wc-downloadable-products

WooCommerce downloadable products

Use WooCommerce's product and customer-download objects. A downloadable product definition is not itself customer access, and a permission row is not sufficient unless the related order currently permits downloads.

Start with the three-layer model

Never infer access from _downloadable_files, product ownership, or a permission row alone. Resolve the actual order and use its is_download_permitted() gate.

Choose the task path

• Creating or changing product files: use product CRUD and preserve existing download IDs.
• Granting after purchase: let Woo's processing/completed lifecycle call wc_downloadable_product_permissions().
• Adding one deliberate entitlement: call wc_downloadable_file_permission() with a real product and order.
• Regenerating an order: delete that order's existing permissions with the customer-download data store, then force the canonical grant.
• Displaying customer downloads: use wc_get_customer_available_downloads() or order downloadable-item APIs.
• Debugging security, storage, limits, REST, tracking, or duplicate rows: load references/core-download-contract.md.

Create or update a downloadable product

$product = new WC_Product_Simple();
$product->set_name( 'Field guide' );
$product->set_regular_price( '29.00' );
$product->set_virtual( true );
$product->set_downloadable( true );
$product->set_download_limit( 3 ); // -1 means unlimited.
$product->set_download_expiry( 30 ); // Days; -1 means no expiry.

$file = new WC_Product_Download();
$file->set_id( wp_generate_uuid4() );
$file->set_name( 'PDF guide' );
$file->set_file( $protected_download_url );

$product->set_downloads( array( $file ) );
$product->save();