gdown is a command-line downloader that retrieves public files from Google Drive when standard tools like curl and wget fail.
Google Drive serves a confirmation page for large files and uses inconsistent URL formats, making downloads with conventional tools unreliable. gdown bypasses the virus-scan confirmation page that blocks large downloads, handles folder downloads recursively, exports Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides to formats like PDF, DOCX, and CSV, supports resuming interrupted downloads, and works as a general-purpose downloader for any HTTP or HTTPS URL. The tool automatically extracts file IDs from Google Drive URLs and retrieves the actual file content rather than the HTML page.
The tool suits anyone needing to automate downloads from Google Drive, particularly for large files or batch operations. It works well in scripts and CI/CD pipelines where interactive browser access is unavailable. For files behind Google's throttling, gdown can reuse browser cookies from Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, and other major browsers to authenticate as a signed-in user, bypassing rate limits. The project also handles edge cases like resuming downloads that timeout after approximately one hour and works with plain HTTP URLs as a curl or wget alternative. Installation requires Python 3.10 or later.
Development activity shows consistent maintenance with regular bug fixes and feature refinement. The project actively addresses platform-specific issues, particularly around cookie extraction from different browsers and their security mechanisms. Documentation is thorough, covering common failure modes and their solutions with detailed platform notes for Linux, macOS, and Windows. The tool remains responsive to user-reported problems, as evidenced by the FAQ section addressing specific download failures and workarounds.
