zenodo_dl

Download files from Zenodo repositories (public, restricted, or draft).

Features

Feature	Description
One-liner	Run directly via bash <(curl ...) — no install needed
Interactive menu	List, download, extract — all from one interface
Encrypted tokens	AES-256 encryption for stored credentials (default)
Flexible download	ZIP archive, individual files, or pattern matching
Draft support	Works with unpublished/restricted Zenodo records
No dependencies	Just curl, jq, openssl (pre-installed on most systems)

Quick Start

Run directly (no install):

bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mbz4/zenodo_dl/main/zenodo_dl.sh)

Or download and run:

curl -LO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mbz4/zenodo_dl/main/zenodo_dl.sh
chmod +x zenodo_dl.sh
./zenodo_dl.sh

Usage

./zenodo_dl.sh              # interactive — prompts for record ID
./zenodo_dl.sh 12345678     # with record ID
./zenodo_dl.sh --help       # help
./zenodo_dl.sh --uninstall  # remove stored token

With pre-set token (CI/scripts):

ZENODO_TOKEN="your_token" ./zenodo_dl.sh 12345678 # Zenodo record ID

Token

For restricted or draft records, you need a Personal Access Token:

1. https://zenodo.org/account/settings/applications/
2. + New token → name it → check deposit:read → Create
3. Copy immediately (shown only once)

The script looks for tokens in order:

1. $ZENODO_TOKEN environment variable
2. ~/.zenodo_token.enc (encrypted, passphrase required)
3. ~/.zenodo_token (plaintext, chmod 600)
4. Interactive prompt

Encrypted storage (default)

When saving a token, you'll be prompted to choose:

Save token?
  1) Encrypted (passphrase each use) ← recommended
  2) Plaintext (chmod 600)
  3) Don't save

Encrypted tokens use AES-256-CBC with PBKDF2 key derivation via openssl.

Storing your passphrase

The passphrase protects your Zenodo token at rest. Options for remembering it:

Method	Pros	Cons
Password manager (1Password, Bitwarden, Dashlane, KeePassXC)	Most secure, syncs across devices	Requires setup
Memorable phrase	Nothing to install	Must be unique, not reused
Written down (secure location)	Simple, offline	Physical security required

If passphrase management feels like overkill for your use case, the plaintext option (chmod 600) is still reasonable — it protects against casual access and remote attacks, just not against someone with root access to your machine.

Requirements

• curl
• jq
• openssl (for token encryption)

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install curl jq openssl

# macOS (usually pre-installed)
brew install curl jq openssl

Cleanup

./zenodo_dl.sh --uninstall  # removes ~/.zenodo_token and ~/.zenodo_token.enc
rm zenodo_dl.sh             # delete the script

Optional: Add to PATH

To run zenodo_dl from anywhere, go to your install dir and:

ln -s "$(pwd)/zenodo_dl.sh" ~/.local/bin/zenodo_dl

If ~/.local/bin isn't in your PATH, add to ~/.bashrc:

export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

To remove: rm ~/.local/bin/zenodo_dl

License

Apache 2.0

TODO:

• verify features working
• debug 404 handling issues