How to Add Existing File to file_managed. File is Blank I have manually added some files to the Private Files directory on my Drupal 7 site and wish to add them to the file_managed table in the database.

This is what I have attempted:


Load the existing file with the file_get_contents($PATH_TO_FILE) function.
Used the file_save_data($loaded_file, $destination, FILE_EXISTING_REPLACE) function save the file and add it to the Database.


The Result:


The expected file is in the File System but is 0 bytes and blank
File is added to Database


The main issue is that the existing file isn't getting uploaded properly and is being displayed blank. How can I fix this?
Make sure that your $loaded_file is a file object enter link description here not just a file content.