---
id: fastdownload
version: "0.0.7"
license: Apache Software License 2.0
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: abandoned
---

# fastdownload — A general purpose data downloading library.

License: permissive · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 330.3K/mo

## What it is and what it does

fastdownload is a utility for downloading and extracting archives from URLs while ensuring data integrity and managing cached copies. It wraps the download process to automatically verify file size and hash, extract contents to a configurable directory structure, and reuse cached versions when appropriate. Users call a single method (get) with a URL and receive the path to extracted files; the library handles verification, extraction, and directory management automatically.

The package is designed for library authors who want to distribute datasets or archives to users with minimal friction. It generates a download_checks.py file containing size and hash metadata, allowing users to be notified when archives are updated and automatically download new versions. The fastai project uses it to provide dataset access. However, the package has been abandoned since July 2022 and receives no active maintenance.

Use it for:

- Distribute datasets to users with automatic verification and caching to avoid re-downloading
- Build a library that fetches and extracts remote archives on first use with integrity checking
- Create a config-driven download system where archive metadata is stored in Python modules
- Manage multiple archive versions and notify users when updates are available via hash changes

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Downloads, verifies, and extracts archives from URLs with automatic caching, hash validation, and update detection.

No. While the package has low install friction and permissive licensing, it is abandoned (last commit July 2022, 1499+ days ago) with no active maintenance. The classifiers indicate support only through Python 3.8, and there is no assurance it will work with current Python versions. For new projects, use an actively maintained alternative; for existing projects already using it, consider migration.

## Install

pip install fastdownload
uv add fastdownload
poetry add fastdownload

## Installing fastdownload

Before you install: Low install friction with only two runtime dependencies (fastprogress, fastcore). However, the package is abandoned—last commit was 2022-07-07, over 1499 days ago. No active maintenance or security updates.

License in practice: Licensed under Apache Software License 2.0 (permissive). You can use, modify, and distribute this package freely in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions.

Quickstart:

from fastdownload import FastDownload
d = FastDownload()
path = d.get('https://example.com/archive.zip')
# path now contains the extracted files

Requires Python >= 3.6. Package is abandoned and may not work with modern Python versions beyond 3.8.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package works reliably with Python versions beyond 3.8 (classifiers only list up to 3.8)
- Whether hash validation uses cryptographically secure algorithms
- Whether the two runtime dependencies (fastprogress, fastcore) are themselves maintained

## Package facts

- License: Apache Software License 2.0 (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 330.3K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

download and extract archives, verify file integrity hash, cache downloaded files, dataset download management, automatic archive extraction, file size and hash checking, url download with verification, dataset-management, archive-extraction, abandoned

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