install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install gdown

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install gdown

MacPorts ports tree · net/gdown/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Debian aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install gdown

Debian stable package indexes · gdown · source: deb.debian.org

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#gdown

nixpkgs package indexes · gdown · source: raw.githubusercontent.com

overview

Package summary

Google Drive Public File Downloader when Curl/Wget Fails

Project links

Commands and aliases

gdown

history

Project history and usage

gdown is a Python command-line tool and library for downloading public Google Drive files and folders in cases where ordinary curl or wget downloads hit Google Drive confirmation pages, awkward share-link formats, or export flows.

Project history

The official repository was created in 2015 under wkentaro/gdown and describes the project as a Google Drive public file and folder downloader. Its README positions it explicitly as a tool for the gap left by curl and wget on Google Drive URLs, later expanding to folder downloads, Google Docs/Sheets/Slides export formats, resumable transfers, cookies, proxies, and a Python API.

By the 5.x and 6.x release series, gdown had become both a CLI and a reusable Python package, with installation documented through pip and uv and with examples for direct file IDs, shared links, recursive folders, JSON listing, cached downloads, and arbitrary HTTP/HTTPS URLs.

Adoption history

The repository's packaging metadata and README badges show distribution through PyPI, while the input package facts show availability through Homebrew, Debian, MacPorts, and Nix. The official GitHub repository also has several thousand stars, reflecting broad use beyond a single package manager.

How it is used

Common usage is to paste a Google Drive share URL or file ID into the gdown CLI, optionally adding output paths, resume mode, folder mode, export formats, or cookie support. Python users can call gdown.download, gdown.download_folder, or cached_download from scripts and data-processing workflows.

Why package nerds care

For package and data workflow users, gdown matters because it turns a web-app download flow into a scriptable artifact fetch. It is common in machine-learning examples, reproducible notebooks, CI scripts, and package recipes that need to pull large public Drive assets without teaching curl about Google's confirmation pages.

Timeline

2015: Official GitHub repository created.
2024: v5.2.0 published in the 5.x release line.
2026: v6.0.0 and v6.1.0 published, continuing active maintenance.

Related projects

gdown is related to curl and wget as a specialized downloader for Google Drive URLs, and to other Google Drive CLI clients such as glotlabs/gdrive when OAuth-backed Drive management rather than public-file download is needed.

Sources

security posture

No protected-tool coverage found yet

No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for gdown. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 1 platform targets.
Installs with 2 runtime dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`gdown`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08

manager version6.1.0

manager updated2026-05-31

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://github.com/wkentaro/gdown

infoNo cached GitHub release or tag data was available.https://github.com/wkentaro/gdownnone confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:gdown
Version	6.1.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/gdown
Homepage	https://github.com/wkentaro/gdown
Repository	https://github.com/wkentaro/gdown
Upstream docs	https://github.com/wkentaro/gdown#readme
License	MIT
Source archive	https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/6a/b5/a45f62f20664031bf74a6aeb6f8d8cd5910e411bf90d756bd6b09bdc6c35/gdown-6.1.0.tar.gz
Last updated	2026-05-31T16:11:54Z
Pulse	updated
Dependencies	certifi, python@3.14
Bottle	available (on all)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	gdown
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Head Version	HEAD
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	head stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Debian apt95%

gdown 5.2.0+dfsg-2

Google Drive public file downloader

https://github.com/wkentaro/gdown

sudo apt install gdown

Section: python
Architecture: all
5 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Gdown

Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: gdown from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

Nix95%

gdown

nix profile install nixpkgs#gdown

normalized package name match
Matched by: Gdown

nixpkgs package indexes · raw.githubusercontent.com · nixpkgs package indexes: gdown from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/master/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix

MacPorts95%

gdown

sudo port install gdown

normalized package name match
Matched by: Gdown

MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: net/gdown/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/gdown.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install gdown with Homebrew, apt, MacPorts, Nix