There are six ways to run a Wattpad downloader on Windows: wpd.my, wpdl-py-cross (precompiled), wpdl-py-cross (Python), Wattpad_Downloader, Google Colab, and Docker.

All of these methods have been tested on Windows 11 only. While they will most likely work on Windows 10, there is no guarantee.

wpd.my

wpd.my is TheOnlyWayUp’s public instance of their project, WattpadDownloader.
Note: this website is liable to be removed by Wattpad at any time.

wpdl-py-cross (precomiled):

Using the wpdl-py-cross (precompiled) method if by far the easiest way to download stories from Wattpad. Choose this option if you aren’t sure what to pick.

This method involves running a precompiled version of ZhiFenBL’s wpdl-py-cross.

  1. Download the Windows .zip from GitHub.

  2. Extract the .zip file.

  3. Run the wpdl_py_desktop.exe file.

wpdl-py-cross (Python):

This method involves running ZhiFenBL’s wpdl-py-cross using a python virtual environment.

  1. Open PowerShell.

  2. Run

python --version

If the Microsoft Store opens to Python 3.13, install it, and continue to the next step.

If it shows something like

Python 3.13.5 (tags/v3.13.5:6cb20a2, Jun 11 2025, 16:15:46) [MSC v.1943 64 bit (AMD64)] on win32
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>>

then run

exit()

and continue to the next step

  1. Download wpdl-py-cross

This guide is incomplete.

Wattad_Downloader:

This method involves running AaronBenDaniel’s Wattpad_Downloader using a python virtual environment.

  1. Open PowerShell.

  2. Run

python --version

If the Microsoft Store opens to Python 3.13, install it, and continue to the next step.

If it shows something like

Python 3.13.5 (tags/v3.13.5:6cb20a2, Jun 11 2025, 16:15:46) [MSC v.1943 64 bit (AMD64)] on win32
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>>

then continue to the next step

  1. Download Wattpad_Downloader

  2. Extract the .zip file

  3. Inside the extracted files, in the folder with the files src, README.md, and requirements.txt, etc, make a folder called venv.

  4. Open the folder with the files in the Terminal by right clicking in the file explorer while not hovering over a file and selecting the option “Open in Terminal”

  5. Create a Python virtual environment:

python -m venv venv
  1. Activate the virtual environment:
./venv/Scripts/Activate.bat
  1. Install requirements:
pip install -r requirements.txt
  1. Run Wattpad_Downloader:
python src/main.py

Follow steps 6, 8, and 10 to run Wattpad_Downloader again

Google Colab:

This guide has a video example.

This method involves hosting an instance of TheOnlyWayUp’s WattpadDownloader on a Google Colab virtual machine.

Note: This method requires a Google Account. If your account is part of a managed organization (work, school, etc) you may not be able to use Google Colab.

Disabling third-party cookies can interfere with this method, make sure to enable them when you use this script.

  1. Open colab.research.google.com/drive/15BVtjtboLrzTrnZ-9lQIKQaiMPR49H9g.

  2. Click the triangle “run” button in the top left.

  3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and WAIT. The server needs a few minutes to start up.

The WattpadDownloader interface should appear after a few minutes and can be used as normal.

It may sometimes fail on its first run. If the interface has not appeared and the output tells you it should have, try stopping the program and starting it again.

To stop the downloader, close the tab. To start it again, follow these steps again.

Docker:

This method involves hosting an instance of TheOnlyWayUp’s WattpadDownloader natively on your own machine.

  1. Download Docker Desktop.

  2. Install Docker Desktop.

Docker provides their own installation guide, follow it.

  1. Run the following command inside of the terminal inside of Docker Desktop (it’s in the bottom right)
docker run --restart=unless-stopped -p 5042:80 sowansow/wattpaddownloader:latest

If that fails, saying something along the lines of “permission denied” instead run

sudo docker run --restart=unless-stopped -p 5042:80 sowansow/wattpaddownloader:latest

This might ask for a password, use the password of whatever administrator account your computer has.

This command will automatically download WattpadDownloader and run it.

Once you’ve completed these steps, if everything worked right you should see something like this:

INFO:     Uvicorn running on http://0.0.0.0:80 (Press CTRL+C to quit)
INFO:     Started parent process [1]
INFO:     Started server process [100]
INFO:     Waiting for application startup.
INFO:     Application startup complete.
INFO:     Started server process [93]
INFO:     Waiting for application startup.
INFO:     Application startup complete.
...

If you see that, you can access your self-hosted instance of WattpadDownloader by going to localhost:5042.