nodejs-file-downloader

nodejs-file-downloader is a simple utility for downloading files. It hides the complexity of dealing with streams, paths and duplicate file names.

If you encounter any bugs or have a question, please don't hesitate to open an issue.

Installation

$ npm install nodejs-file-downloader

Table of Contents

• Examples
  • Basic
  • Get the progress of a download
  • Custom file name
  • Overwrite existing files
  • Get response and then download

Examples

Basic

Download a large file with default configuration

const Downloader = require('nodejs-file-downloader');

(async () => {//Wrapping the code with an async function, just for the sake of example.

    const downloader = new Downloader({     
      url: 'http://212.183.159.230/200MB.zip',//If the file name already exists, a new file with the name 200MB1.zip is created.     
      directory: "./downloads",//This folder will be created, if it doesn't exist.               
    })
    
    await downloader.download();//Downloader.download() returns a promise.

    console.log('All done');

})();    

 

Get the progress of a download

const Downloader = require('nodejs-file-downloader');

(async () => {

   const downloader = new Downloader({     
      url: 'http://212.183.159.230/200MB.zip',     
      directory: "./downloads/2020/May",//Sub directories will also be automatically created if they do not exist.           
    })

    downloader.on('progress',(percentage)=>{//Downloader is an event emitter. You can register a "progress" event.
        console.log('% ',percentage)
    })
    
    await downloader.download();   

})();    

 

Custom file name

Normally, nodejs-file-downloader "deduces" the file name, from the URL or the response headers. If you want to choose a custom file name, supply a config.fileName property.

  const downloader = new Downloader({     
      url: 'http://212.183.159.230/200MB.zip',     
      directory: "./downloads/2020/May", 
      fileName:'somename.zip'//This will be the file name.        
  }) 

 

Overwrite existing files

By default, nodejs-file-downloader uses config.cloneFiles = true, which means that files with an existing name, will have a number appended to them.

  const downloader = new Downloader({     
      url: 'http://212.183.159.230/200MB.zip',     
      directory: "./",  
      cloneFiles:false//This will cause the downloader to re-write an existing file.   
  }) 

 

Get response and then download

There is an alternative way to using Downloader.download():

  const downloader = new Downloader({     
      url: 'http://212.183.159.230/200MB.zip',     
      directory: "./",        
  }) 

  const response = await downloader.request()//This function just performs the request. The file isn't actually being downloaded yet. It returns an Axios response object. You can refer to their docs for more details.

  //Now you can do something with the response, like check the headers
  if(response.headers['content-length'] > 1000000){
    await downloader.save()
  }else{
    console.log('File is too big!')
  }  

  //Note that Downloader.download() simply combines these two function calls.