Flutter Download Folder Plugin

A Flutter plugin for retrieving the path to the downloads folder and performing operations related to file downloads on different platforms.

Support

	Android	iOS	Windows	macOS	Linux
Support	SDK 19+	iOS 12+	✅	✅	✅

How it works?

The Flutter Download Folder plugin provides a simple interface to interact with the downloads folder on various platforms. Here's a brief overview of how the main functionalities work:

Get Download Directory

getDownloadDirectory() returns a Directory pointing at the platform's downloads location. On Android this is Environment.DIRECTORY_DOWNLOADS; on iOS it is the app's documents directory; on the desktop platforms it is the OS-provided downloads folder.

Copy File into Download Folder

copyFileIntoDownloadFolder(...) copies a file into the downloads folder, ensuring a unique name to avoid overwriting existing files. Optional knobs:

• subDirectoryPath — drop the file into a sub-folder of Downloads (e.g. "Reports"); missing intermediate directories are created automatically.
• openAfterSave — when true, the saved file is opened in the OS default viewer immediately after the copy.

On Android 10+ (API 29+) the file is saved via MediaStore so the plugin does not require MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE. It returns a SavedDownload? exposing both the on-disk file and (on Android 10+ only) the MediaStore contentUri; see the scoped-storage note below. Returns null if the save failed.

Open Download Folder

openDownloadFolder() opens the download folder in the system file browser. On Android and iOS this goes through a platform channel; on Windows/macOS/Linux it shells out to the appropriate native command.

Installation

To use this plugin, add downloadsfolder as a dependency in your pubspec.yaml file:

dependencies:
  downloadsfolder: ^2.0.0-pre.2

Setup

Android

• The copyFileIntoDownloadFolder method uses a workaround on Android 29 and higher to avoid using MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE.
  • On Android devices with API 29 and higher, the method saves the file using MediaStore to bypass restrictions.
  • On Android devices with API 28 and lower, ensure that you have added the WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission to your AndroidManifest.xml file under the <application> element.

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" android:maxSdkVersion="28"/>

iOS

• To enable the openDownloadFolder function on iOS, you must add the UISupportsDocumentBrowser key to your Info.plist. Without it, iOS will refuse to resolve the shareddocuments:// URL the plugin opens and openDownloadFolder will return false.

<key>UISupportsDocumentBrowser</key>
<true/>

macOS

Go to your project folder, macOS/Runner/DebugProfile.entitlements

For release you need to open 'YOUR_PROJECT_NAME'Profile.entitlements

and add the following key:

<key>com.apple.security.files.downloads.read-write</key>
<true/>

Usage

Get Download Directory

import 'package:downloadsfolder/downloadsfolder.dart';

void main() async {
  try {
    final Directory downloadDirectory = await getDownloadDirectory();
    print('Downloads folder path: ${downloadDirectory.path}');
  } catch (e) {
    print('Failed to retrieve downloads folder path $e');
  }
}

Copy File into Download Folder

import 'package:downloadsfolder/downloadsfolder.dart';

void main() async {
  final String filePath = '/path/to/source/file.txt';
  final String fileName = 'copied_file.txt';

  final SavedDownload? saved = await copyFileIntoDownloadFolder(
    filePath,
    fileName,
    subDirectoryPath: 'Reports', // optional — saves under /Download/Reports
    openAfterSave: true,         // optional — pops the file in the OS default viewer
  );
  if (saved != null) {
    print('File saved at: ${saved.file.path}');
    if (saved.contentUri != null) {
      // Android 10+: use this URI for read/share/intent work.
      print('MediaStore URI: ${saved.contentUri}');
    }
  } else {
    print('Failed to copy file.');
  }
}

Android 10+ note (scoped storage). The SavedDownload.file path is real — the file genuinely lives at that location and any file-manager app can see it. However, due to Android's scoped storage rules, your own app generally cannot read or write that path back via plain dart:io once the save is complete. Use SavedDownload.contentUri for any subsequent work (sharing through share_plus, opening with an ACTION_VIEW intent, reading bytes via ContentResolver, etc.). On Android < 10, iOS, and the desktop platforms, file is directly usable with dart:io and contentUri is null.

Open Download Folder

import 'package:downloadsfolder/downloadsfolder.dart';

void main() async {
  final bool success = await openDownloadFolder();
  if (success) {
    print('Download folder opened successfully.');
  } else {
    print('Failed to open download folder.');
  }
}