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Build a download badge and the README text needed to display it.
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GitHub Downloads Action
Keep track of release downloads and present them clearly.
Track release downloads over time.
GitHub shows how many times each release file has been downloaded, but it does not show how that total changed over time. GitHub Downloads Action keeps that history for you. Once added to a repository, it updates the numbers automatically and makes them easy to display in a README or project page.
- Total downloads across files attached to GitHub Releases
- Simple daily, weekly, and monthly comparisons
- Ready made data for clean download badges
- Optional charts for showing how downloads change over time
- Prepared setup files for daily or more frequent updates
- No separate website or statistics service to maintain
What the action does each time it runs
The action checks the download numbers shown by GitHub, adds them together, and saves the total for the current day. As that short history grows, it can show how much the number changed over the last day, week, or month.
Read the download totals
Count downloads of files you attached to GitHub Releases. Repository copies, page views, and automatically created source archives are not included.
Keep a daily history
Save one total for each day. If there is not yet enough history for a full weekly or monthly comparison, the result is clearly marked as incomplete.
Publish data for badges and charts
Publish a small data file and optional chart images that badges, READMEs, and project pages can use without running a separate server.
Recommended quick start
Choose how often the numbers should update and whether you want charts, then add the prepared setup file to your repository.
| Template | Best for | Schedule | Charts | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|
gh-dl-daily.yml | Badges only | Daily | No | Download |
gh-dl-hourly.yml | More frequent updates | Hourly | No | Download |
gh-dl-daily-with-chart.yml | Badges and charts | Daily | Yes | Download |
If clicking Download opens the YAML in your browser, right-click the page and choose Save as,
then save it as a .yml file in .github/workflows/.
Set up and run
- Choose the row that matches what you want: daily numbers, more frequent updates, or daily numbers with charts.
- Click Download for that row.
- Create the folder
.github/workflows/in your repository if it does not exist. - Save the file in that folder using the same filename shown in the table.
- Commit and push the workflow file.
- Open the repository's Actions tab and select Run workflow once.
- After the first run, use Generator Lab to create a badge or chart for the README.
Generator Lab
Once the first download file has been created, enter the repository details below. Generator Lab previews the result and gives you the exact text to copy into a README.
Start in Basic for common setup. Use Advanced for branch, provider, cache, and action tuning.
Generate chart
Generate chart embed markdown and action config snippets.
Chart preview
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Action chart types
Action chart themes
Chart URL
Markdown
Action snippet
Open source links
GitHub Downloads Action is open source. The history it creates stays in your repository, where it remains easy to inspect, reuse, or remove without depending on a hosted analytics account.
