Flickr has been one of the internet's most important photography communities since 2004. With billions of photos across millions of accounts, it is an invaluable resource for photographers, researchers, and visual professionals. But downloading multiple Flickr photos at once requires either a browser extension, Flickr's own tools, or the Flickr API — the site does not make bulk downloading obvious.
This guide covers every practical method, from the simplest (Flickr's own download feature) to the most powerful (the Flickr API).
Download Flickr Albums Quickly
Bulk Image Downloader works on any Flickr album or photostream — set a size filter and get only full-resolution photos.
Add to Chrome — FreeMethod 1: Flickr's Built-in Album Download (Your Own Photos)
If you want to download your own Flickr photos, Flickr provides a built-in mechanism:
Download your own Flickr album
- Log in to Flickr and navigate to one of your albums.
- Click the three-dot menu (···) at the top right of the album.
- Select Download Album.
- Flickr prepares a ZIP file and sends you an email when it is ready.
- Download the ZIP — it contains all photos at a selected size (original or large).
For your entire photostream, use the data export feature:
- Go to Settings > Your Flickr Data.
- Click Request your Data.
- Flickr compiles your complete archive and emails you a download link.
Understanding Flickr's Image Size System
Flickr is unique among photo sites in that it exposes all image sizes through a predictable URL suffix system. Understanding this system lets you access any resolution of any publicly accessible photo.
| Size code | Dimensions (longest edge) | Use case |
|---|---|---|
_s | 75px square | Thumbnails |
_q | 150px square | Bigger thumbnails |
_m | 240px | Small previews |
(none) | 500px | Default display size |
_z | 640px | Medium |
_b | 1024px | Large (commonly accessible) |
_h | 1600px | Very large |
_k | 2048px | Extra large |
_o | Original upload size | Highest quality (if downloads enabled) |
To get a larger version of any Flickr image, find the image URL (it ends in .jpg or .png), and change the size suffix before the extension. For example:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/12345678_abc123_b.jpg
Change _b to _k for the 2048px version.
Method 2: Chrome Extension on Flickr Albums
Step-by-step: Downloading from a Flickr album
- Install Bulk Image Downloader.
- Open the Flickr album — Navigate to a Flickr album or photostream page.
- Scroll to load all photos — Flickr's album grid uses lazy loading. Scroll all the way to the bottom to ensure all photos are loaded.
- Set photo count per page — If available, select to show more photos per page (Flickr can show up to 200 per page in some views).
- Click the extension icon.
- Filter by size — Set minimum 600px to skip thumbnails and Flickr UI elements.
- Select all and download.
Method 3: gallery-dl (Command Line, Best for Large Downloads)
gallery-dl is a command-line tool that supports Flickr natively with full-resolution download capability.
# Install
pip install gallery-dl
# Download an entire Flickr album (original resolution)
gallery-dl "https://www.flickr.com/photos/username/albums/12345678"
# Download someone's entire public photostream
gallery-dl "https://www.flickr.com/photos/username/"
# Download a Flickr group pool
gallery-dl "https://www.flickr.com/groups/groupname/pool/"By default, gallery-dl downloads the original resolution if allowed. You can configure it to target a specific size in the config file:
# gallery-dl config for Flickr (in ~/.gallery-dl.conf)
{
"extractor": {
"flickr": {
"size": ["Original", "Large 2048", "Large 1600", "Large"]
}
}
}Download Flickr Photos Without the CLI
Not comfortable with command-line tools? Bulk Image Downloader gives you one-click bulk downloading directly in Chrome.
Get It FreeMethod 4: Flickr API (Developers)
Flickr's public API lets you retrieve photo URLs programmatically for any public album or user. Requires a free Flickr API key.
Key API endpoints for downloading:
flickr.photosets.getPhotos— Get all photos in an album with their IDs.flickr.photos.getSizes— Get all available size URLs for a specific photo.flickr.people.getPublicPhotos— Get all public photos from a user.
With these two calls, you can build a complete list of original-resolution download URLs for any public Flickr account or album.
Respecting Flickr Licenses
Flickr is particularly valuable because many photographers explicitly license their work under Creative Commons. Before using downloaded Flickr photos for anything beyond personal reference:
- Check the photo's license — Displayed below each photo. Look for "Some rights reserved" (CC) or "All rights reserved" (standard copyright).
- Filter by license — Flickr's search has a "License" filter under Advanced Search. Filter for "Commercial use allowed" to find images safe for business use.
- Attribute correctly — CC-BY and CC-BY-SA licenses require crediting the photographer. Flickr's recommended attribution format: "Photo by [name] / [CC license] via Flickr".
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I bulk download all photos from a Flickr album?
Yes. For your own albums, use Flickr's built-in Download Album feature. For public albums, use Bulk Image Downloader on the album page or gallery-dl from the command line for full-resolution originals.
What is the Flickr image size code system?
Flickr appends size codes to image filenames: _s (75px), _m (240px), _b (1024px), _h (1600px), _k (2048px), _o (original). Change the code in the URL to access any available size of a publicly accessible photo.
Can I download the original resolution of Flickr photos?
Only if the photographer has enabled downloads (the default Flickr setting). The download button appears below each photo if enabled. The original is available via the _o size code in the URL if the photographer allows it.
How do I download my entire Flickr photostream?
Go to Settings > Your Flickr Data > Request your Data. Flickr compiles all your photos into a downloadable archive and sends a link via email when ready.
Does gallery-dl work with Flickr?
Yes. Gallery-dl supports Flickr albums, photostreams, favorites, galleries, and groups. It handles authentication for private content and can target specific image sizes via configuration.
More Free Chrome Tools by Peak Productivity
