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--- title: Download blobs from Azure Blob Storage by using AzCopy v10 description: This article contains a collection of AzCopy example commands that help you download blobs from Azure Blob Storage. author: normesta ms.service: azure-storage ms.topic: how-to ms.date: 10/28/2025 ms.author: normesta ms.subservice: storage-common-concepts ms.reviewer: dineshm # Customer intent: "As a data engineer, I want to use AzCopy to efficiently download blobs from Azure Blob Storage, so that I can manage and process storage data as needed in my projects." --- # Download blobs from Azure Blob Storage by using AzCopy You can use the AzCopy v10 command-line utility to download blobs and directories from Blob storage. For examples of other types of tasks, such as uploading files, synchronizing with Blob storage, or copying blobs between accounts, see the links in the [Next Steps](#next-steps) section of this article. ## Get started See the [Get started with AzCopy](storage-use-azcopy-v10.md) article to download AzCopy and learn about the ways that you can provide authorization credentials to the storage service. > [!NOTE] > The examples in this article assume that you provide authorization credentials by using Microsoft Entra ID. > > If you'd rather use a SAS token to authorize access to blob data, then you can append that token to the resource URL in each AzCopy command. For example: `'https://<storage-account-name>.blob.core.windows.net/<container-name><SAS-token>'`. ## Download a blob Download a blob by using the [azcopy copy](https://github.com/Azure/azure-storage-azcopy/wiki/azcopy_copy) command. > [!TIP] > This example encloses path arguments with single quotes (''). Use single quotes in all command shells except for the Windows Command Shell (cmd.exe). If you're using a Windows Command Shell (cmd.exe), enclose path arguments with double quotes ("") instead of single quotes (''). **Syntax** `azcopy copy 'https://<storage-account-name>.<blob or dfs>.core.windows.net/<container-name>/<blob-path>' '<local-file-path>'` **Example** ```azcopy azcopy copy 'https://mystorageaccount.blob.core.windows.net/mycontainer/myTextFile.txt' 'C:\myDirectory\myTextFile.txt' ``` **Example (Data Lake Storage endpoint)** ```azcopy azcopy copy 'https://mystorageaccount.dfs.core.windows.net/mycontainer/myTextFile.txt' 'C:\myDirectory\myTextFile.txt' ``` > [!NOTE] > If the `Content-md5` property value of a blob contains a hash, AzCopy calculates an MD5 hash for downloaded data and verifies that the MD5 hash stored in the blob's `Content-md5` property matches the calculated hash. If these values don't match, the download fails unless you override this behavior by appending `--check-md5=NoCheck` or `--check-md5=LogOnly` to the copy command. ## Download a directory Download a directory by using the [azcopy copy](https://github.com/Azure/azure-storage-azcopy/wiki/azcopy_copy) command. > [!TIP] > This example encloses path arguments with single quotes (''). Use single quotes in all command shells except for the Windows Command Shell (cmd.exe). If you're using a Windows Command Shell (cmd.exe), enclose path arguments with double quotes ("") instead of single quotes (''). **Syntax** `azcopy copy 'https://<storage-account-name>.<blob or dfs>.core.windows.net/<container-name>/<directory-path>' '<local-directory-path>' --recursive` **Example** ```azcopy azcopy copy 'https://mystorageaccount.blob.core.windows.net/mycontainer/myBlobDirectory' 'C:\myDirectory' --recursive ``` **Example (Data Lake Storage endpoint)** ```azcopy azcopy copy 'https://mystorageaccount.dfs.core.windows.net/mycontainer/myBlobDirectory' 'C:\myDirectory' --recursive ``` This example results in a directory named `C:\myDirectory\myBlobDirectory` that contains all of the downloaded blobs. ## Download directory contents You can download the contents of a directory without copying the containing directory itself by using the wildcard symbol (*). > [!TIP] > This example encloses path arguments with single quotes (''). Use single quotes in all command shells except for the Windows Command Shell (cmd.exe). If you're using a Windows Command Shell (cmd.exe), enclose path arguments with double quotes ("") instead of single quotes (''). > [!NOTE] > Currently, this scenario is supported only for accounts that don't have a hierarchical namespace. **Syntax** `azcopy copy 'https://<storage-account-name>.blob.core.windows.net/<container-name>/*' '<local-directory-path>/'` **Example** ```azcopy azcopy copy 'https://mystorageaccount.blob.core.windows.net/mycontainer/myBlobDirectory/*' 'C:\myDirectory' ``` Append the `--recursive` flag to download files in all subdirectories. ## Download specific blobs You can download specific blobs by using complete file names, partial names with wildcard characters (*), or by using dates and times. > [!TIP] > These examples enclose path arguments with single quotes (''). Use single quotes in all command shells except for the Windows Command Shell (cmd.exe). If you're using a Windows Command Shell (cmd.exe), enclose path arguments with double quotes ("") instead of single quotes (''). #### Specify multiple complete blob names Use the [azcopy copy](https://github.com/Azure/azure-storage-azcopy/wiki/azcopy_copy) command with the `--include-path` option. Separate individual blob names by using a semicolon (`;`). **Syntax** `azcopy copy 'https://<storage-account-name>.