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.
Images in the screenshot: Katsushika Hokusai, The Met, NASA
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
- The next time, everything is downloaded again
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
- The next run downloads only what is new
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, macOS and Linux. The steps below are what you repeat each time.
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.
Paste It into NeoDownloader
Click “New project” - the wizard picks up the copied address by itself - and click “Next”. NeoDownloader selects the plugin that knows the address: Gallery Downloader for a Wikipedia article, Crawler with its recipe for Commons. For Commons, the step after that asks for “Subcategory levels”, one unless you change it. Click “Next”.
Create the Project
Check the destination folder and click “Create project”. The files start arriving at once; run the project again later to fetch only the new ones.
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
No address at hand? Search Commons from inside NeoDownloader and download what the search finds:
Start a New Search
Click “New search” above the list of projects and choose Wikimedia Commons. Its media search opens in the NeoDownloader window.
Search and Filter on Commons
Type what you are looking for, pick images, video, audio or other files, and set the page's filters - licence, file type, size and the rest. NeoDownloader has no search box of its own: the search is the Commons one.
Download the Search Results
Click “Download search results” when the page shows what you want. NeoDownloader creates the project, names it after your search and starts it at once, with the search and filters you set.
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
Run the project again and NeoDownloader downloads only the files added since.
Wikimedia Downloader FAQ
Is there a free Wikimedia downloader?
Yes. NeoDownloader is a free desktop program that downloads from Wikimedia Commons and Wikipedia in bulk: categories, searches, a person's uploads and every picture of an 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?
Click “New search” in NeoDownloader and choose Wikimedia Commons, then search and set the filters on the Commons page itself. Finally, click “Download search results”: the project keeps your search and filters, and takes as many files as Commons lets a search 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. A second run of the project downloads only the files that were not there before.
Ready to Download from Wikimedia in Bulk?
Paste a Commons category or a Wikipedia article and let NeoDownloader do the rest. The free version has no time limit.
Available for Windows, macOS and Linux