Reddit API Image Getter

CLI tool and Node.js library to fetch and download images from Reddit subreddits. Zero dependencies, uses modern Node.js built-in modules.

Install

As a CLI tool (global):

npm install -g reddit-api-image-getter

As a Node.js library:

npm install reddit-api-image-getter --save

CLI Usage

After global installation, use the reddit-images command:

# Download hot images from a subreddit
reddit-images ProgrammerHumor

# Download top images instead of hot
reddit-images typescript --top

# Specify custom output directory
reddit-images javascript --output ./my-images

# Short flags
reddit-images memes -t -o ~/Downloads/reddit-images

# Show help
reddit-images --help

# Show version
reddit-images --version

CLI Options

• <subreddit> - The subreddit name (without r/)
• -t, --top - Get top images instead of hot (default: hot)
• -o, --output DIR - Output directory (default: ./images)
• -h, --help - Show help message
• -v, --version - Show version number

Images are automatically organized into subdirectories by subreddit name.

Library Usage (Node.js)

Use as a Node.js library in your projects:

Example

const path = require('path');
const RedditApiImageGetter = require('reddit-api-image-getter');

const getter = new RedditApiImageGetter();

// `getHotImagesOfSubReddit('subreddit')`
// returns a Promise, that, when successful returns
// an Array containing RedditImageEntry object instances.
// 
// Each RedditImageEntry object is then passed to
// `saveRedditImageEntryToDisk(imageEntry, path)`
// to be saved to disk. 
//
// See what each RedditImageEntry does in 
// lib/classes/RedditImageEntry.js and lib/classes/RedditEntry.js
//
// get the top images of a subreddit: using
// getTopImagesOfSubReddit(subreddit = 'ProgrammerHumor')
// 
getter.getHotImagesOfSubReddit('ProgrammerHumor').then(function (result) {
  for (imageEntry of result) {
    const targetDirectory = path.resolve(__dirname, 'images', 'hot');
    getter.saveRedditImageEntryToDisk(imageEntry, targetDirectory);
  }
}).catch(function (error) {
  console.log(error)
})

getter.getTopImagesOfSubReddit('ProgrammerHumor').then(function (result) {
  for (imageEntry of result) {
    // do begin with a starting '/' if you need to: 
    // https://nodejs.org/api/path.html#path_path_resolve_paths
    const targetDirectory = path.resolve(__dirname, 'images', 'top');
    getter.saveRedditImageEntryToDisk(imageEntry, targetDirectory);
  }
}).catch(function (error) {
  console.log(error);
});

Modern async/await syntax:

const RedditApiImageGetter = require('reddit-api-image-getter');
const path = require('path');

async function downloadImages() {
  const getter = new RedditApiImageGetter();

  try {
    // Get hot images
    const hotImages = await getter.getHotImagesOfSubReddit('ProgrammerHumor');
    const targetDirectory = path.resolve(__dirname, 'images', 'hot');

    for (const imageEntry of hotImages) {
      if (imageEntry.imageUrl) {
        getter.saveRedditImageEntryToDisk(imageEntry, targetDirectory);
      }
    }

    console.log(`Downloaded ${hotImages.length} images`);
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error:', error);
  }
}

downloadImages();

Requirements

• Node.js >=21.0.0 (for built-in fetch support)
• Zero dependencies!

Features

• ✅ Zero dependencies - Uses only Node.js built-in modules
• ✅ CLI tool - Use from command line globally
• ✅ Node.js library - Integrate into your projects
• ✅ TypeScript support - Full type definitions included
• ✅ Modern async/await - Clean, modern JavaScript
• ✅ Automatic file organization - Images sorted by subreddit
• ✅ Duplicate prevention - Won't overwrite existing files

Example with Telegram Bot

https://www.simon-neutert.de/2020/telegraf-bot-nodejs/

Contributing

Check out the source code on GitHub and feel free to contribute!