icloud-photos-downloader: A Volunteer-Maintained Tool for Bulk iCloud Photo Access

Apple's ecosystem is designed for seamless integration, but that seamlessness often breaks down when you need to perform bulk operations or migrate data out of the walled garden. For users with thousands of photos stored in iCloud, the official options are limited: manual download via the web interface is tedious, and while iCloud for Windows exists, it lacks the granular control power users need.

Enter icloud-photos-downloader, an open-source command-line tool that acts as a unofficial API client for iCloud Photos. It allows users to download their entire photo library, synchronize local backups, or migrate data between systems without the friction of Apple's native interfaces.

How It Works

The tool operates by authenticating with iCloud's web API, effectively mimicking the behavior of the Photos web app but exposing the underlying data transfer capabilities. It supports three primary operational modes:

Copy Mode: The default behavior downloads new photos found in iCloud to a local directory. This is useful for initial backups or migrating photos to a NAS.

Sync Mode: This adds a deletion component. It downloads new photos and, critically, removes local files that have been deleted from iCloud. This maintains a true mirror of the cloud library, preventing local storage bloat from orphaned files.

Move Mode: Designed for storage management, this mode downloads photos and then deletes them from iCloud after a specified retention period (using the --keep-icloud-recent-days flag). This effectively moves older photos from iCloud to local storage while keeping recent ones accessible.

The tool handles various photo formats including Live Photos (saving the image and video components separately), RAW+JPEG pairs, and preserves metadata. It includes automatic deduplication features and optimizations for incremental runs, so subsequent syncs only process new or changed files.

Technical Requirements and Limitations

Because this tool interfaces directly with iCloud's web API, it requires specific account configurations that differ from standard Apple recommendations:

1. Access iCloud Data on the Web must be enabled (Settings > Apple ID > iCloud > Access iCloud Data on the Web)
2. Advanced Data Protection must be disabled. This is a significant limitation, as Apple's end-to-end encryption for iCloud data prevents third-party tools from accessing the content. Users must choose between maximum security (Advanced Data Protection) and the ability to bulk-download their photos.

The tool supports two-factor authentication and can handle session management, including creating authorized sessions that can be reused. This is particularly useful for automated scripts running on NAS devices or servers.

Installation and Deployment

The project offers multiple installation methods to accommodate different environments:

• Direct executables: Pre-built binaries for Linux, Windows, and macOS
• Package managers: Available through PyPI (Python), Docker, AUR (Arch Linux), and npm
• Build from source: For developers who want to modify or audit the code

The Docker option is particularly valuable for NAS deployments, allowing the tool to run in a containerized environment alongside other self-hosted services.

The Maintenance Challenge

Despite its utility, the project faces a critical sustainability issue. The repository explicitly states it is "Looking for MAINTAINER" and notes that it is "Developed and maintained by volunteers." This is a common problem in the open-source ecosystem, where critical tools often rely on unpaid labor.

The project maintains a release cadence of approximately weekly (targeting Fridays), but this depends on having contributors to review pull requests and address issues. Without active maintainers, the tool risks falling behind as Apple changes its API or as security vulnerabilities emerge.

Contributing and Community

The project welcomes contributions and has established guidelines for developers looking to help. Given the complexity of reverse-engineering iCloud's API and the need to handle authentication flows, security updates, and feature requests, the maintainer pool is essential for long-term viability.

For users considering this tool, the trade-off is clear: gain complete control over your iCloud photo library at the cost of managing authentication sessions and accepting that you're relying on a community-maintained project rather than Apple-supported software. The inability to use Advanced Data Protection is also a significant security consideration.

The tool represents a classic open-source solution to a proprietary ecosystem limitation, but its future depends on whether the community steps up to maintain it.