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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-15T16:13:02+00:00

What is the correct way to automatically serve either a .dmg or a .exe

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What is the correct way to automatically serve either a .dmg or a .exe file depending on the OS/browser the user is using to connect to a Java Webapp?

I’d like to do it server side, without having to use any JavaScript.

For example if, from an OS X machine, I go to: absolute poker and click on “Download & Play” (it is just an example of a website that has the behavior I’m looking for) it serves me a .dmg file that is automatically downloaded by Safari.

I’m looking for a solution that is practical: if it works for 99% of my users I’m happy. I don’t care if for some very particular OS/browser combination it doesn’t work, as long as “most of the time” Windows users gets served a .exe and OS X users a .dmg.

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    You can extract it from the User-Agent HTTP headr.

    String userAgent = request.getHeader("User-Agent");

    Here is a useful resource on how to extract the OS from the User-Agent (it’s PHP, but the data is important).

    Update: this provides a much better way to get info from the user agent. (thanks to BalusC for the link)

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