scribd-downloader

Scribd documents are handled in two ways depending on their format:

1. Selectable Text Documents: The tool extracts the text and saves it as a .md (Markdown) file in the current directory.
2. Image-based Documents: If the document consists of images, use the --images flag. The tool will download the individual images to the current directory. You can use the --pdf flag to attempt to combine them into a PDF.

Examples

Download selectable text:

$ scribdl https://www.scribd.com/document/55949937/33-Strategies-of-War

Download image-based document:

$ scribdl -i https://scribd.com/doc/17142797/Case-in-Point

Ensure you are using Python 3. On macOS, you must install several system dependencies via Homebrew to support PDF conversion and image processing. You also need to ensure Pillow is updated to version 6 or higher.

macOS Prerequisites

brew install cairo
brew install pango
brew install libmagic
brew install gtk+

Python Setup

python3 -m pip install --upgrade pip
python3 -m pip install --upgrade Pillow
pip install scribd-downloader

Alternatively, you can install the development version from the source repository:

python setup.py install

To download full versions of books or audiobooks, you must provide Scribd premium credentials using the -c flag.

1. Prepare a credentials file

Create a text file (e.g., scribd_credentials.txt) with your email and password on separate lines:

user@mail.com
password

2. Run the command

Pass the file path to the -c option:

$ scribdl -c scribd_credentials.txt https://www.scribd.com/audiobook/359295794/Principles-Life-and-Work

Alternative: Using Cookies

If you prefer not to use a credentials file, you can manually edit the source code (scribdl/const.py) to include your _scribd_session and _scribd_expire cookie values obtained from a web browser while logged in.

If the generated PDF has cropped images, navigate to the directory containing the downloaded image files and use img2pdf to manually create the PDF:

cd dir_with_all_image_files && img2pdf $(ls -tr *.jpg) -o path_to_pdf_output_file.pdf

By default, scribdl only downloads the content available to non-premium users. Books are typically saved as .md files. You can use the --pdf option to convert the output to a PDF.

Example

$ scribdl https://www.scribd.com/read/189087235/Confessions-of-a-Casting-Director-Help-Actors-Land-Any-Role-with-Secrets-from-Inside-the-Audition-Room

The tool can download audiobooks as .mp3 files. Without premium credentials, only the preview version is available.

Example

$ scribdl https://www.scribd.com/audiobook/237606860/100-Ways-to-Motivate-Yourself-Change-Your-Life-Forever

The scribdl command is used to download documents, books, and audiobooks from Scribd.

Arguments:

• URL: The Scribd URL of the content you wish to download.

Options:

• -h, --help: Show help message.
• -i, --images: Use this when downloading a document that is composed of a collection of images (the tool cannot detect this automatically).
• -p, --pdf: Convert the output to a PDF (requires imagemagick on *Nix systems).
• -c CREDENTIALS_FILE, --credentials-file CREDENTIALS_FILE: Path to a file containing Scribd premium credentials to enable full downloads.

usage: scribdl [-h] [-i] [-p] URL