@capgo/capacitor-downloader

Download file in background or foreground

Why Capacitor Downloader?

A reliable native file downloader built for Capacitor apps that continues downloads even when your app is backgrounded or closed:

• Background downloads - Downloads continue even when app is minimized, backgrounded, or closed (main advantage)
• Progress tracking - Real-time progress updates during downloads
• Network control - Choose between WiFi-only or cellular network downloads
• Custom headers - Add authentication tokens and custom HTTP headers
• Resumable downloads - Pause and resume downloads (platform dependent)
• Event listeners - Monitor download progress, completion, and failures
• Large file support - Handle multi-gigabyte files without memory issues
• Free and open source - No paid services required

Perfect for downloading large media files, offline content, app updates, and any scenario where downloads need to survive app lifecycle events.

Documentation

The most complete doc is available here: https://capgo.app/docs/plugins/downloader/

Install

npm install @capgo/capacitor-downloader
npx cap sync

API

• download(...)
• pause(...)
• resume(...)
• stop(...)
• checkStatus(...)
• getFileInfo(...)
• addListener('downloadProgress', ...)
• addListener('downloadCompleted', ...)
• addListener('downloadFailed', ...)
• removeAllListeners()
• getPluginVersion()
• Interfaces

Capacitor plugin for downloading files with background support. Provides resumable downloads with progress tracking.

download(...)

download(options: DownloadOptions) => Promise<DownloadTask>

Start a new download task.

| Param | Type | Description | | ------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------ | | options | DownloadOptions | - Download configuration |

Returns: Promise<DownloadTask>

pause(...)

pause(id: string) => Promise<void>

Pause an active download. Download can be resumed later from the same position.

| Param | Type | Description | | -------- | ------------------- | ---------------------------------- | | id | string | - ID of the download task to pause |

resume(...)

resume(id: string) => Promise<void>

Resume a paused download. Continues from where it was paused.

| Param | Type | Description | | -------- | ------------------- | ----------------------------------- | | id | string | - ID of the download task to resume |

stop(...)

stop(id: string) => Promise<void>

Stop and cancel a download permanently. Downloaded data will be deleted.

| Param | Type | Description | | -------- | ------------------- | --------------------------------- | | id | string | - ID of the download task to stop |

checkStatus(...)

checkStatus(id: string) => Promise<DownloadTask>

Check the current status of a download.

| Param | Type | Description | | -------- | ------------------- | ---------------------------------- | | id | string | - ID of the download task to check |

Returns: Promise<DownloadTask>

getFileInfo(...)

getFileInfo(path: string) => Promise<{ size: number; type: string; }>

Get information about a downloaded file.

| Param | Type | Description | | ---------- | ------------------- | ---------------------------- | | path | string | - Local file path to inspect |

Returns: Promise<{ size: number; type: string; }>

addListener('downloadProgress', ...)

addListener(eventName: 'downloadProgress', listenerFunc: (progress: { id: string; progress: number; }) => void) => Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Listen for download progress updates. Fired periodically as download progresses.

| Param | Type | Description | | ------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | | eventName | 'downloadProgress' | - Must be 'downloadProgress' | | listenerFunc | (progress: { id: string; progress: number; }) => void | - Callback receiving progress updates |

Returns: Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

addListener('downloadCompleted', ...)

addListener(eventName: 'downloadCompleted', listenerFunc: (result: { id: string; }) => void) => Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Listen for download completion. Fired when a download finishes successfully.

| Param | Type | Description | | ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | | eventName | 'downloadCompleted' | - Must be 'downloadCompleted' | | listenerFunc | (result: { id: string; }) => void | - Callback receiving completion notification |

Returns: Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

addListener('downloadFailed', ...)

addListener(eventName: 'downloadFailed', listenerFunc: (error: { id: string; error: string; }) => void) => Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

Listen for download failures. Fired when a download encounters an error.

| Param | Type | Description | | ------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- | | eventName | 'downloadFailed' | - Must be 'downloadFailed' | | listenerFunc | (error: { id: string; error: string; }) => void | - Callback receiving error information |

Returns: Promise<PluginListenerHandle>

removeAllListeners()

removeAllListeners() => Promise<void>

Remove all event listeners. Cleanup method to prevent memory leaks.

getPluginVersion()

getPluginVersion() => Promise<{ version: string; }>

Get the plugin version number.

Returns: Promise<{ version: string; }>

Interfaces

DownloadTask

Represents the current state and progress of a download task.

| Prop | Type | Description | | -------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- | | id | string | Unique identifier for the download task | | progress | number | Download progress from 0 to 100 | | state | 'PENDING' | 'RUNNING' | 'PAUSED' | 'DONE' | 'ERROR' | Current state of the download |

DownloadOptions

Configuration options for starting a download.

| Prop | Type | Description | | ----------------- | ---------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | | id | string | Unique identifier for this download task | | url | string | URL of the file to download | | destination | string | Local file path where the download will be saved | | headers | { [key: string]: string; } | Optional HTTP headers to include in the request | | network | 'cellular' | 'wifi-only' | Network type requirement for download | | priority | 'high' | 'normal' | 'low' | Download priority level |

PluginListenerHandle

| Prop | Type | | ------------ | ----------------------------------------- | | remove | () => Promise<void> |

Credit

This plugin was inspired from: https://github.com/kesha-antonov/react-native-background-downloader