Freesound.org Downloader

A modern Freesound.org downloader and API client with native browser-based authentication. No API token required — just log in once securely via your browser and gain programmatic access to Freesound.org audio samples responsibly.

Overview

This open-source Python framework simplifies interaction with the Freesound.org API for educational and personal research. It uses secure browser integration for authentication, keeping credentials private. No OAuth token or API key needed—authentication happens via your browser session.

You are free to modify this code or integrate it into your own automation workflows for Freesound.org.

Note: For personal, non-commercial use only, respecting Freesound's terms and licenses.

Key Features

• ✅ Secure auth via Chromium-based browser (Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera) - no API token required
• ✅ Automatic browser detection - uses Chrome if available, falls back to Edge/Brave/Opera
• ✅ No extra drivers or Selenium needed
• ✅ Session saving for reuse
• ✅ API support with delays for fair use
• ✅ Cross-platform
• ✅ Interactive console with command history
• ✅ Bulk download and audio sample access (planned)

Installation

Option 1: Quick Install (Recommended)

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/nordost8/freesoundorg-downloader-python.git
   cd freesoundorg-downloader-python

2. Run the install script:

   ./install.sh

Option 2: Manual Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/nordost8/freesoundorg-downloader-python.git
   cd freesoundorg-downloader-python

2. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

Option 3: Install as Package (Advanced)

pip install -e .

This allows you to run freesound-downloader from anywhere.

Required packages:

• nodriver - Browser automation
• prompt-toolkit - Interactive console
• rich - Beautiful terminal output

Usage

Quick Start

1. Run the interactive console:

   python freesound_downloader.py

2. First-time authentication:

   • Chromium-based browser will open automatically (Chrome, Edge, Brave, or Opera)
   • Script automatically detects and uses the first available Chromium-based browser
   • Priority order: Chrome → Edge → Brave → Opera → Chromium
   • Log in to Freesound.org in the browser window
   • Script detects successful login and closes browser
   • Session is saved for future use

   Note: Requires a Chromium-based browser (Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera, or Chromium). Firefox is not supported.

3. Find a sound on Freesound.org:

   • Open freesound.org in your browser
   • Browse or search for sounds
   • Click on a sound you want to download
   • Copy the URL from your browser's address bar

4. Download the sound:

   • In the interactive console, paste the URL or enter the sound ID
   • Example URL: https://freesound.org/people/troyane/sounds/233770/
   • Example ID: 233770
   • Press Enter to download

Interactive Console Commands

• URL or Sound ID - Download a sound
  • Example: https://freesound.org/people/user/sounds/12345/
  • Example: 12345
• help - Show help message
• exit or quit - Exit the console
• clear - Clear the screen

Custom Output Directory

python freesound_downloader.py --output ./my_sounds

Screenshot

Here's a complete workflow example showing authentication and downloading sounds:

The screenshot demonstrates:

• Browser-based authentication flow
• Interactive console with command history
• Downloading sounds by URL or ID
• Session persistence (cookies saved for reuse)

How It Works

1. Checks for saved session cookies
2. If invalid or missing, opens browser for login
3. Captures cookies securely from browser session
4. Saves session for future use
5. Uses cookies for API calls with appropriate delays
6. Downloads sounds to specified directory

Important Disclaimer

This is an independent tool, not affiliated with Freesound.org. For education/research purposes only. Please comply with Freesound's terms of service and respect content licenses. No warranty provided. Use responsibly.

Future Plans

• 🔄 Bulk download - Download multiple sounds at once (not yet implemented)
• 📦 Sound pack support - Download entire sound packs
• 🔍 Search integration - Search and download directly from console
• 📊 Download queue - Manage multiple downloads with progress tracking

Tested Systems

This tool has been officially tested on the following systems:

• ✅ Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS (Noble) - Python 3.12.3, Linux kernel 6.17.0-14-generic
• ⚠️ Unofficial support - Should theoretically work on Windows, macOS, and other Linux distributions with Python 3.8+, but not officially tested

AI Agent Friendly (Claude Code, Cursor...)

This repository is optimized for AI coding assistants with clean code structure and comprehensive documentation.

Example prompt for your AI agent:

Hi Agent, clone and open a console with the command to run this solution:
https://github.com/nordost8/freesoundorg-downloader-python

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file.

Search Keywords

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