Download repositories, folders, single files, or selected paths as ZIP archives directly from GitHub.
No clone. No backend. No telemetry. Just the part of the repo you need.
01 / The Problem
You need one folder from a repository that is hundreds of megabytes.
You want a few selected files without cloning the whole project first.
You need the ZIP now, from the page you are already reading.
02 / How It Works
Visit any repository, folder, or file page after installing the extension. No separate dashboard to log in to.
Pick the whole repo, the current folder, selected paths, or a single file using GSD's injected controls.
GSD fetches from official GitHub endpoints and packages the archive locally in your browser with JSZip.
The browser download manager saves the archive. No redirect, no waiting on a third-party server.
03 / Product
Three surfaces carry the product: controls in GitHub's file list, a compact toolbar popup, and settings for token-backed access.
01 / GitHub surface
GSD adds checkboxes, file sizes, and download buttons to GitHub's own file list. Tick the files and folders you need and get one ZIP with the folder structure kept.
02 / Toolbar popup
Search and switch branches from the popup, including names with slashes like feature/x. Commit and tag pages download that exact version.
03 / Settings
Add a read-only token for private repositories and a higher API limit, choose what to leave out of full-repository downloads, and tune the look.
04 / Features
A whole repository, one folder, a single file, or any mix of ticked files and folders. Selections keep their folder structure in the ZIP.
Checkboxes, file sizes, and download buttons sit in GitHub's file list and follow your light or dark theme. Right-click any GitHub file link to download it directly.
Files come straight from GitHub and are zipped in your browser, with no backend in between. Downloads from the same repository within a few minutes reuse one archive, saving bandwidth and API quota.
An optional read-only token opens private repos and raises GitHub's API limit from 60 to 5,000 requests per hour. Use a fine-grained token with Contents: read and Metadata: read. A classic token with the repo scope also works, but it grants write access to all your repositories, so keep it as a fallback.
Each download gets a small in-page toast with file counts, a progress bar, and a cancel button. Failed or partial downloads are reported as such, never as complete.
Leave out node_modules, Python virtualenvs, Java/Maven output, build folders, and logs when you download a whole repository. Toggle packs per download or add your own.
05 / Security & Privacy
GSD has no server, no analytics, and no accounts. Files are fetched from official GitHub endpoints and packaged in your browser. If you add a token, it stays in this browser's local extension storage, is not synced to your other devices, and is sent only to GitHub over HTTPS.
Official endpoints
github.comapi.github.comraw.githubusercontent.comcodeload.github.com06 / Architecture
Injects download controls into GitHub's repo, folder, and file pages. Talks only to the service worker.
Routes every request, tracks the API rate limit, and decides when to delegate ZIP work.
Official APIs over HTTPS. No proxy in the path, no third party in the loop.
Builds the archive with JSZip in an isolated extension document, away from the GitHub page UI.