How to automatically download a file in Chrome

To keep copies of a file that changes at a known URL, add Download file, enter its direct HTTP(S) URL, configure Repeat, and choose Save & run. Tab Automation fetches and retains each file locally, then waits before the next cycle. Open the Dashboard to download the captured files when ready; saving during a run does not start a Chrome download.

This is a recurring interval, not a calendar schedule. Chrome must stay open, and each cycle starts only after the previous graph and its Repeat wait finish.

Set up a recurring file download in Chrome

You’ll need Tab Automation installed. Custom automations are free; Explorer unlocks the full Dashboard. Google Search is coming soon. The side-panel tour covers first-time setup.

Use this version when the file has a stable direct URL, such as a report endpoint that returns a PDF, CSV, ZIP, or another file.

1. Open the page associated with the file and open Tab Automation from its toolbar action.
2. Click New automation. Under Tab & startup, turn off Always start this automation in a new tab, then choose the open tab.
3. Click Add step and choose Download File.
4. Paste the full http(s) file URL. A web page containing the link is not enough; Download File needs the link’s direct destination.
5. Optionally enter an export subfolder for later downloads. Leave it empty to use the folder from Settings.
6. Click Test download once, then inspect its labeled Test output in the Dashboard to confirm that the URL returns the file you expect.
7. Turn on Repeat. It is off by default and uses a 30-second Fixed wait when enabled; you can choose No wait, Fixed, or Random range.
8. Choose Save & run.

The wait belongs to the End block. It begins after the steps finish, so a 60-second Fixed wait means “wait 60 seconds before the next cycle,” not “start precisely once per minute.” Repeat can also stop after a cycle count or a duration.

Download a file whose link changes

Some portals keep the report page stable but generate a new file URL whenever the report updates. Save that live link before the download instead of reusing an old destination.

1. Add Refresh page if the source page must reload to expose the newest report.
2. Add Wait / Delay when the link appears only after the page finishes loading data.
3. Declare a lowercase name such as report_url under Values.
4. Add Set Value, choose Link address as the value to read, and pick the report link. Under Value name, select report_url.
5. Add Download file and enter {{report_url}} as the URL.
6. Turn Repeat on to sample the link and download it again after each cycle wait.

Set Value reads one link you pick. It does not scan the page for every PDF, image, or archive. If the job is to visit a known list of pages first, the link-walking guide explains how For Each Link uses the same assigned tab one URL at a time.

For one PDF link on each report or product page, follow downloading PDFs from multiple web pages. That recipe checks for a link before saving its address and exports the collected documents together.

Where recurring downloads are saved

Each file is retained in extension-owned private storage and linked to its run and creating step. Open Dashboard → Files & screenshots to download it, or select several for a ZIP. Rerunning or removing the automation preserves those files until you explicitly delete them.

The default export subfolder is tab-automation. Change it in Settings or override it on the step. The folder suggests the later path under Chrome Downloads; it is not an arbitrary disk path.

Download File follows HTTP(S) redirects and Chrome’s normal credential rules, then waits until the retained file is committed. The limit is 1,000,000,000 bytes per file. Network or size failures fail the step. A storage failure pauses the affected save: address the reported cause and retry from the side panel without repeating successful earlier steps. Files are not added to Values.

Chrome automatic downloads are a different setting

Chrome’s Automatic downloads site setting controls whether a website may download several related files. It does not create a recurring job, remember a file URL, or start a new download after a wait. Google’s Chrome download guide also covers the default download location, the “Ask where to save each file” preference, and PDF handling.

Tab Automation fetches the URL you configured when its graph reaches Download File. A later explicit export hands the retained content to Chrome Downloads and its security checks. Check any warning before opening the exported file.

Supported links and requests

• Direct http(s) URLs only. Download File does not accept blob:, data:, local disk, or browser-internal URLs.
• No calendar scheduling. Repeat provides a wait between cycles, up to 3600 seconds where allowed. It cannot run “every day at 9:00.”
• Chrome must stay open. The automation does not run in the cloud or continue after you quit Chrome. Running automations reschedule when Chrome opens again.
• Not a bulk download manager. The step does not scan a page, filter by file type, create a parallel queue, or discover every downloadable link.
• No custom request builder. The step downloads an http(s) URL. It does not let you set custom headers, submit a POST body, or parse the response into Values.
• Chrome protections still apply. Browser and operating-system security controls may block or interrupt unsafe files.

If the URL returns a sign-in page or an error document, that may be what gets saved. Inspect the Test output before starting a long run.