# wechatDownload: Batch Archiver for WeChat Public Account Articles > wechatDownload is a GUI desktop tool for Windows and macOS that batch-downloads WeChat public account articles along with their images, videos, audio, and comments. It captures the necessary session key automatically through the WeChat client and exports articles to HTML, MHTML, Markdown, PDF, DOCX, and CSV formats. **qiye45/wechatDownload** — 微信公众号文章批量下载工具，支持评论、合集下载，支持保存html/mhtml/md/pdf/docx/csv文件，保存文章内图片、视频、音频文件，支持MCP/Skill调用 - Repository: https://github.com/qiye45/wechatDownload - Website: https://changfengbox.top/wechat - Stars: 9,609 · Forks: 1,072 - Language: HTML - License: not declared - Published: 2026-09-21 · Updated: 2026-09-21 · Language: en - Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/qiye45-wechatdownload ## What wechatDownload Does and Who Uses It WeChat public accounts publish articles in a closed ecosystem: articles are readable inside the WeChat application and through WeChat's web reader, but there is no native export or archiving mechanism. Researchers, archivists, journalists, and account owners who need to preserve or work with large numbers of articles across a public account's history have no official tool for batch export. wechatDownload fills this gap. It is a desktop GUI application for Windows and macOS that retrieves all historical articles from a WeChat public account and saves them to local files. The README describes no certificate installation requirement, which means the tool does not intercept TLS traffic. Instead, it relies on a session key extracted from the WeChat client itself. The README's disclaimer states that all content obtained through the software may only be used for learning and communication, prohibits other uses, and asks users to delete downloaded content within 24 hours. Users who want to preserve articles for legitimate personal archiving should review these terms against their intended use. ## How Key Extraction Works: No Manual Steps Required Accessing WeChat public account articles programmatically requires a secret key that changes per session. Earlier versions of tools like this required users to manually intercept network traffic and copy a key from the request headers. wechatDownload automates this step. The README describes a three-step workflow. First, the user opens any article from the target public account and copies its URL into the wechatDownload interface to extract the account ID. Second, the software prepares the copied URL and instructs the user to open it in WeChat's built-in browser, which can be done by sending the URL to WeChat's file transfer tool and tapping it. When WeChat's browser loads the article, the software captures the key automatically. Third, the user starts the batch download. The README notes that this process requires using WeChat's built-in browser specifically. Opening the URL in a standard mobile browser or the WeChat web reader at mp.weixin.qq.com does not trigger the key capture. The version 4.6 update notes mention that the key extraction failure issue was fixed in that release, and version 4.1 notes an improvement to key retrieval speed. ## Supported Formats and Media Downloads wechatDownload saves articles in six formats. HTML and MHTML create self-contained files that can be opened in any web browser. MHTML bundles external resources like images into a single file. Markdown produces plain-text files with preserved structure. PDF creates print-ready documents. DOCX produces editable Word documents. CSV exports the article metadata: title, publication date, URL, view count, like count, share count, and comment count. The README documents media support separately from article text. Images embedded in articles are saved to a local directory, organized by article. Videos are downloaded and can optionally include the cover image. Audio files attached to articles are also captured. The version 3.3 update notes that the cover, video, and audio download can be toggled individually. Comment downloading is also supported. The tool downloads top-level comments and, since version 4.7, can download images embedded in comments and display comment replies. Keyword filtering for article selection was added in version 4.7, allowing users to limit batch downloads to articles matching specific terms. ## Getting wechatDownload and Running It Releases are published on the GitHub Releases page at https://github.com/qiye45/wechatDownload/releases. The project homepage is at https://changfengbox.top/wechat. The README does not describe a build-from-source process; the distribution model is a downloadable binary for Windows and macOS. The example/ directory in the repository contains output samples that demonstrate what each format looks like in practice. Sample files include .html, .mhtml, .md, .pdf, and .docx exports of specific WeChat newsletter articles, with a corresponding .csv export of metadata. MCP (Model Context Protocol) support was added in version 4.4 and allows AI tools that implement MCP to trigger downloads programmatically. The skills/ directory in the repository contains related configuration. The version 4.6 update notes that the MCP feature supports listening on 0.0.0.0 and can be called from WSL environments. ## Limitations: Requires WeChat Client and Has No Documented License wechatDownload requires the WeChat desktop application on Windows or macOS. There is no path for users on Linux without a WeChat installation. The key extraction step requires a live WeChat session: the tool does not work with archived credentials or in headless environments. The session key expires and must be refreshed periodically. The README changelog shows multiple fixes to key acquisition across versions, indicating this is an ongoing area of maintenance as WeChat updates its client. Users should expect to re-run the key extraction step when the key becomes invalid. The repository has no documented license. The license field in the repository metadata is listed as unknown. This means the legal terms for using, modifying, or redistributing the software are not established. Any commercial or redistributed use is legally ambiguous without a declared open-source license. The README disclaimer restricts use to learning and communication regardless of any future license. ## wechatDownload vs Browser-Based Web Archiving Tools Browser extensions designed for web archiving, such as SingleFile, can save individual web pages as single HTML files with all resources embedded inline. SingleFile works on any accessible web page through the browser and supports any platform with a compatible browser installed. It does not require credentials, session keys, or a specific client application. The significant difference is batch capability. SingleFile and similar extensions save one page at a time manually. wechatDownload retrieves the complete historical article list of a public account and downloads everything in one operation, with filtering by date range, keyword, or originality status. For archiving a public account with hundreds or thousands of articles, the difference in effort between the two approaches is large. wechatDownload is specifically designed for WeChat public accounts and cannot be adapted to other content sources. Browser archiving tools are general-purpose but require manual page-by-page operation unless scripted separately. The automation wechatDownload provides is only useful in the specific context of WeChat public account archiving. ## Conclusion wechatDownload suits researchers, archivists, and content owners who need to save large numbers of WeChat public account articles in readable offline formats. It requires access to the WeChat desktop client on Windows or macOS, since the key extraction depends on opening a URL in WeChat's built-in browser. The license is not documented in the repository, which is a meaningful gap for anyone considering commercial or redistributed use. The last push was on 2026-08-16 with release 4.7, and the tool is under active development. The disclaimer in the README restricts use to learning and communication and asks users to delete downloaded content within 24 hours. ## FAQ ### Does wechatDownload require a WeChat account? Yes. The README's workflow requires opening a URL in WeChat's built-in browser to capture the session key. This means an active WeChat account logged in on a Windows or macOS device is required. There is no path for accessing articles without a WeChat client session. ### What file formats does wechatDownload support for export? The README lists HTML, MHTML, Markdown (md), PDF, DOCX, and CSV as supported output formats. Images, videos, and audio files embedded in articles can also be saved to a local directory. CSV export covers article metadata including title, date, view count, and comment count. ### Is wechatDownload available for Linux? The README states support for Windows and macOS. Linux is not listed as a supported platform. The MCP feature added in version 4.6 supports listening on 0.0.0.0 and can be called from WSL, but the main GUI application itself requires Windows or macOS. ## Sources - [Issues](https://github.com/qiye45/wechatDownload/issues) - [Project website](https://changfengbox.top/wechat) - [qiye45/wechatDownload on GitHub](https://github.com/qiye45/wechatDownload) - [README](https://github.com/qiye45/wechatDownload/blob/main/README.md) - [Releases](https://github.com/qiye45/wechatDownload/releases) --- Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/qiye45-wechatdownload