icloud-photos-downloader/icloud_photos_downloader

Health v2 · maintenance only

Adoption not part of the score

12180 stars · 820 forks observed · 2026-08-28

What it is AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, 2026-08-29, confidence not recorded

A command-line tool (icloudpd) that downloads all photos and videos from an iCloud account to local storage. It runs on Linux, Windows, and macOS and is available as executables, Docker images, and via PyPI, AUR, and npm.

Use cases

• download all my icloud photos to a local disk
• back up icloud photo library to a NAS
• automatically sync icloud photos on linux
• export icloud photos without using the apple photos app
• periodically fetch new icloud photos via cron or docker
• migrate photos off icloud to self-hosted storage

When to choose

• you want a scriptable, cross-platform way to pull your iCloud photo library down to a server, NAS, or desktop
• you need automated/scheduled downloads via Docker, cron, or package managers
• you are comfortable enabling iCloud web access and disabling Advanced Data Protection

When to avoid

• you need a GUI photo manager or viewer rather than a downloader
• your account uses Advanced Data Protection, which is incompatible
• you need two-way sync with iCloud rather than one-way download
• you require guaranteed long-term maintenance, as the project is seeking a new maintainer

Facets

cli-tool · maturity maintenance

cli file-system developer-tools files privacy windows python cli icloud photos backup download apple automation command-line linux macos docker

Member repositories

For agents

markdown · JSON · MCP: product_card(name="icloud-photos-downloader/icloud_photos_downloader")