Stop manually downloading for research papers one by one!
- I built this application because I was tired of the tedious, repetitive process of finding a paper online, copying the title, downloading the PDF, and then manually renaming and saving it to the correct folder. This tool automates that entire workflow.
- Save Hours of Time: Download dozens of papers in minutes instead of searching individually
- Zero Manual Work: Just paste paper titles and let the app do the rest.
🚀 Batch Processing - Queue up multiple paper titles and download them all simultaneously
📁 Smart Organization - Automatically saves papers with clean, readable filenames
💾 Custom Download Folders - Save and manage multiple download locations
🔍 Intelligent Search - Finds the best PDF versions using Google Scholar's ranking
⚡ Live Updates - Add new papers while downloads are running
- Download the latest version from Releases
- Unzip and move
Paper Downloader.appto your Applications folder - Launch and start downloading papers immediately!
Note for macOS Users When you first try to open the app, macOS may show a security warning saying the developer cannot be verified. This is standard for applications not downloaded from the App Store.
Command-Line Solution: You can open the Terminal, navigate to the folder containing the app, and run the following command to remove the quarantine flag:
xattr -d com.apple.quarantine Paper_Downloader.app# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/jinkyu032/paper_downloader.git
cd paper_downloader
# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt
# Run the app
python paper_downloader.py
Type or paste paper titles in the left panel (one per line).
- Select a folder from the dropdown menu
- Click "Manage" to add new folders or "Open" to view the current one
- Your settings are automatically saved for next time
- Set "Max Downloads" (how many papers per title to find)
- Click "Start" or use the 'Cmd+Return' shorcut!
- Papers appear in real-time in the Download Queue on the right
The app handles everything else: finding papers, downloading PDFs, organizing files with clean names, and updating you on progress.
🎯 For Best Results:
- Use specific, complete paper titles rather than keywords
- Include author names when titles are ambiguous (e.g., "Attention Is All You Need Vaswani")
- Start with 1-2 papers to test, then batch larger collections
⚡ Power User Features:
- Keyboard Shortcuts:
Cmd+Return(Mac) orCtrl+Return(Windows/Linux) to start downloads - Live Queue: Add more papers while current downloads are running
- Smart Retry: Failed downloads can be restarted individually
🛡️ Reliability:
- Uses persistent browser profiles to reduce CAPTCHA triggers
- Automatically handles Google Scholar's anti-bot measures
- Clean, sanitized filenames that work across all operating systems
- Note: You may occasionally need to solve CAPTCHAs in the browser window - this is normal and helps maintain reliable access
Built with:
- Python 3.8+ with Tkinter for cross-platform GUI
- Selenium WebDriver for reliable Google Scholar access
- BeautifulSoup for intelligent PDF link extraction
- Requests for fast, concurrent downloads
System Requirements:
- macOS 10.14+, Windows 10+, or Ubuntu 18.04+
- Chrome browser (automatically managed by the app)
- 50MB free space minimum
App won't close?
- This is fixed in the latest version! The app now properly terminates all background processes.
Downloads failing with "Error: Blocked"?
- Wait a few minutes and try again - Google Scholar has rate limits
- Reduce the number of simultaneous downloads
- The app automatically handles most blocking scenarios
Can't find a paper?
- Try a more specific title or include author names
- Some papers may not be freely available
- Check if the paper exists on Google Scholar manually
# Install build dependencies
pip install pyinstaller selenium webdriver-manager
# Create standalone app
pyinstaller --windowed --name "Paper Downloader" paper_downloader.py
# Find your app in the dist/ folder- Feature Requests? We'd love to hear them!
- Questions? Check existing issues or start a discussion
⭐ If this tool saves you time, please star the repository! It helps other researchers discover it.
MIT License - feel free to use, modify, and distribute. See LICENSE for details.
Made with ❤️ for the research community
Tired of manually hunting down papers? Let automation handle the tedious work so you can focus on what matters: your research.