Price terms as published
Each line is the vendor’s own wording, split from the price capture checked on 2026-09-29. Nothing here is rounded, converted or re-worded — the full sentences stay in the review below. Lines that carry only a price continue the plan named on the line above, in the vendor’s own order.
| # | Plan / term | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Free to use | 2026-09-29 |
| 2 | no open-source license granted | 2026-09-29 |
One-liner: wechatDownload batch-downloads WeChat Official Account articles — including comments, collections, and embedded media — and saves them in multiple formats, with MCP and Skill interfaces for agent use.
Verified facts (checked 2026-09-29)
| Attribute | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 9,587 | qiye45/wechatDownload via GitHub API |
| License | None — no LICENSE file in the repository | GitHub API (license: null) |
| Created | 2023-08-02 | GitHub API |
| Last push | 2026-08-16 | GitHub API |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS | README |
| Output formats | html / mhtml / md / pdf / docx / csv | README |
| Interfaces | Desktop GUI, plus MCP and Skill calls | README changelog |
What it does
Per the README, the tool can:
- download an account’s historical articles without installing a certificate;
- save articles as html, mhtml, Markdown, PDF, docx, or CSV;
- download comments and account collections (专栏), including images, video, and audio;
- support MCP and Skill invocation — downloading articles/collections, fetching account IDs, batch jobs, and exporting article data.
The workflow described in the README requires opening a copied article link inside WeChat’s built-in browser so the application can obtain the required key automatically.
The licensing point — read this before calling it “open source”
The GitHub API reports no license for this repository. Under default copyright rules, publishing code publicly does not grant others the right to modify, redistribute, or embed it in commercial products. “You can read and download the source” is not the same as an open-source grant.
The author’s own README frames the tool for personal study:
The software’s contents are for learning and exchange only; please delete downloads within 24 hours and visit the original publishing site to support the authors.
That disclaimer does not itself clear third-party article copyrights, but it shows the intended use boundary.
Risks and caveats
- WeChat platform terms. Automating retrieval of Official Account data operates in a grey area against platform rules; accounts or access methods can be restricted.
- Article copyright belongs to the publishers. Downloaded content is for personal archival or research, not republishing.
- Acquisition depends on WeChat internals. The key-fetching flow relies on the in-app browser behavior, which can break with WeChat updates — the changelog repeatedly references fixes for keys and download failures.
- No formal license means forks and commercial reuse are not authorized.
How it relates to similar tools
For readers comparing WeChat archiving options, this tool overlaps in purpose with feed-style services that turn Official Accounts into RSS (for example WeRSS, covered elsewhere on this site). wechatDownload is a local, batch-oriented downloader with richer export formats and MCP support; RSS-style services are oriented to continuous reading. They solve adjacent problems rather than being strict substitutes.
Who should use it
Researchers, analysts, and knowledge-base builders who need local copies of articles from accounts they follow, for personal study and with respect to copyright. Organizations considering redistribution or commercial embedding should not assume they have rights the repository never grants.
Repository facts verified against GitHub and the project README on 2026-09-29. This is a draft pending human editorial review.