How to download a WeChat article and its images in a ZIP

Enable image downloads and save the current article as a ZIP

Install WeChat to Markdown and open a WeChat article in your browser. In the reading panel, first choose the Markdown export format, then enable “Download article images” and click “Save complete article.” The extension packages the Markdown body and successfully downloaded images into a ZIP, and changes those image links to relative paths. Leave image downloads off if you only need text and online image links.

This downloads body images from one article. It does not scan an account’s historical posts or guarantee that avatars, comment images and every decorative element are included. See the plan details for single-article image downloads and the free allowance.

Archive images from an article page

1. Open the article in a desktop browser

   Choose the Chrome or Edge store on the installation page, install the extension and open an article you have permission to read. Confirm that the body and images you need are visible. Refresh pages that were already open before installation.

2. Choose Markdown and enable image downloads

   Confirm that the article reading panel is set to Markdown, then enable “Download article images.” The format preference is saved, so switch back to Markdown if you previously chose HTML. The main action changes to “Save complete article.” Image downloads are off by default, so a standalone Markdown file may still reference online images.

3. Save and read the export result

   Click save and wait for image fetching and packaging to finish. Check the reported successful and failed image counts, and confirm the browser download has completed. Receiving a ZIP does not prove that every image was saved for offline use.

4. Extract the whole archive

   Extract the ZIP into a permanent folder and keep the relative positions of the Markdown file and image folders. If you only need individual images, copy them from the image folder. Keep the original archive structure for reading the article.

Example: an article with two body images

Suppose “Example account” published an article called “Reading notes” on October 8, 2026, and both images download successfully. A Markdown image ZIP from the current store product follows this structure. The actual article identifier and file extensions may differ.

Example account/
├── 2026-10-08-Reading notes.md
└── _assets/
    └── stable-article-id/
        ├── 001.jpg
        └── 002.png

An image reference in the Markdown looks like ![Illustration](_assets/stable-article-id/001.jpg). Article identifiers separate image folders when several articles share one account folder. Filenames may omit the date prefix when no publish date is detected.

Confirm that the images were actually saved

1. Open an image file in the extracted folder and confirm that it is readable and contains the expected image.
2. Open the article in a Markdown reader that supports local images. Check images near the beginning, middle and end, including their order relative to the text.
3. Temporarily disconnect from the network, close the preview and reopen it. Local images that still display no longer depend on the original image URLs. An image already cached in your browser is not sufficient proof.
4. If the export reports failed images, inspect their references in the Markdown. Failed downloads keep their online URLs and need separate attention before you treat the archive as a complete offline backup.

Troubleshoot missing images and different image counts

Only some images are in the ZIP

Read the export feedback, then check whether the missing images are still accessible in the original article. Timeouts, expired images and site access restrictions can cause failures. Retry after the cause is resolved and inspect the new files. The extension cannot recover deleted images or images you cannot access.

Image files exist, but the Markdown does not display them

Open the extracted Markdown file rather than a temporary preview inside the ZIP. Check whether you moved only the .md file or renamed _assets or the article identifier folder. Restore the original relative positions, and confirm that your reader supports local images.

The image count differs from what you see on the page

Body extraction is not a screenshot of the whole page. Comments, avatars, backgrounds and elements not recognized as body images may be outside the archive. Embedded videos do not become offline video files. Check each body image that matters to you.

The download contains image resources accessible on the page. It does not promise unpublished source files, original resolution or watermark removal. Saving an image locally does not change its copyright; obtain any permission needed for republication or commercial use.

Use the image archive

For notes, follow the Obsidian guide or SiYuan import guide. To open the saved article directly in a browser, use the HTML workflow. For a document with fixed pages, see saving a WeChat article as PDF.

This guide describes the store product. The public Community MVP covers only some core features, and older source versions may use a different archive layout. See About for the version boundary. If you still need help, send the article link, export format and error message through the support page. The full save steps are also in save a WeChat article as Markdown.