To export a PHP array to CSV, use fputcsv with proper headers. 1. Use fputcsv to handle formatting, including commas and special characters. 2. For browser download, set headers: Content-Type: text/csv and Content-Disposition: attachment;filename=export.csv. 3. When saving server-side, replace php://output with a file path. 4. For associative arrays, write headers once using array_keys. 5. Ensure no output occurs before headers to avoid errors.
If you need to export a PHP array to a CSV file, the process is pretty straightforward. As long as you understand how to handle arrays and output data properly, it's just a matter of formatting and headers.

Use fputcsv
for clean output
PHP has a built-in function called fputcsv()
that does most of the heavy lifting. It automatically formats each row of your array into a proper CSV line, handling commas, quotes, and special characters correctly.

Here’s a basic example:
$data = [ ['Name', 'Email', 'Country'], ['John Doe', 'john@example.com', 'USA'], ['Jane Smith', 'jane@email.com', 'Canada'] ]; header('Content-Type: text/csv'); header('Content-Disposition: attachment;filename=export.csv'); $fp = fopen('php://output', 'php'); foreach ($data as $row) { fputcsv($fp, $row); } fclose($fp);
This will send the CSV directly to the browser and prompt a download. If instead you want to save it to a file on the server, replace 'php://output'
with a real file path like 'export.csv'
.

Handle associative arrays if needed
If your array uses keys (like from a database fetch), you’ll probably want to include the headers too. Just grab the keys once before looping:
$data = [ ['name' => 'John Doe', 'email' => 'john@example.com'], ['name' => 'Jane Smith', 'email' => 'jane@email.com'] ]; $fp = fopen('php://output', 'php'); // Write header only once fputcsv($fp, array_keys($data[0])); foreach ($data as $row) { fputcsv($fp, $row); } fclose($fp);
Just keep in mind that associative arrays may not always preserve order across PHP versions unless you're careful.
Set correct headers for downloads
To make sure browsers treat it as a downloadable CSV file, these headers are important:
-
Content-Type: text/csv
tells the browser what type of content it is. -
Content-Disposition: attachment;filename=yourfile.csv
makes it download with a specific name.
Omitting or misconfiguring these might result in the CSV showing up as plain text in the browser.
Also:
- Make sure no extra output happens before
header()
calls — no spaces, echo statements, or includes. - If you're using a framework or template system, check if it already sends headers.
So that's basically it. The main points are: use fputcsv
, manage headers right, and adjust for associative arrays if needed. Not super fancy, but gets the job done reliably.
The above is the detailed content of how to export a php array to a csv file. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

Hot AI Tools

Undress AI Tool
Undress images for free

Undresser.AI Undress
AI-powered app for creating realistic nude photos

AI Clothes Remover
Online AI tool for removing clothes from photos.

Clothoff.io
AI clothes remover

Video Face Swap
Swap faces in any video effortlessly with our completely free AI face swap tool!

Hot Article

Hot Tools

Notepad++7.3.1
Easy-to-use and free code editor

SublimeText3 Chinese version
Chinese version, very easy to use

Zend Studio 13.0.1
Powerful PHP integrated development environment

Dreamweaver CS6
Visual web development tools

SublimeText3 Mac version
God-level code editing software (SublimeText3)

Common problems and solutions for PHP variable scope include: 1. The global variable cannot be accessed within the function, and it needs to be passed in using the global keyword or parameter; 2. The static variable is declared with static, and it is only initialized once and the value is maintained between multiple calls; 3. Hyperglobal variables such as $_GET and $_POST can be used directly in any scope, but you need to pay attention to safe filtering; 4. Anonymous functions need to introduce parent scope variables through the use keyword, and when modifying external variables, you need to pass a reference. Mastering these rules can help avoid errors and improve code stability.

To safely handle PHP file uploads, you need to verify the source and type, control the file name and path, set server restrictions, and process media files twice. 1. Verify the upload source to prevent CSRF through token and detect the real MIME type through finfo_file using whitelist control; 2. Rename the file to a random string and determine the extension to store it in a non-Web directory according to the detection type; 3. PHP configuration limits the upload size and temporary directory Nginx/Apache prohibits access to the upload directory; 4. The GD library resaves the pictures to clear potential malicious data.

There are three common methods for PHP comment code: 1. Use // or # to block one line of code, and it is recommended to use //; 2. Use /.../ to wrap code blocks with multiple lines, which cannot be nested but can be crossed; 3. Combination skills comments such as using /if(){}/ to control logic blocks, or to improve efficiency with editor shortcut keys, you should pay attention to closing symbols and avoid nesting when using them.

AgeneratorinPHPisamemory-efficientwaytoiterateoverlargedatasetsbyyieldingvaluesoneatatimeinsteadofreturningthemallatonce.1.Generatorsusetheyieldkeywordtoproducevaluesondemand,reducingmemoryusage.2.Theyareusefulforhandlingbigloops,readinglargefiles,or

The key to writing PHP comments is to clarify the purpose and specifications. Comments should explain "why" rather than "what was done", avoiding redundancy or too simplicity. 1. Use a unified format, such as docblock (/*/) for class and method descriptions to improve readability and tool compatibility; 2. Emphasize the reasons behind the logic, such as why JS jumps need to be output manually; 3. Add an overview description before complex code, describe the process in steps, and help understand the overall idea; 4. Use TODO and FIXME rationally to mark to-do items and problems to facilitate subsequent tracking and collaboration. Good annotations can reduce communication costs and improve code maintenance efficiency.

In PHP, you can use square brackets or curly braces to obtain string specific index characters, but square brackets are recommended; the index starts from 0, and the access outside the range returns a null value and cannot be assigned a value; mb_substr is required to handle multi-byte characters. For example: $str="hello";echo$str[0]; output h; and Chinese characters such as mb_substr($str,1,1) need to obtain the correct result; in actual applications, the length of the string should be checked before looping, dynamic strings need to be verified for validity, and multilingual projects recommend using multi-byte security functions uniformly.

ToinstallPHPquickly,useXAMPPonWindowsorHomebrewonmacOS.1.OnWindows,downloadandinstallXAMPP,selectcomponents,startApache,andplacefilesinhtdocs.2.Alternatively,manuallyinstallPHPfromphp.netandsetupaserverlikeApache.3.OnmacOS,installHomebrew,thenrun'bre

TolearnPHPeffectively,startbysettingupalocalserverenvironmentusingtoolslikeXAMPPandacodeeditorlikeVSCode.1)InstallXAMPPforApache,MySQL,andPHP.2)Useacodeeditorforsyntaxsupport.3)TestyoursetupwithasimplePHPfile.Next,learnPHPbasicsincludingvariables,ech
