Reference

rapid-photo-downloader(1)

NAME

rapid-photo-downloader

SYNOPSIS

rapid-photo-downloader [-h] [--version] [--detailed-version] [-v] [--debug] [-e] [--photo-renaming {on,off}] [--video-renaming {on,off}] [-a {on,off}] [-t {on,off}] [--this-computer-location PATH] [--photo-destination PATH] [--video-destination PATH] [-b {on,off}] [--backup-auto-detect {on,off}] [--photo-backup-identifier FOLDER] [--video-backup-identifier FOLDER] [--photo-backup-location PATH] [--video-backup-location PATH] [--ignore-other-photo-file-types] [--auto-download-startup {on,off}] [--auto-download-device-insertion {on,off}] [--thumbnail-cache {on,off}] [--delete-thumbnail-cache] [--forget-remembered-files] [--reset] [--log-gphoto2] [--camera-info] [--force-system-theme] [-platform {wayland,xcb}] [path]

DESCRIPTION

Downloads, renames and backs up photos and videos from cameras, phones, memory cards and other devices.

path

Optional value that when specified, is parsed to determine if it represents an automatically detected device or a path on this computer. If the PATH represents an automatically detected device, automatic detection of devices is turned on, as in the '--auto-detect option'. Furthermore, downloading from a manually specified path as in the '--this-computer-location' option is turned off. Otherwise, the PATH is assumed to be a manually specified path as in the '--this-computer-location' option, in which case downloading from this computer is turned on and downloading from automatically detected devices is turned off.

OPTIONS

--version

show program's version number and exit

--detailed-version

Show version numbers of program and its libraries and exit.

-v, --verbose

Display program information when run from the command line.

--debug

Display debugging information when run from the command line.

-e, --extensions

List photo and video file extensions the program recognizes and exit.

--photo-renaming {on,off}

Turn on or off the the renaming of photos.

--video-renaming {on,off}

Turn on or off the the renaming of videos.

-a {on,off}, --auto-detect {on,off}

Turn on or off the automatic detection of devices from which to download.

-t {on,off}, --this-computer {on,off}

Turn on or off downloading from this computer.

--this-computer-location PATH

The PATH on this computer from which to download.

--photo-destination PATH

The PATH where photos will be downloaded to.

--video-destination PATH

The PATH where videos will be downloaded to.

-b {on,off}, --backup {on,off}

Turn on or off the backing up of photos and videos while downloading.

--backup-auto-detect {on,off}

Turn on or off the automatic detection of backup devices.

--photo-backup-identifier FOLDER

The FOLDER in which backups are stored on the automatically detected photo backup device, with the folder's name being used to identify whether or not the device is used for backups. For each device you wish to use for backing photos up to, create a folder on it with this name.

--video-backup-identifier FOLDER

The FOLDER in which backups are stored on the automatically detected video backup device, with the folder's name being used to identify whether or not the device is used for backups. For each device you wish to use for backing up videos to, create a folder on it with this name.

--photo-backup-location PATH

The PATH where photos will be backed up when automatic detection of backup devices is turned off.

--video-backup-location PATH

The PATH where videos will be backed up when automatic detection of backup devices is turned off.

--ignore-other-photo-file-types

Ignore photos with the following extensions: TIF, TIFF and MPO

--auto-download-startup {on,off}

Turn on or off starting downloads as soon as the program itself starts.

--auto-download-device-insertion {on,off}

Turn on or off starting downloads as soon as a device is inserted.

--thumbnail-cache {on,off}

Turn on or off use of the Rapid Photo Downloader Thumbnail Cache. Turning it off does not delete existing cache contents.

--delete-thumbnail-cache

Delete all thumbnails in the Rapid Photo Downloader Thumbnail Cache, and exit.

--forget-remembered-files

Forget which files have been previously downloaded, and exit.

--reset

Reset all program settings to their default values, delete all thumbnails in the Thumbnail cache, forget which files have been previously downloaded, and exit.

--log-gphoto2

Include gphoto2 debugging information in log files.

--camera-info

Print information to the terminal about attached cameras and exit.

--force-system-theme

Use the system Qt theme instead of the built-in theme

-platform {wayland,xcb}

Run this program in wayland or regular X11

COMMENTS

If the environment variable RPD_SCAN_DEBUG is set to any value, the program's scan operation will output voluminous debug information to stdout.

If the environment variable RPD_DEVEL_DEFAULTS is set to any value, the program's default preferences will be set to those of a development environment.

Report bugs to https://bugs.rapidphotodownloader.com/

Copyright 2007-2026 Damon Lynch. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html. This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

AUTHOR

Damon Lynch <[email protected]>

History

--auto-download-device-insertion since Debian 10 (Buster); --auto-download-startup since Debian 10 (Buster); --backup since Debian 10 (Buster); --backup-auto-detect since Debian 10 (Buster); --camera-info since Debian 10 (Buster); --delete-thumbnail-cache since Debian 10 (Buster); --detailed-version since Debian 10 (Buster); --force-system-theme since Arch Linux 2026-11-01; --forget-remembered-files since Debian 10 (Buster); --ignore-other-photo-file-types since Debian 10 (Buster); --log-gphoto2 since Debian 10 (Buster); --photo-backup-identifier since Debian 10 (Buster); --photo-backup-location since Debian 10 (Buster); --photo-destination since Debian 10 (Buster); --photo-renaming since Debian 10 (Buster); --reset since Debian 10 (Buster); --this-computer since Debian 10 (Buster); --this-computer-location since Debian 10 (Buster); --thumbnail-cache since Debian 10 (Buster); --video-backup-identifier since Debian 10 (Buster); --video-backup-location since Debian 10 (Buster); --video-destination since Debian 10 (Buster); --video-renaming since Debian 10 (Buster); -b since Debian 10 (Buster); -platform since Arch Linux 2026-11-01; -t since Debian 10 (Buster).

--device-location until Debian 9 (Stretch); --focal-length until Debian 9 (Stretch); --help until Debian 13 (Trixie); --import-old-version-preferences until Debian 13 (Trixie); --quiet until Debian 9 (Stretch); --reset-settings until Debian 9 (Stretch); -d until Debian 9 (Stretch); -h until Debian 13 (Trixie); -l until Debian 9 (Stretch); -q until Debian 9 (Stretch).