STYLE_ENDPOINT', false),
        ],
    ],

    'links' => [
        public_path('storage') => storage_path('app/public'),
    ],
];

• local is the default disk.

• public is for publicly accessible files.

• s3 integrates with Amazon S3 cloud storage.

⚠️ Use the following command to create a symbolic link to access public files:

php artisan storage:link

Example 1: Upload File to Local Disk

Step 1: Laravel Setup

laravel new laravel_demo_blog
cd laravel_demo_blog
php artisan make:model Blog -mcr
code .

Step 2: Database Setup

Create a database named laravel_demo_blog:

mysql -u root -p
create database laravel_demo_blog;
exit;

Step 3: Migration Schema

Edit the migration file in database/migrations/*_create_blogs_table.php:

Schema::create('blogs', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->id();
    $table->string('title');
    $table->string('image');
    $table->text('body');
    $table->timestamps();
});

Run the migration:

php artisan migrate

Step 4: Blade View (resources/views/create.blade.php)

<x-layout>
    <form action="{{ url('store') }}" method="POST" enctype="multipart/form-data" class="w-2/4 mx-auto">
        @csrf
        <div class="mb-4">
            <label for="title" class="block mb-2">Title:</label>
            <input type="text" name="title" class="w-full bg-gray-100 text-gray-700 p-2 rounded focus:outline-none sm:w-4/5">
        </div>
        <div class="mb-4">
            <label for="body" class="block mb-2">Body:</label>
            <textarea name="body" rows="7" class="w-full bg-gray-100 text-gray-700 p-2 rounded focus:outline-none sm:w-4/5"></textarea>
        </div>
        <div class="mb-4">
            <input type="file" name="file">
        </div>
        <div class="mb-4">
            <button class="bg-cyan-800 hover:bg-cyan-900 rounded px-8 py-2">Store</button>
        </div>
    </form>
</x-layout>

Step 5: Routes (routes/web.php)

use App\Http\Controllers\BlogController;

Route::get('/', [BlogController::class, 'index']);
Route::get('create', [BlogController::class, 'create']);
Route::post('store', [BlogController::class, 'store']);

Step 6: Controller Logic

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Storage;

public function store(Request $request)
{
    $img = $request->file('file');
    $img_name = $img->getClientOriginalName();

    $blog = new Blog();
    $blog->title = $request->title;
    $blog->body = $request->body;
    $blog->image = $img_name;

    Storage::disk('public')->put('images/' . $img_name, file_get_contents($img));

    $blog->save();

    return redirect('/');
}

Example 2: Upload File to Amazon S3

public function uploadToS3(Request $request)
{
    $file = $request->file('file');
    $s3 = Storage::disk('s3');
    $filename = uniqid() . '.' . $file->getClientOriginalExtension();

    $s3->putFileAs('uploads', $file, $filename);
    $url = $s3->url('uploads/' . $filename);

    return response()->json(['url' => $url]);
}

Laravel Storage Cheat Sheet

Command	Description
Storage::disk('local')->delete('example.txt')	Delete file
Storage::disk('local')->deleteDirectory('folder')	Delete directory
$files = Storage::disk('local')->files('folder')	List files
Storage::disk('local')->exists('file')	File existence
Storage::disk('s3')->put('file', 'content')	Upload to S3
Storage::disk('s3')->url('file')	Get S3 file URL
Storage::disk('local')->get('file')	Read file
Storage::disk('local')->size('file')	Get file size
Storage::disk('local')->lastModified('file')	Last modified time
Storage::disk('local')->append('file', 'text')	Append text
Storage::disk('local')->makeDirectory('folder')	Create directory

Conclusion

Laravel's Storage::disk() method unifies file management across various storage options like local, public, and cloud services (Amazon S3, FTP, etc.). Whether you're building a blog, uploading documents, or handling media, Laravel provides a consistent and easy-to-use API for managing your file storage.