wp_remote_get alternative using local files? - php

Question

I have been using the following code to upload the first image on a page as the featured image.
function catch_that_image() {
global $post, $posts;
$first_img = '';
ob_start();
ob_end_clean();
$output = preg_match_all('/<img.+src=[\'"]([^\'"]+)[\'"].*>/i', $post->post_content, $matches);
$first_img = $matches [1] [0];
if(empty($first_img)){ //Defines a default image
$first_img = "/images/default.jpg";
}
return $first_img;
}
function save_first_image(){
global $post, $posts;
$first_image = catch_that_image();
$post_id = $post -> post_id;
$args = array('timeout' => '1200');
$get = wp_remote_get( $first_image,$args );
$type = wp_remote_retrieve_header( $get, 'content-type' );
$mirror = wp_upload_bits(rawurldecode(basename( $first_image )), '', wp_remote_retrieve_body( $get ) );
//Attachment options
$attachment = array(
'post_title'=> basename( $first_image ),
'post_mime_type' => $type
);
// Add the image to your media library and set as featured image
$attach_id = wp_insert_attachment( $attachment, $mirror['file'], $post_id );
$attach_data = wp_generate_attachment_metadata( $attach_id, $first_image );
wp_update_attachment_metadata( $attach_id, $attach_data );
set_post_thumbnail( $post_id, $attach_id );
}
It was working fine, but now seems to be always attaching a broken image.
Does anyone have experience of this - I am wondering if it is cloudflare causing the issue - but when I disable it, it is still uploading broken images.
All of the images are stored in a folder in the webroot of the site - is there a way to upload without using wp_remote_get?
Thanks

Answer 1

Hah, done it again - after hours of searching find the answer straight after posting here!!
function save_first_image(){
global $post, $posts;
$image_url = catch_that_image();
$post_id = $post -> post_id;
$upload_dir = wp_upload_dir();
$image_data = file_get_contents($image_url);
$filename = basename($image_url);
if(wp_mkdir_p($upload_dir['path']))
$file = $upload_dir['path'] . '/' . $filename;
else
$file = $upload_dir['basedir'] . '/' . $filename;
file_put_contents($file, $image_data);
$wp_filetype = wp_check_filetype($filename, null );
$attachment = array(
'post_mime_type' => $wp_filetype['type'],
'post_title' => sanitize_file_name($filename),
'post_content' => '',
'post_status' => 'inherit'
);
$attach_id = wp_insert_attachment( $attachment, $file, $post_id );
require_once(ABSPATH . 'wp-admin/includes/image.php');
$attach_data = wp_generate_attachment_metadata( $attach_id, $file );
wp_update_attachment_metadata( $attach_id, $attach_data );
set_post_thumbnail( $post_id, $attach_id );
}