gallery-dl Not Working on Windows — Fix Common Errors

Cause: The site requires you to be logged in to access this content.

Fix: Log in to the site in Chrome (or Firefox/Edge), close the browser completely, then run: gallery-dl --cookies-from-browser chrome "URL" If cookies keep expiring, export a cookies.txt file instead. See the cookies guide.

Cause: PowerShell can't find gallery-dl.exe because its folder isn't in PATH.

Fix — option 1: Navigate to the folder containing gallery-dl.exe in Explorer, click the address bar, type powershell, press Enter. Run gallery-dl from there.

Fix — option 2: Add the gallery-dl folder to your PATH. See the install guide for step-by-step instructions.

Cause: The site is blocking the request — either rate limiting, login required, or geo-blocking.

Fix: First update gallery-dl: gallery-dl -U. Then try with cookies: gallery-dl --cookies-from-browser chrome "URL" If you're using a VPN, try disabling it — some VPN exit nodes are blocked. Add --sleep-request 3 if you're hitting rate limits.

Cause: Login required, unsupported URL format, or the extractor needs updating.

Fix: Run with verbose output to see the exact error: gallery-dl -v "URL" Then try with cookies: gallery-dl --cookies-from-browser chrome "URL". Update gallery-dl: gallery-dl -U.

Cause: Windows certificate store is outdated, or a proxy/VPN is intercepting HTTPS.

Fix: Run Windows Update (Settings → Windows Update), then retry. If you're behind a corporate proxy, contact your IT team. As a last resort only: gallery-dl --no-check-certificate "URL" — not recommended long-term as it disables certificate validation.

Cause: SmartScreen flags unsigned portable executables by default — this is a false positive.

Fix: Click More info → Run anyway. Or right-click gallery-dl.exe → Properties → tick Unblock at the bottom → OK. The file is the unmodified official GitHub release.

Cause: Chrome or Edge locks its SQLite cookie database while running.

Fix: Close the browser completely — including the system tray icon. Then run gallery-dl again. Alternatively, export cookies to a cookies.txt file and use --cookies instead of --cookies-from-browser.

Cause: Rate limiting by the site, unstable connection, or VPN throttling.

Fix: Add --sleep-request 3 --retries 5 to your command. For persistent stalls, try --part to resume partial downloads. Avoid VPNs that throttle traffic for large downloads.

Cause: The URL format has changed or the site isn't supported.

Fix: Update gallery-dl with gallery-dl -U. Check the supported sites list. Make sure you're using the correct URL format — some sites have changed their URL structure.