Returning binary data from a Django view

views.py

from django.http import HttpResponse

def django_file_download_view(request):
    filepath = '/path/to/file.xlsx'
    with open(filepath, 'r') as fp:
        data = fp.read()
    filename = 'some-filename.xlsx'
    response = HttpResponse(mimetype="application/ms-excel")
    response['Content-Disposition'] = 'attachment; filename=%s' % filename # force browser to download file
    response.write(data)
    return response