AddThisFeature

ZIP Download

Let people select several files and download them as one archive.

moderate Documents & Files

What it adds

A multi-select download that packages the chosen files and folders into a single archive.

What your agent is told to do

5
  1. 1

    Hang the action off the app's existing multi-select and Bulk Actions machinery. Users already know how to tick rows, and a separate selection mode for downloads will diverge from the rest of the list.

  2. 2

    Re-check every file against the requesting user's permissions at build time, not only at selection time. Reuse the app's Secure File Downloads path for each member rather than reading from storage directly.

  3. 3

    Show the total size and file count before the download starts, and let the user cancel a build that is still running.

  4. 4

    Name the archive after what was selected and the date, so a folder of ten downloads is still navigable a week later.

  5. 5

    Do not offer this as a way to export the entire account. That is a different feature with different expectations, and the app's Personal Data Export already covers it.

Edge cases it handles

8
  • Building the whole archive in memory before sending it will exhaust the process on a large selection and stall every other request on that worker. Stream entries out as they are read so memory stays flat regardless of selection size.
  • Two files from different folders can share a filename, and the archive will end up with a silent duplicate or a truncated one. Preserve the folder structure inside the archive, and where a collision still occurs, disambiguate the name rather than dropping the file.
  • Without a ceiling on total size and file count someone will select forty thousand files and hold a connection open for an hour. Set explicit limits, state them before the attempt, and explain what to deselect rather than failing at the end.
  • An archive that takes minutes to assemble should not be built on the request. Move it to background work, then send the user a link when it is ready, with an expiry on that link and the same permission check on redemption.
  • Non-Latin and accented filenames come back as replacement characters in some extraction tools. Write entry names in a Unicode-safe encoding and test with Cyrillic, Japanese, and accented Latin names before calling it done.
  • A stream that fails midway produces a downloaded file that looks complete and opens corrupt. Detect the failure, avoid presenting a partial archive as finished, and let the user retry.
  • A user who navigates away or loses connection mid-download must not leave a half-written temporary file behind on the server forever.
  • An empty selection, or one where every file has since been deleted, must produce a clear message rather than an archive with nothing in it.

Definition of done

9
  • Selecting several files and downloading produces one archive containing exactly those files.
  • The archive is streamed and server memory does not scale with selection size.
  • Folder structure is preserved inside the archive and filename collisions are disambiguated.
  • Size and file-count limits are stated before the attempt and enforced.
  • Long builds run in the background and deliver an expiring link that re-checks permissions.
  • Non-Latin filenames extract correctly on common desktop tools.
  • A failed build is reported rather than delivered as a truncated archive.
  • The feature matches the existing design system.
  • No existing functionality is broken.

Related features

How it works

  1. 1

    Copy the link

    Grab the Markdown instruction URL for this feature.

  2. 2

    Give it to your AI

    Paste it into Claude Code, Cursor, v0, Lovable — whatever you build with.

  3. 3

    It inspects, then implements

    Your agent reads your existing app first, then adds the feature to fit it.

Works with your stack

These instructions are written to adapt. They tell the agent to detect your framework, match your existing design system, and reuse what you already have — rather than assuming a particular stack.

Need it tighter than that? Customize the feature and tell it exactly what you're running.