Wikimedia Downloader for Commons and Wikipedia Images
Download from Wikimedia Commons and Wikipedia in bulk: a whole Commons category with its subcategories, a Commons search or what one person uploaded, or every picture of a Wikipedia article - each from one address. Files arrive in their original size, and every Commons file keeps its licence, its author and the address of its page.
Wikimedia Downloader vs Scripts and Online Tools
Scripts and online tools
- A script to install and run from the command line
- One article or one file per pasted link
- A search's results saved one by one
- Nothing records which page a file came from
- Each new attempt fetches everything from scratch
NeoDownloader
- A desktop program, with no command line
- A whole category, a search or a person's uploads from one address
- Every picture of a Wikipedia article in one run
- Licence, author and page kept with every Commons file
- Later runs skip the files you already have
How to Download Images from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons
For a single file, its page on Commons links to the original. For a whole article, category or person's uploads, three steps:
One-time setup: download NeoDownloader and install it. It is available for Windows, Mac and Linux. The steps below are what you repeat each time.
- 1Wikimedia Commonsen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hokusai
Copy an Address
In your browser, open the Wikipedia article, or the Commons category, file or person's uploads you want, and copy the address from the address bar.
- 2
ProjectsNew projectWhat do you want to download?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hokusai
NextPaste It into NeoDownloader
Click New project and make sure your address is in the field, then click Next. The address decides the plugin: Gallery Downloader for a Wikipedia article, Crawler with its recipe for Commons. A Commons address then brings up “Subcategory levels”, set to one unless you change it; click Next again.
- 3
Name and folder
Hokusai
Create projectCreate the Project
Keep the folder offered or pick another, then click Create project. The download begins straight away, and running the same project later adds only files that are new.
Wikimedia Commons Downloader: Originals with Licence and Author
Commons files come as their originals, in the size they were uploaded, named as Commons names them. The licence, the author, the dates and, for sound and video, the length go into each file's properties, under “What the site says”, and “Found on” leads back to the file's page on Commons.
A Wikipedia article brings every file it shows, in its original size, into a folder named after the article: photos, maps and sound, and also the small flags and icons the article uses.
No account is needed: Wikipedia and Commons download without signing in. Wikimedia asks programs to download gently, and NeoDownloader keeps to that pace, so a large category takes a while.
Download All Images from a Wikipedia Article or a Commons Category
- A Wikipedia article, in any language - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…
- A Commons category, with its subcategories - commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:…
- What one person uploaded - commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:…
- One file - commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:…
Download Files from a Wikimedia Commons Search
Don't have an address? Search Commons inside NeoDownloader and keep what it turns up:
- 1ProjectsNew searchGoogle ImagesBing ImagesFlickrUnsplashPexelsWikimedia Commons
Start a New Search
In NeoDownloader, New search offers several sites; choose Wikimedia Commons, and Commons' own media search appears in the program.
- 2Wikimedia CommonsDownload search resultsHokusai
Search and Filter on Commons
Enter your query, choose between images, video, audio and other files, and narrow the results with the page's filters, such as licence, file type and size. It is the search Commons itself provides, not one of NeoDownloader's.
- 3Wikimedia CommonsDownload search resultsHokusai
Download the Search Results
Once the page shows the files you want, click Download search results. Your query becomes the project's name, your filters go with it, and downloading begins right away.
Wikimedia Downloader Features
Categories, searches and articles, each in one run
A Whole Category, Subcategories Too
Commons keeps most of its files in subcategories, so a category comes with one level below it, each subcategory into a folder of its own. Set “Subcategory levels” in the wizard to go deeper or to stay on top.
Licence and Author Kept
Each Commons file keeps its licence, its author and its dates in its properties, and “Found on” leads back to its page on Commons, where the full terms are.
Every Picture of an Article
Paste a Wikipedia article and get every file it shows, in its original size, in a folder named after the article.
Only What Is New
When a category or a search gains files, running the project again brings just those.
Wikimedia Downloader FAQ
Is there a free Wikimedia downloader?
Yes. NeoDownloader can be installed without paying, and it saves from Commons categories, Commons searches and one person's uploads, as well as the pictures of a Wikipedia article. The free version has no time limit; Premium lifts its limits on the number of files per project.
How do I download all images from a Wikipedia article?
Copy the article's address, such as en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…, click “New project” in NeoDownloader and paste it. NeoDownloader selects its Gallery Downloader plugin and saves every file the article shows, in its original size, to a folder named after the article.
Does it work with Wikipedia in other languages?
Yes. An article from any language edition works the same way. Copy the address from the desktop site: the mobile one, with .m. in it, is not taken as an article.
How do I download a whole Wikimedia Commons category?
Copy the category's address, such as commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:…, click “New project” in NeoDownloader and paste it. The category comes with its subcategories one level down, each into its own folder; “Subcategory levels” in the wizard sets how deep.
How do I download files from a Commons search?
Pick Wikimedia Commons under “New search”, then search and adjust the filters on the Commons page that opens. “Download search results” turns the search, filters included, into a project, which collects as many files as the Commons search can reach.
Is the licence of each file kept?
Yes, for Commons files: the licence, the author, the dates and, for sound and video, the length are in each file's properties, under “What the site says”, and “Found on” leads to the file's page on Commons, where the full terms are.
Are the files downloaded in full resolution?
Yes. Commons files and the pictures of a Wikipedia article come as their originals, in the size they were uploaded.
Why do flags and icons come with a Wikipedia article?
An article brings every file it shows, and its small flags, maps and icons are files too. Delete the ones you do not need, or download the subject from its Commons category instead.
Can I download sound and video from Commons?
Yes. Pick video or audio in the Commons search, or paste a category that holds them; they come as the files Commons keeps.
Is there an online Wikipedia image downloader or a Chrome extension?
Online tools and extensions work inside the browser, an article at a time, and scripts want a command line. NeoDownloader is a desktop program instead: from one address it downloads a whole category, a search or an article into a folder on your computer, and the next run fetches only what is new.
Do I need a Wikipedia or Commons account?
No. NeoDownloader downloads from Wikipedia and Commons without signing in.
Why does a large category take a while?
Wikimedia asks programs to download its files gently, and NeoDownloader keeps to that pace. A category of thousands of files downloads over a while; stop the project whenever you like and run it again later to go on.
Will it download the same files again next time?
No. NeoDownloader keeps a record of each file it has saved from Commons or Wikipedia, so running the project again downloads only files it has not met before.
Ready to Download from Wikimedia in Bulk?
Choose a Commons category on any subject and keep its files along with their licences and authors. The free version has no time limit.
Available for Windows, Mac and Linux