Introduction

These are JavaScript libraries designed to customize file download options on your browsers.

They give developers a chance to generate a download file in the browser without contact with the server. These libraries work perfectly in all HTML5 supported browsers with the use of <a> element.

A few customization and modification of libraries are needed for it to support old browsers. Now I will list down the best 11 JavaScript file downloader libraries.

 

1. FileSaver.js

FileSaver.js provides a solution to file saving on the client-side. It works just fine in generating files to be saved on the client-side. However, it is a good practice to implement content disposition attachment response header for more cross-browser compatibility.

2. StreamSaver.js

StreamSaver.js is a library adapted for larger files, even bigger than blobs. It is advisable when computer RAM is limited to implement StreamSaver.js. Advanced settings can save data directly into your physical hard drive. The data is saved asynchronously with the power of streaming API that supports progress, canceling and notification.

3. Canvas-toBlog.js

Canvas-toBlog.js is used for implementing canvas.toBlog( ) in HTML5 or canvas.toBlogHD ( ) when the browser do not support the latter natively. In either way, the Blob support function is still a requirement for many unsupported functions. implementation of the above library with Blob.js, it becomes a cross-browser.

4. Blob.js

Blob.js is implemented with other types of libraries like the canvas.toBlob( ), mainly for browsers that are not supported by canvas.toBlob natively. Blob.js implements a W3C blob interface unsupported natively by the browser. Blob.js supports all the browsers supported in FileSaver.js and more.

5. jQuery.fileDownload.js

jQuery.fileDownload.js is a cross-server platform that allows better download experience to the users. Its features include developer control over successCallback or fail callback for them to have total control over the user experience. In conjunction jQuery UI, a developer can easily implement a UI modal that tells the user when a download is occurring, when it disbands the modal and give feedback to the users in a friendly manner that download error just occurred. In jQuery.fileDownload.js. File downloads don’t occur on the current window so that if something went wrong, the users don’t have to leave the current page.

6. Js File Downloader

Js File Downloader is simple, no dependency library able to download a file from the browser and show the progress bar to guide users on download speed and download status.

7. downloads

downloadjs is one of the file downloader libraries that use client-side JavaScript. It has 1191 stars on GitHub as of the date I am publishing this article, currently licensed under MIT and uses free public CDN web front-end services. downloadjs is proudly sponsored by Cloudflare, agolia, and DigitalOcean.

8. JavaScript Assets Downloader

JavaScript asset downloader is a collection of links to browser versions of popular JavaScript libraries. It is used to quickly download and compare libraries if they are at par with the local current version update wise.

9. riloadr

riloadr is a cross-browser library that is framework independent and it is highly responsive to image loaders written in JavaScript. They deliver optimized and contextual image sizes responsive to layouts and different resolutions. riloadr has no dependencies, easy-to-use and has absolute control because it processes only what you command to process. A noticeable feature of riloadr is its ability to make one request per image only.

10. PDF.js

PDF.js is a portable document format viewer built with HTML5 in mind. It allows users to download or upload, render and view PDF files in different browsers, which supports PDF.js, for browsers without support, additional plugins may be required beforehand.

11. File Manager.js

File Manager.js is a rich user interface widget that guides users when downloading web files and folders in a handy way. It allows working with hierarchical data. It is possible to download and search for necessary files in the folder. With file manager.js, you can perform any contemporary operations like copy, paste, cut, rename and more.

Conclusion

It exists a rich JavaScript file downloader libraries. It is easy to implement JavaScript file downloader using libraries that coding from scratch, it saves a bunch of development time and reduces the chances of bugs in the code.

I mentioned 11 best of them in my opinion, but your list could be different, don’t fret anyway, but offer a suggestion of a file downloader you feel it should be on the list. Your comments are welcome!