Canvas Downloader v2.0.1 - Windows & macOS
Canvas Downloader v2.0.1 - Windows & macOS
Batch-download your entire Canvas course library, keep it in sync all semester, convert everything into AI-ready formats, and download & transcribe your Panopto lecture recordings - 100% free, open source, and running entirely on your own computer.
🌐 Website & guides: https://canvasdownloader.app/
✨ What's in 2.0
- Sync Mode - link a folder to a Canvas course once, then pull every new file with one click. The engine tracks 7 file states (new, updated, edited-by-you, deleted, ignored…), never overwrites your edits, and never deletes your files.
- The Today page - put syncing on autopilot: the app automatically syncs your chosen courses the first time you open it each day, and shows you exactly which files arrived today, per course.
- Panopto lecture recordings - automatically finds the recordings linked in your courses and saves them as video (MP4) or audio (MP3), plus transcripts (.txt) and subtitles (.srt) generated by on-device speech recognition (faster-whisper). Nothing is ever uploaded - transcription runs 100% locally, with optional NVIDIA GPU acceleration on Windows.
- AI Optimization suite - one toggle converts PowerPoint/Word/Excel to PDF (Excel also gets a structured data file), videos to MP3, Canvas pages to text, code files to .txt, unpacks archives, and gathers web links - so your whole course can be dragged straight into NotebookLM, ChatGPT, or Claude.
- Quick Download presets - five ready-made configurations (Complete Canvas Download, Daily study pack, 100% AI & NotebookLM Ready, Slides & PDFs Only, Files Only). Pick one and go.
- Quality of life - saved sync groups & pairs, download presets, sync history, native notifications, cancel-anytime, error logs, size filters, and a live progress dashboard.
💾 Downloads
| Platform | File | Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| 🪟 Windows | Canvas_Downloader_v2.0.1_Windows.exe (below) - or get it from the Microsoft Store with no SmartScreen warning |
Windows 10/11, 64-bit |
| 🍎 macOS | Canvas_Downloader_v2.0.1_macOS.dmg (below) |
macOS 11+ on Apple Silicon (M1 or later). Intel Macs are not supported |
Microsoft Office (PowerPoint/Word/Excel desktop apps) is only needed for the Office→PDF conversions. Everything else works with no extra software.
🪟 Windows install
- Run the installer. When SmartScreen appears, click "More info" → "Run anyway" (one time only).
- Done - launch Canvas Downloader from the Start Menu.
Prefer no warning at all? Install from the Microsoft Store instead - same app.
🍎 macOS install
- Open the
.dmgand drag Canvas Downloader into Applications. - First launch:
- macOS 13/14: right-click the app → Open → Open.
- macOS 15+: double-click (it gets blocked), then System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway.
- Follow the interactive Mac setup guide - it walks you through every permission dialog for your exact macOS version in ~2 minutes.
ℹ️ macOS shows a few one-time permission prompts (Keychain, folder access, Office automation) because the app is free and unsigned. Each appears once. After an app update, the Keychain prompt appears once more - click Always Allow with your Mac login password.
🔒 Why the security warnings?
Code-signing certificates cost $99-300/year, and this is a free student project - so the direct installers are unsigned. The warning means "unknown publisher", not "dangerous". The complete source code is public in this repository, and the app has no backend, no analytics, and no telemetry: your token and files never leave your machine. Read more: security & privacy.
Full guide: https://canvasdownloader.app/guide.html
Found a bug? Open an issue