How to Download Files From Any Website

Description and use

Gaffa simplifies file downloads by consolidating form submission, file detection, and storage into a single request, returning a hosted URL.

Problem

Downloading files at scale requires headless browsers, proxy handling, detection of inline vs automatic downloads, retry logic, and storage handling.

Outcome

Gaffa simplifies file downloads, handling both direct and inline patterns, form submissions, and proxy settings, returning a hosted URL for further use.

Workflow

• 1. Provide target URL and optional settings. 2. Configure actions: type, click, wait, download_file. 3. Execute Gaffa request. 4. Receive hosted URL in action output. 5. Fetch, store, or pipe the URL into downstream workflows.

Evidence

Gaffa’s download_file action collapses all of that into a single API call.

Source

The download_file action tells Gaffa’s browser to capture the most recently loaded file and return a link to it.

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Supported formats include .pdf, .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif, .bmp, .webp, .svg, .tiff, .tif, and .img.

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The maximum file size is 50MB.

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You can also set _proxy_locatio_n at the request level to download files as if browsing from a specific country.

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Gaffa returns the downloaded file as a hosted URL in the action output.

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