electron-dl

Simplified file downloads for your Electron app

Why?

• One function call instead of having to manually implement a lot of boilerplate.
• Saves the file to the users Downloads directory instead of prompting.
• Bounces the Downloads directory in the dock when done. (macOS)
• Handles multiple downloads.
• Shows badge count (macOS & Linux only) and download progress. Example on macOS:

Install

$ npm install electron-dl

Requires Electron 7 or later.

Usage

Register it for all windows

This is probably what you want for your app.

const {app, BrowserWindow} = require('electron');
const electronDl = require('electron-dl');

electronDl();

let win;
(async () => {
	await app.whenReady();
	win = new BrowserWindow();
})();

Use it manually

This can be useful if you need download functionality in a reusable module.

const {BrowserWindow, ipcMain} = require('electron');
const {download} = require('electron-dl');

ipcMain.on('download-button', async (event, {url}) => {
 	const win = BrowserWindow.getFocusedWindow();
 	console.log(await download(win, url));
});

API

It can only be used in the main process.

electronDl(options?)

electronDl.download(window, url, options?): Promise<DownloadItem>

window

Type: BrowserWindow

Window to register the behavior on.

url

Type: string

URL to download.

options

Type: object

saveAs

Type: boolean
Default: false

Show a Save As… dialog instead of downloading immediately.

Note: Only use this option when strictly necessary. Downloading directly without a prompt is a much better user experience.

directory

Type: string
Default: User's downloads directory

Directory to save the file in.

filename

Type: string
Default: downloadItem.getFilename()

Name of the saved file.

This option only makes sense for electronDl.download().

errorTitle

Type: string
Default: 'Download Error'

Title of the error dialog. Can be customized for localization.

errorMessage

Type: string
Default: 'The download of {filename} was interrupted'

Message of the error dialog. {filename} is replaced with the name of the actual file. Can be customized for localization.

onStarted

Type: Function

Optional callback that receives the download item. You can use this for advanced handling such as canceling the item like item.cancel().

onProgress

Type: Function

Optional callback that receives an object containing information about the progress of the current download item.

{
	percent: 0.1,
	transferredBytes: 100,
	totalBytes: 1000
}

onCancel

Type: Function

Optional callback that receives the download item for which the download has been cancelled.

openFolderWhenDone

Type: boolean
Default: false

Reveal the downloaded file in the system file manager, and if possible, select the file.

showBadge

Type: boolean
Default: true

Shows the file count badge on macOS/Linux dock icons when download is in progress.

Development

After making changes, run the automated tests:

$ npm test

And before submitting a pull request, run the manual tests to manually verify that everything works:

npm start

Related

• electron-debug - Adds useful debug features to your Electron app
• electron-context-menu - Context menu for your Electron app
• electron-store - Save and load data like user preferences, app state, cache, etc
• electron-unhandled - Catch unhandled errors and promise rejections in your Electron app