explaingit

mikf/gallery-dl

📈 Trending★ 18,206PythonAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5ActiveLicenseSetup · easy

TLDR

Command-line tool to download images and galleries from hundreds of websites like Pixiv, DeviantArt, Danbooru, and Tumblr with customizable naming and organization.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Download image galleries
      Batch process URLs
      Organize by rules
    Supported sites
      Pixiv
      DeviantArt
      Danbooru
      Tumblr
    Configuration
      JSON config files
      Custom file naming
      Download filters
    Installation
      pip package
      Standalone executable
      Docker image
    Optional features
      Video downloads
      Proxy support
      Cookie extraction

Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Batch download all images from a Pixiv artist's portfolio in one command.

USE CASE 2

Archive DeviantArt galleries with custom folder structure based on tags and dates.

USE CASE 3

Download manga chapters from MangaDex with automatic naming and organization.

USE CASE 4

Scrape Danbooru collections matching specific search criteria into organized folders.

Tech stack

PythonpipDockerJSON

Getting it running

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min
Use it freely, but any project you distribute that includes this code must also be GPL-licensed and open source.

In plain English

gallery-dl is a command-line tool, meaning you use it by typing commands in a terminal, for downloading image galleries and collections from a wide range of image hosting websites. The topics list mentions sites like Pixiv, DeviantArt, Danbooru, Tumblr, Kemono, and MangaDex, among many others listed in its documentation. You give it one or more URLs and it downloads the images from those pages. It offers extensive options for controlling what gets downloaded, how files are named, and where they are saved. A JSON-based configuration file lets you set persistent preferences. Optional dependencies add support for video downloads, proxy servers, browser cookie extraction (useful for sites that require login), and various compression formats. It runs on Python 3.8 or later and can be installed through several package managers, including pip, Homebrew, Chocolatey, Scoop, and snap, or as a standalone executable for Windows and Linux that bundles everything it needs. A Docker image is also available. Note that active development has moved to Codeberg (a code hosting platform), so the GitHub repository may lag slightly behind the latest version.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
How do I use gallery-dl to download all images from a Pixiv user's profile and organize them by date?
Prompt 2
Show me how to set up a gallery-dl JSON config file to automatically rename downloaded images by artist and title.
Prompt 3
I need to download images from a site that requires login. How do I use gallery-dl's cookie extraction feature?
Prompt 4
What's the command to download a Tumblr blog with all its images and videos using gallery-dl?
Prompt 5
How do I install gallery-dl as a standalone executable on Windows without needing Python?
Open on GitHub → Explain another repo

Generated 2026-05-18 · Model: sonnet-4-6 · Verify against the repo before relying on details.