GitHub Guide: How to Download Files and Repositories

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Quick, simple instructions to download files from GitHub

Co-authored by Théo Dufort and Hannah Dillon

Last Updated: May 28, 2026 Fact Checked

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Downloading a Release

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Downloading a Single File

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Cloning a Repository

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Video

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Expert Interview

If you need to download an application, file, or source code from GitHub, finding the download link can be a little tricky regardless of your skill level. In this article, we'll go over how to download a release, a single file, and clone (or download) a directory on GitHub.

Ways to Download Files from GitHub

To download a release, click on Releases on the right-hand side of the screen, then click the file you want to download.
To clone an entire repo, click the Code button, then click Download as ZIP.
To download a single file, navigate to the file, click Raw, then right-click anywhere on the screen and select Save as.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Downloading a Release

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1
Open the GitHub repository you want to download from. You can do this by searching for the project on Google, or by going to github.com and searching for the repository (or repo) in the search bar at the top of the screen.
- On GitHub, "releases" are files that the GitHub owner intends for users to download. Releases are usually installers or the necessary files needed to run a program.
- You can download from GitHub even if you don't have an account.
2
Click on Releases. It's on the right-hand side of the screen.
- If you want to download a repository or a single file from the repository, jump to their respective sections below.
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3
Click on a file to download. The most recent release will be at the top of the page, and you'll see at least one file (but usually more) linked below. Simply click on one of the file links to download it.
- If you want to download an older release, simply scroll down the page until you find your desired release and/or file.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Downloading a Single File

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1
Open the GitHub repository you want to download from. You can do this by searching for the project on Google, or by going to github.com and searching for the repository (or repo) in the search bar at the top of the screen.
- You can download from a public GitHub even if you don't have an account, but you'll need to log in or sign up to download from a private repo.
2
Navigate to the file you want to download. There are a few ways you can do this:
- If you know the name of the file you want to download, click the "Go to file" search bar next to the green "Code" button, then type the name of the file. Click the file in the dropdown box that appears.
- If you don't know the file name, navigate through the repo's directories until you find what you're looking for. Below the "Go to file" search bar, you'll see a list of all the directories in the repo.
You'll find this button in the top bar above the file's contents, on the right-hand side of the screen.
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Research source} Alternatively, you can press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl/CMD + S. Your file manager will open, allowing you to select a name and location to save the file.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Cloning a Repository

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1
Open the GitHub repository you want to download from. You can do this by searching for the project on Google, or you can go to github.com and search for the repository (or repo) using the search bar at the top of the screen.
- You can download a public repo from GitHub even if you don't have an account. If you want to download a private repo, however, you will need to log in or sign up.
It's near the top of the screen, above the GitHub repo directory list.
It's at the bottom of the little menu that pops up when you click Code. Clicking this button will download a zipped copy of the entire repo to your computer.^{[2]
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