c# - How to delete file after download with ASP.NET MVC?

Question

I want to delete a file immediately after download, how do I do it? I've tried to subclass FilePathResult and override the WriteFile method where I delete file after

HttpResponseBase.TransmitFile

is called, but this hangs the application.

Can I safely delete a file after user downloads it?

Answer 1

You can return just regular FileStreamResult which is opened with FileOptions.DeleteOnClose. File stream will be disposed with result by asp.net. This answer dosen't require usage of low level response methods which may backfire in certain situations. Also no extra work will be done like loading file to memory as whole.

var fs = new FileStream(path, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read, FileShare.None, 4096, FileOptions.DeleteOnClose);
return File(
    fileStream: fs,
    contentType: System.Net.Mime.MediaTypeNames.Application.Octet,
    fileDownloadName: "File.abc");

This answer is based on answer by Alan West and comment by Thariq Nugrohotomo.