🚀 Big News: Socket Acquires Coana to Bring Reachability Analysis to Every Appsec Team.Learn more
Socket
DemoInstallSign in
Socket

git-ripper

Package Overview
Dependencies
Maintainers
1
Versions
29
Alerts
File Explorer

Advanced tools

Socket logo

Install Socket

Detect and block malicious and high-risk dependencies

Install

git-ripper

CLI tool that lets you download specific folders from GitHub repositories without cloning the entire repo.

1.4.6
latest
Source
npm
Version published
Maintainers
1
Created
Source

Git-ripper

NPM version License Downloads Weekly Downloads Bundle Size GitHub issues GitHub stars GitHub forks Maintenance

Download specific folders from GitHub repositories without cloning the entire codebase

InstallationUsageFeaturesExamplesConfigurationTroubleshootingContributingLicense

Why Git-ripper?

Have you ever needed just a single component from a massive repository? Or wanted to reference a specific configuration directory without downloading gigabytes of code? Git-ripper solves this problem by letting you extract and download only the folders you need, saving bandwidth, time, and disk space.

Features

  • Selective Downloads: Fetch specific folders instead of entire repositories
  • Resume Interrupted Downloads: Automatically resume downloads that were interrupted or failed
  • Progress Tracking: Visual progress indicators with file-by-file download status
  • File Integrity Verification: Ensures downloaded files are complete and uncorrupted
  • Directory Structure: Preserves complete folder structure
  • Custom Output: Specify your preferred output directory
  • Branch Support: Works with any branch, not just the default one
  • Archive Export: Create ZIP archives of downloaded content
  • Checkpoint Management: View and manage saved download progress
  • Simple Interface: Clean, intuitive command-line experience
  • Lightweight: Minimal dependencies and fast execution
  • No Authentication: Works with public repositories without requiring credentials

Installation

Requirements

Git-ripper requires Node.js >=16.0.0 due to its use of modern JavaScript features and built-in Node.js modules.

npm install -g git-ripper

This installs Git-ripper as a global command-line tool accessible from anywhere in your terminal.

On-demand Usage

npx git-ripper <github-folder-url>

Run Git-ripper directly without installation using npx.

Usage

Basic Command

git-ripper https://github.com/username/repository/tree/branch/folder

With Custom Output Directory

git-ripper https://github.com/username/repository/tree/branch/folder -o ./my-output-folder

Creating ZIP Archive

git-ripper https://github.com/username/repository/tree/branch/folder --zip

Creating ZIP Archive with Custom Name

git-ripper https://github.com/username/repository/tree/branch/folder --zip="my-archive.zip"

Command Line Options

OptionDescriptionDefault
-o, --output <directory>Specify output directoryCurrent directory
--zip [filename]Create ZIP archive of downloaded content-
--no-resumeDisable resume functionality-
--force-restartIgnore existing checkpoints and restart-
--list-checkpointsList all saved download checkpoints-
-V, --versionShow version number-
-h, --helpShow help-

Examples

Extract a Component Library

# Download React DOM package
git-ripper https://github.com/facebook/react/tree/main/packages/react-dom

Get Configuration Files

# Extract VS Code build configuration
git-ripper https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/tree/main/build -o ./vscode-build-config

Download Documentation

# Get Node.js documentation
git-ripper https://github.com/nodejs/node/tree/main/doc -o ./node-docs

Copy UI Templates

# Extract Tailwind components
git-ripper https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/tree/master/src/components -o ./tailwind-components

Download and Create Archive

# Download React DOM package and create a ZIP archive
git-ripper https://github.com/facebook/react/tree/main/packages/react-dom --zip

# Extract VS Code build configuration with custom archive name
git-ripper https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/tree/main/build --zip="vscode-build.zip"

Resume Downloads

Git-ripper now supports resuming interrupted downloads, making it perfect for large folders or unstable network connections.

Automatic Resume (Default Behavior)

# Start a download
git-ripper https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/tree/main/src/vs/workbench

# If interrupted (Ctrl+C, network issues, etc.), simply run the same command again
git-ripper https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/tree/main/src/vs/workbench
# It will automatically resume from where it left off

Force Restart

# Ignore any existing progress and start fresh
git-ripper https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/tree/main/src/vs/workbench --force-restart

Disable Resume

# Use traditional behavior without resume functionality
git-ripper https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/tree/main/src/vs/workbench --no-resume

Manage Checkpoints

# List all saved download progress
git-ripper --list-checkpoints

# Output shows:
# 1. ID: a1b2c3d4
#    URL: https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/tree/main/src/vs/workbench
#    Progress: 45/120 files
#    Last Updated: 2025-06-04T10:30:00Z

Resume Features

  • Automatic Progress Saving: Downloads are checkpointed every few files
  • File Integrity Verification: Ensures existing files are complete and valid
  • Smart Recovery: Detects corrupted or incomplete files and re-downloads them
  • Multi-Download Support: Manage multiple concurrent download projects
  • Progress Indicators: Visual feedback showing completed vs remaining files

How It Works

Git-ripper operates in five stages:

  • URL Parsing: Extracts repository owner, name, branch, and target folder path
  • Resume Check: Looks for existing download progress and validates already downloaded files
  • API Request: Uses GitHub's API to fetch the folder structure
  • Content Download: Retrieves each file individually while maintaining directory structure and saving progress
  • Local Storage or Archiving: Saves files to your specified output directory or creates an archive

The resume functionality uses checkpoint files stored in .git_ripper_checkpoints/ to track download progress, file integrity hashes, and metadata for each download session.

Configuration

Git-ripper works out of the box without configuration. For rate-limited GitHub API usage, authentication support is under development.

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Rate Limit Exceeded

Error: Request failed with status code 403

Solution: GitHub limits unauthenticated API requests. Wait a few minutes and try again.

Invalid URL Format

Error: Invalid GitHub URL format

Solution: Ensure your URL follows the pattern: https://github.com/owner/repo/tree/branch/folder

Folder Not Found

Error: Path not found in repository

Solution: Verify the folder path exists in the specified branch and repository.

Resume Issues

If you encounter problems with resume functionality:

# Clear all checkpoints and start fresh
git-ripper https://github.com/owner/repo/tree/branch/folder --force-restart

# Or disable resume entirely
git-ripper https://github.com/owner/repo/tree/branch/folder --no-resume

Corrupted Download

If files appear corrupted after resume:

# Force restart will re-download everything
git-ripper https://github.com/owner/repo/tree/branch/folder --force-restart

The resume feature automatically detects and re-downloads corrupted files, but --force-restart ensures a completely clean download.

Contributing

Contributions make the open-source community an amazing place to learn, inspire, and create. Any contributions to Git-ripper are greatly appreciated.

  • Fork the repository
  • Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
  • Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
  • Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
  • Open a Pull Request

See the open issues for a list of proposed features and known issues.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

  • GitHub API for making this tool possible
  • Everyone who has provided feedback and suggestions

Made with ❤️ by sairajB

If you find this tool useful, consider sponsoring its development

Keywords

git

FAQs

Package last updated on 05 Jun 2025

Did you know?

Socket

Socket for GitHub automatically highlights issues in each pull request and monitors the health of all your open source dependencies. Discover the contents of your packages and block harmful activity before you install or update your dependencies.

Install

Related posts