Download your Elektor Magazine issues as PDF so you can read them offline — on your e-reader, tablet, or on a plane.
Requires an active Elektor membership (GREEN or GOLD) with access to the magazine archive.
Elektor offers members direct PDF downloads per issue. This tool uses Puppeteer to:
- Log in to your Elektor account
- Browse the magazine archive year by year
- Find the PDF download link for each issue
- Download the PDF directly
The archive consists of two separate sites, each with their own editions:
| Site | Language | Archive | Issues |
|---|---|---|---|
| elektormagazine.com | English | 1974-present | ~540 |
| elektormagazine.nl | Dutch | 1961-present | ~660 |
PDFs are saved per language and year:
output/
en/ <- English editions
2026/
Elektor 01.pdf
Elektor 03.pdf
2025/
Elektor 01.pdf
Elektor 03.pdf
...
Elektor 12.pdf
...
1974/
Elektor 12.pdf
nl/ <- Dutch editions
2026/
Elektor 01.pdf
Elektor 03.pdf
2025/
Elektor 01.pdf
...
...
1961/
Elektor 04.pdf
Issue numbers correspond to Elektor's own numbering system. Recent editions are bimonthly (01, 03, 05, 07, 09, 11), older editions are monthly (01-12). Some bonus or special editions have a different number.
A full download is approximately 27 GB (~11 GB English, ~16 GB Dutch).
- Node.js v18 or higher — nodejs.org
- A Chromium-based browser (one of the following):
- Google Chrome
- Microsoft Edge
- Brave
- Chromium
You need the full path to your browser:
| OS | Browser | Path |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | Chrome | C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe |
| Windows | Edge | C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\msedge.exe |
| macOS | Chrome | /Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome |
| macOS | Edge | /Applications/Microsoft Edge.app/Contents/MacOS/Microsoft Edge |
| Linux | Chrome | /usr/bin/google-chrome |
| Linux | Chromium | /usr/bin/chromium-browser |
-
Clone the repository and install dependencies:
git clone https://github.com/GraafG/elektormagazine-dl.git cd elektormagazine-dl npm install -
Copy the example configuration file:
cp .env.example .env -
Fill in your Elektor email, password and browser path in
.env.
Download all editions (English + Dutch):
npm run download
Download only the latest issue:
npm run download -- --latest
Download only the English editions:
npm run download -- --en
Download only the Dutch editions:
npm run download -- --nl
Combinations are also possible:
npm run download -- --latest --nl
The tool will:
- Open a browser window and automatically log in to both sites
- Browse the full archive (~1200 issues), or only the latest with
--latest - Save PDFs in the
./outputfolder, sorted by language (en/nl) and year - Skip previously downloaded editions (safe to restart)
- Automatically re-login if the session expires
A full download of both archives takes approximately 60-70 minutes. Run the script again to fetch new editions — existing files are skipped.
All settings are in the .env file:
| Variable | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
ELEKTOR_EMAIL |
Your Elektor email address | (required) |
ELEKTOR_PASSWORD |
Your Elektor password | (required) |
BROWSER_PATH |
Full path to a Chromium browser | (required) |
OUTPUT_DIR |
Folder for downloaded PDFs | ./output |
Elektor publishes two separate editions:
- English (
en/) — International, available via elektormagazine.com. Archive back to 1974. - Dutch (
nl/) — Dutch edition, available via elektormagazine.nl. Archive back to 1961.
The editions are not identical — they contain partially different articles. With an Elektor GREEN or GOLD membership you have access to both archives. By default the tool downloads both; use --en or --nl to download only one.
- Login failed — Check your email and password in
.env. Test whether you can log in at elektormagazine.com. - "Missing BROWSER_PATH" — Fill in the full path to your browser. See the table above.
- No download link found — Not all editions in the archive have a PDF. Very old editions or special issues may not be available for download.
- Browser window doesn't appear — The script runs in visible mode. Make sure no other automation is using the same browser profile.
- Download stops halfway — Run the script again. Already downloaded PDFs are skipped.
The downloaded PDFs can be transferred to your e-reader (e.g. Kobo, Kindle, reMarkable) or tablet for offline use — handy on a plane, on holiday, or just on the couch.
Contributions are welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.
Report bugs or suggest features via GitHub Issues.
Security issues? See SECURITY.md.
Other personal-use download tools for paid subscriptions:
- tylerraw-dl — Tyler Raw subscription videos
- consumentenbond-dl — Consumentenbond publications as PDF
- flyaoamedia-dl — FlyAOA Media flight-training videos + lesson PDFs
This tool is intended for personal use by paying Elektor members to read their own editions offline. Do not share downloaded files — respect Elektor's copyright.
MIT