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 30 or later.

Usage

Register it for all windows

This is probably what you want for your app.

import {app, BrowserWindow} from 'electron';
import electronDl from 'electron-dl';

electronDl();

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

Use it manually

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

import {BrowserWindow, ipcMain} from 'electron';
import {download, CancelError} from 'electron-dl';

ipcMain.on('download-button', async (event, {url}) => {
	const win = BrowserWindow.getFocusedWindow();
	try {
		console.log(await download(win, url));
	} catch (error) {
		if (error instanceof CancelError) {
			console.info('item.cancel() was called');
		} else {
			console.error(error);
		}
	}
});

API

It can only be used in the main process.

electronDl(options?)

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

window

Type: BrowserWindow | WebContentsView

The window to register the behavior on. Alternatively, a WebContentsView can be passed.

url

Type: string

The 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

The directory to save the file in.

Must be an absolute path.

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.

Note: Error dialog will not be shown in electronDl.download(). Please handle error manually.

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.

Note: Error dialog will not be shown in electronDl.download(). Please handle error manually.

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() which will throw electronDl.CancelError from the electronDl.download() method.

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
}

onTotalProgress

Type: Function

Optional callback that receives an object containing information about the combined progress of all download items done within any registered window.

Each time a new download is started, the next callback will include it. The progress percentage could therefore become smaller again. This callback provides the same data that is used for the progress bar on the app icon.

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

onCancel

Type: Function

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

onCompleted

Type: Function

Optional callback that receives an object with information about an item that has been completed. It is called for each completed item.

{
	filename: 'file.zip',
	path: '/path/file.zip',
	fileSize: 503320,
	mimeType: 'application/zip',
	url: 'https://example.com/file.zip'
}

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

Show a file count badge on the macOS/Linux dock/taskbar icon when a download is in progress.

showProgressBar

Type: boolean
Default: true

Show a progress bar on the dock/taskbar icon when a download is in progress.

overwrite

Type: boolean
Default: false

Allow downloaded files to overwrite files with the same name in the directory they are saved to.

The default behavior is to append a number to the filename.

dialogOptions

Type: SaveDialogOptions
Default: {}

Customize the save dialog.

If defaultPath is not explicity defined, a default value is assigned based on the file path.

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 settings, app state, cache, etc
• electron-unhandled - Catch unhandled errors and promise rejections in your Electron app