Since Node.js v18, you no longer need external libraries like node-fetch or axios for basic downloads. The most efficient method for large files is to use , which prevents memory overflow by processing data in chunks. javascript
Native file downloading in Node.js has been significantly simplified with the introduction of the built-in Fetch API in Node.js v18 and higher. The Modern Way: Native Fetch & Web Streams node js fetch download file
import fs from 'node:fs'; import { Readable } from 'node:stream'; import { finished } from 'node:stream/promises'; import path from 'node:path'; async function downloadFile(url, fileName) { const response = await fetch(url); if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`Failed to fetch: ${response.statusText}`); const destination = path.resolve("./downloads", fileName); const fileStream = fs.createWriteStream(destination); // Readable.fromWeb converts a Web Stream to a Node.js Stream await finished(Readable.fromWeb(response.body).pipe(fileStream)); console.log(`Download complete: ${fileName}`); } downloadFile('https://example.com', 'image.png'); Use code with caution. Key Techniques for Downloading Files Stack Overflow Since Node