---
id: robust-downloader
version: "0.0.2"
license: unclear
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# robust-downloader — A Simple Robust Downloader written in Python

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 1.6M/mo

## What it is and what it does

Robust Downloader wraps HTTP downloads with reliability features: automatic retries on failure, resumable transfers to avoid re-downloading on interruption, progress visualization via tqdm, and optional integrity verification using MD5 or SHA256 checksums. It exposes both a Python function and a command-line tool, making it suitable for scripting or direct terminal use.

The package depends on requests for HTTP transport, tqdm for progress bars, and colorlog for formatted logging. It targets Python 3.8 through 3.11 and is classified as Beta. With no known vulnerabilities and permissive licensing, it's positioned as a lightweight alternative to more complex download managers for developers who need basic robustness without heavy dependencies.

Use it for:

- Download large files over unreliable networks where interruptions are common and resuming saves bandwidth.
- Automate file retrieval in scripts with built-in retry and timeout handling to reduce manual error handling.
- Verify downloaded files match expected checksums to detect corruption or tampering during transfer.
- Monitor download progress in terminal applications using the CLI with colored logging output.
- Integrate download logic into Python applications via the simple download() function with proxy and redirect control.

## Worth the install?

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

Provides resumable downloads with retry logic, progress tracking, and integrity checking via Python API or command-line interface.

Yes, if you need straightforward resumable downloads with retries and integrity checking. The low install friction, active maintenance, permissive license, and absence of vulnerabilities make it a safe choice. Not worth installing if you need advanced features like batch downloads, authentication schemes beyond basic proxy support, or streaming to memory—it's intentionally minimal.

## Install

pip install robust-downloader
uv add robust-downloader
poetry add robust-downloader

## Installing robust-downloader

Before you install: Low friction installation with three lightweight runtime dependencies (tqdm, colorlog, requests). Actively maintained with recent commits; last release was over two years ago but repository remains active.

License in practice: Licensed under Apache Software License (permissive), allowing use in most commercial and open-source projects without significant restrictions.

Quickstart:

pip install robust-downloader

from robust_downloader import download
download("https://example.com/file.zip")

Verify before relying:

- Whether resumable downloads work across all network conditions or have specific protocol requirements.
- Performance characteristics for very large files or slow connections.
- Whether decryption (--key option) uses standard algorithms or custom implementation.

## Package facts

- License: not declared (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 1.6M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

resumable file downloads, download with retries, robust http downloader, file integrity checking, download progress tracking, cli file downloader, retry on failure downloads, download-manager, cli-tool, retry-logic

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/robust-downloader) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/robust-downloader/)