# Install gdrive-downloader with Homebrew

Download a gdrive folder or file easily, shell ftw. Version 2.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:gdrive-downloader
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install gdrive-downloader
```

  Evidence: provider-native install command

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:gdrive-downloader
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 2.0
- **Source summary:** Download a gdrive folder or file easily, shell ftw
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/Akianonymus/gdrive-downloader>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/Akianonymus/gdrive-downloader>
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T00:40:33+00:00

## Executables

- gdl (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 2.0
## Project history and usage

gdrive-downloader is a Bash-based Google Drive downloader distributed as the gdl command, focused on downloading public or authenticated files and folders with minimal native dependencies.

### Project history

The official repository was created in 2020 and describes the project as a collection of Bash 4.x shell scripts for Google Drive downloads. Its README emphasizes minimalism, folder support, resumable downloads, parallel downloading, pretty logging, authentication support, and self-update behavior.

The project is packaged as shell scripts rather than as a compiled client or Python library, with an installer that defaults to placing the command under $HOME/.gdrive-downloader and wiring it into the user's shell startup file.

### Adoption history

The official release list shows tagged releases beginning with v1.0 in 2022, followed by v1.1 in 2023 and v2.0 in 2026. The input package facts show it later appearing in Homebrew and other package-manager indexes under the gdrive-downloader or gdl names.

### How it is used

Users run gdl to download Google Drive files or folders, with options for authentication, multiple inputs, progress bars, interrupted-download resume, and per-user installation without root access.

### Why package nerds care

Its package-nerd appeal is that it stays close to portable shell tooling: curl, xargs, grep, sed, jq, and related POSIX-style utilities. That makes it easy to inspect and vendor into shell-heavy environments where a full Google Drive client would be more machinery than needed.

### Timeline

- 2020: Official GitHub repository created.
- 2022: v1.0 release published.
- 2023: v1.1 release published.
- 2026: v2.0 release published with refactoring and bug fixes.

### Related projects

- gdrive-downloader sits near gdown in the Google Drive downloader niche, but uses shell scripts rather than Python. It is also adjacent to OAuth-capable Drive clients such as glotlabs/gdrive for users who need broader Drive management.

### Sources

- <https://github.com/Akianonymus/gdrive-downloader>
- <https://github.com/Akianonymus/gdrive-downloader#readme>
- <https://github.com/Akianonymus/gdrive-downloader/releases>


## Security Notes

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal. generalized runtime or code generation signal.

- **Geiger risk:** yellow / medium
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal
- generalized runtime or code generation signal


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/gdrive-downloader.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/gdrive-downloader.yml)


## Sources

- Nucleus package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation