downloadFromUrl

Category: File Operations

Namespace: web.files.downloadFromUrl

Description

Download files directly from URLs to disk without manual base64 conversion. This API provides a simple, efficient way to fetch remote files and save them locally with automatic error handling and progress tracking.

Replaces: The old pattern of using fetch() + base64 conversion + web.files.download() (reduces code by 95%)

Syntax

const result = await web.files.downloadFromUrl({
    url: string,
    filePath: string,
    overwrite: boolean,
    timeout: number,
    headers: object
});

Parameters

• url (required) - HTTP/HTTPS URL to download from
• filePath (required) - Full destination path including filename
• overwrite (optional) - Overwrite existing file without prompt (default: false)
• timeout (optional) - Timeout in milliseconds (default: 30000)
• headers (optional) - Custom HTTP request headers object (default: {})

Returns

Promise<Object> - Result object:

{
    success: boolean,
    filePath?: string,
    size?: number,
    contentType?: string,
    error?: string
}

Example

// Simple download
const result = await web.files.downloadFromUrl({
    url: 'https://cdn.com/library.js',
    filePath: 'C:\\MyApp\\scripts\\library.js',
    overwrite: true
});

if (result.success) {
    console.log(`Downloaded ${result.size} bytes`);
}

// With custom timeout
const result = await web.files.downloadFromUrl({
    url: 'https://example.com/large-file.zip',
    filePath: 'C:\\Downloads\\large-file.zip',
    overwrite: true,
    timeout: 60000  // 60 seconds for large files
});

//Or a reusable version:
async function downloadToFile(url, destination) {
    const result = await web.files.downloadFromUrl({
        url: url,
        filePath: destination,
        overwrite: true,
        timeout: 60000
    });
    
    return result.success ? result.filePath : null;
}

// Usage
const file = await downloadToFile(
    'https://example.com/file.zip',
    'C:\\Downloads\\file.zip'
);

Use Cases

• Download CDN resources (fonts, libraries, stylesheets)
• Fetch remote data files
• Download images and media files
• Sync content from servers
• Download API responses to disk

Benefits

• 95% less code - One simple call vs 30+ lines
• More efficient - Streams directly to disk, no memory bloat
• No base64 overhead - Eliminates 33% size increase
• Better error handling - HTTP status codes and detailed messages
• Automatic cleanup - Partial files deleted on failure