Download Files from OSF Projects


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The following is a Table of Contents that links directly to specific sections within the guide:

Download a File

Download a Folder as a Zip

Download your entire Project or Component as a Zip

Download from a Project or Component Overview page

Troubleshooting Download issues


Download Files & Folders

You can download individual files, folders, or all files within a project or component. Choose the download option that best matches what you need:


What you want to download

Description
A single file Download one file from a project or component.
A folder Download a folder and all of its contents as a ZIP file.
An entire project or component Download all files within a project or component as a ZIP file from the Overview page OR from your "My Projects Dashboard"

Download a File

  1. Go to the Files section of your Project
  2. On the specific file you want to download click the (three-dot)  or kebab menu, this will give you the option to Download the file .

  1. You should then see the specific file in your Downloads folder.

Download a Folder as a Zip

If you have multiple files in a folder that you need to download, you can select the folder to download them as a .zip file.

Before you begin

  • You can only download folders that you have permission to access.
  • The ZIP file includes the contents of the selected folder and any subfolders.
  • Depending on the size of the folder, creating the ZIP file may take a few moments.

Download a folder

  1. Open the project or component that contains the folder.
  2. Navigate to the Files page.
  3. Locate and select the folder you want to download.
  4. Click the (three-dot) menu next to the folder or click the button in the upper menu.
  5. Click Download as ZIP.

  1. Your browser will begin downloading the ZIP file. If the folder is large, it may take several minutes before the download starts.
  2. You can then unzip the file and open the folder which will have all the associated files.

Download your entire project or component contents

You can download all files stored within an OSF Project or Component as a single .zip file.

Before you begin

  • You can only download Projects and Components that you have permission to access.
  • You will need to download a separate zip file for each storage add-ons, such as Google Drive or Dropbox, in addition to any files stored directly on OSF.
  • The .zip file includes all files and folders within the selected project or component, including files in subfolders. The .zip file for the selected Project or Component won’t include child Components or parent Projects.
  • Large Projects may take several minutes to prepare before the download begins.

Note: Downloading a project or component as a .zip file downloads the files it contains. Project metadata—such as contributor information, Project settings, wiki content, Registrations, or other OSF records—is not included in the .zip download.

There are 2 ways to download a project or component:

Option Description
Download from the My Projects page  The My Projects page lists all of your OSF Projects and Components. You can directly download entire components from this dashboard. See the guide for more details
Download from a Project or Component’s Overview page You can also download components from the Project or component overview page as described below.

Download from a Project or Component’s Overview page

If you need to Zip Download content from any storage associated with your OSF Project (PUBLIC and PRIVATE), this can be accomplished from the Project overview page.

Simply go to the Project you wish to download content from, and on the overview page you will see the "Download as Zip" option, under the Files Preview section.


If you have multiple storage options, you will need to select the storage option you wish to download first, then you can download all the content within that storage bucket.


This will allow you to download all the files within that Storage provider as a single zip file. Clicking on the zip download will create the folder with all the content. Zipped storage will be saved with the project identifier associated to help distinguish IF you are downloading content from multiple projects at once.




You can proceed to do this for all the storage associated with your project. Opening zip file  will create the folder with all the content (files & folders)  from that storage option.

NOTE: This will not download any content within components, that content will need to be downloaded separately you can also do this using the Files preview tab.


Select the component you wish to download storage for.

Download the storage associated with that component. NOTE component downloads will also have a different identifiers associated with any storage downloaded.




Troubleshooting Download Issues

My download didn't start

If the download does not begin:

  • Wait a few moments if the folder contains many files or large files.
  • Refresh the page and try again.
  • Check that your browser is not blocking downloads.

I don't see the "Download as ZIP" option

If the option is unavailable:

  • Verify that you have permission to access the folder.
  • Confirm that you are opening the menu for a folder rather than an individual file.
The files from my components are not included in my project download The “Download as Zip” option will only download the content from one project or component, not any parent or children.
Can I download the content from my add-ons as well? Yes. Each provider must be selected and downloaded separately.
My download completes, but the files were not extracted, or only partially Downloading very large folders may experience interruptions, which can result in a corrupted zip file. Try again, or utilize the OSFclient to download these folders reliably. 



This Article Is Licensed Under CCO For Maximum Reuse.

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