abx-dl
All-in-one CLI tool to download and extract content from URLs
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. Active, well-maintained, low-friction install with no compiled dependencies. MIT license is permissive. Solves a real problem—unified multi-tool downloading—for archiving, scraping, and OSINT workflows. Plugin architecture is flexible and extensible. No known vulnerabilities. Main gotcha: external binaries (wget, chrome, etc.) must be available or auto-installed; test on your target platform first.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.12 or later.
- Many plugins require external binaries (wget, chrome, etc.); abx-dl can auto-install these, but --no-install skips that step.
- Low friction: pure Python wheel with no compiled dependencies.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license (permissive): you can use, modify, and distribute this package freely in commercial or private projects with minimal restrictions.
last release 2026-08-14 (0 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-14 · 138 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 155,309 downloads/mo, #10,825 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install abx-dl
abx-dl --plugins=title,wget 'https://example.com'
# Downloads to current directory with index.jsonl + plugin-specific subdirs- Whether plugin auto-installation works reliably across all supported platforms (Linux, macOS, Windows).
- Performance characteristics when downloading large or media-heavy URLs.
- Stability and error recovery when plugins fail or timeout.
What it is and what it does
abx-dl is a unified CLI interface to the ArchiveBox plugin ecosystem for downloading and extracting content from URLs. It runs a collection of specialized tools (wget, browser automation, media extractors, etc.) in a single command, organizing output by plugin into a structured directory with a JSON log. The tool is designed for scraping, OSINT, digital preservation, and backup workflows where you want multiple extraction methods applied automatically without orchestrating separate commands.
It works by loading plugins from the abx-plugins package, resolving required external binaries through a multi-provider system (env, pip, npm, brew, apt, cargo, browser-specific), and executing them in phases: install (binary resolution), crawl setup (expensive per-crawl processes), and snapshot (per-URL extraction). Configuration is managed through environment variables and a persistent config file, with per-plugin timeouts and binary path overrides available.
Use it for
- Archive a webpage with HTML, PDF, screenshot, and extracted text in one command.
- Download video playlists with metadata and subtitles using the ytdlp plugin.
- Extract article content, favicon, and outlinks from a URL for OSINT or research.
- Batch-download multiple URLs with consistent output structure for digital preservation.
- Configure and pre-install plugin dependencies for reproducible archiving workflows.
- Customize plugin selection by output type (e.g., --output=pdf,html,video) or by name.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
Active, well-maintained, low-friction install with no compiled dependencies. MIT license is permissive. Solves a real problem—unified multi-tool downloading—for archiving, scraping, and OSINT workflows. Plugin architecture is flexible and extensible. No known vulnerabilities. Main gotcha: external binaries (wget, chrome, etc.) must be available or auto-installed; test on your target platform first.
Install
abx-dl on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction: pure Python wheel with no compiled dependencies. Active maintenance (last commit 2026-08-14, released 2026-08-14). Depends on 10 runtime packages including rich, pydantic, and requests—all stable, widely-used libraries. Requires Python 3.12–3.14.
Requires Python 3.12 or later. Many plugins require external binaries (wget, chrome, etc.); abx-dl can auto-install these, but --no-install skips that step.
License in practice
MIT license (permissive): you can use, modify, and distribute this package freely in commercial or private projects with minimal restrictions.
Quickstart
pip install abx-dl
abx-dl --plugins=title,wget 'https://example.com'
# Downloads to current directory with index.jsonl + plugin-specific subdirsVerify before relying
- Whether plugin auto-installation works reliably across all supported platforms (Linux, macOS, Windows).
- Performance characteristics when downloading large or media-heavy URLs.
- Stability and error recovery when plugins fail or timeout.
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release <3.15,>=3.12 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 10 packagesrich-clickrichabxbusabxpkgabx-pluginspydanticpydantic-settingsplatformdirsrequestspsutil |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 0 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 155,309 / month, #10,825 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 4 - BetaEnvironment :: ConsoleEnvironment :: Web EnvironmentIntended Audience :: DevelopersIntended Audience :: EducationIntended Audience :: End Users/DesktopIntended Audience :: Information TechnologyIntended Audience :: Legal IndustryIntended Audience :: System AdministratorsLicense :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseNatural Language :: EnglishOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Topic :: Internet :: WWW/HTTPTopic :: Internet :: WWW/HTTP :: Indexing/SearchTopic :: Internet :: WWW/HTTP :: WSGI :: ApplicationTopic :: Sociology :: HistoryTopic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Python ModulesTopic :: System :: ArchivingTopic :: System :: Archiving :: BackupTopic :: System :: Recovery ToolsTopic :: UtilitiesTyping :: Typed |
Evidence: abx_dl-1.12.132-py3-none-any.whl
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See also abx-plugins · abxpkg · abxbus · shot-scraper · multiurl · gallery-dl · urlextract · crawlee · textract · gdown