<blob or dfs>.core.windows.net/<container-or-directory-name>' '<local-directory-path>' --include-path <semicolon-separated-file-list>` **Example** ```azcopy azcopy copy 'https://mystorageaccount.blob.core.windows.net/mycontainer/FileDirectory' 'C:\myDirectory' --include-path 'photos;documents\myFile.txt' --recursive ``` **Example (Data Lake Storage endpoint)** ```azcopy azcopy copy 'https://mystorageaccount.dfs.core.windows.net/mycontainer/FileDirectory' 'C:\myDirectory' --include-path 'photos;documents\myFile.txt'--recursive ``` In this example, AzCopy transfers the `https://mystorageaccount.blob.core.windows.net/mycontainer/FileDirectory/photos` directory and the `https://mystorageaccount.blob.core.windows.net/mycontainer/FileDirectory/documents/myFile.txt` file. Include the `--recursive` option to transfer all blobs in the `https://mystorageaccount.blob.core.windows.net/mycontainer/FileDirectory/photos` directory. You can also exclude blobs by using the `--exclude-path` option. To learn more, see [azcopy copy](https://github.com/Azure/azure-storage-azcopy/wiki/azcopy_copy) reference docs. #### Use wildcard characters Use the [azcopy copy](https://github.com/Azure/azure-storage-azcopy/wiki/azcopy_copy) command with the `--include-pattern` option. Specify partial names that include the wildcard characters. Separate names by using a semicolin (`;`). **Syntax** `azcopy copy 'https://<storage-account-name>.<blob or dfs>.core.windows.net/<container-or-directory-name>' '<local-directory-path>' --include-pattern <semicolon-separated-file-list-with-wildcard-characters>` **Example** ```azcopy azcopy copy 'https://mystorageaccount.blob.core.windows.net/mycontainer/FileDirectory' 'C:\myDirectory' --include-pattern 'myFile*.txt;*.pdf*' ``` **Example (hierarchical namespace)** ```azcopy azcopy copy 'https://mystorageaccount.dfs.core.windows.net/mycontainer/FileDirectory' 'C:\myDirectory' --include-pattern 'myFile*.txt;*.pdf*' ``` You can also exclude blobs by using the `--exclude-pattern` option. To learn more, see [azcopy copy](https://github.com/Azure/azure-storage-azcopy/wiki/azcopy_copy) reference docs. The `--include-pattern` and `--exclude-pattern` options apply only to blob names and not to the path. If you want to copy all of the text files (blobs) that exist in a directory tree, use the `-recursive` option to get the entire directory tree, and then use the `-include-pattern` and specify `*.txt` to get all of the text files. #### Download blobs that were modified before or after a date and time Use the [azcopy copy](https://github.com/Azure/azure-storage-azcopy/wiki/azcopy_copy) command with the `--include-before` or `--include-after` option. Specify a date and time in ISO-8601 format (For example: `2020-08-19T15:04:00Z`). The following examples download files that were modified on or after the specified date. **Syntax** `azcopy copy 'https://<storage-account-name>.<blob or dfs>.core.windows.net/<container-or-directory-name>/*' '<local-directory-path>' --include-after <Date-Time-in-ISO-8601-format>` **Example** ```azcopy azcopy copy 'https://mystorageaccount.blob.core.windows.net/mycontainer/FileDirectory/*' 'C:\myDirectory' --include-after '2020-08-19T15:04:00Z' ``` **Example (Data Lake Storage endpoint)** ```azcopy azcopy copy 'https://mystorageaccount.dfs.core.windows.net/mycontainer/FileDirectory/*' 'C:\myDirectory' --include-after '2020-08-19T15:04:00Z' ``` For detailed reference, see the [azcopy copy](https://github.com/Azure/azure-storage-azcopy/wiki/azcopy_copy) reference docs. #### Download previous versions of a blob If you enable [blob versioning](../blobs/versioning-enable.md), you can download one or more previous versions of a blob. First, create a text file that contains a list of [version IDs](../blobs/versioning-overview.md). Each version ID must appear on a separate line. For example: ``` 2020-08-17T05:50:34.2199403Z 2020-08-17T05:50:34.5041365Z 2020-08-17T05:50:36.7607103Z ``` Then, use the [azcopy copy](https://github.com/Azure/azure-storage-azcopy/wiki/azcopy_copy) command with the `--list-of-versions` option. Specify the location of the text file that contains the list of versions (For example: `D:\\list-of-versions.txt`). #### Download a blob snapshot You can download a [blob snapshot](../blobs/snapshots-overview.md) by referencing the **DateTime** value of a blob snapshot. **Syntax** `azcopy copy 'https://<storage-account-name>.<blob or dfs>.core.windows.net/<container-name>/<blob-path>?sharesnapshot=<DateTime-of-snapshot>' '<local-file-path>'` **Example** ```azcopy azcopy copy 'https://mystorageaccount.blob.core.windows.net/mycontainer/myTextFile.txt?sharesnapshot=2020-09-23T08:21:07.0000000Z' 'C:\myDirectory\myTextFile.txt' ``` **Example (Data Lake Storage endpoint)** ```azcopy azcopy copy 'https://mystorageaccount.dfs.core.windows.net/mycontainer/myTextFile.txt?sharesnapshot=2020-09-23T08:21:07.0000000Z' 'C:\myDirectory\myTextFile.txt' ``` > [!NOTE] > If you use a SAS token to authorize access to blob data, append snapshot **DateTime** after the SAS token. For example: `'https://mystorageaccount.blob.core.windows.net/mycontainer/myTextFile.txt?sv=2018-03-28&ss=bjqt&srs=sco&sp=rjklhjup&se=2019-05-10T04:37:48Z&st=2019-05-09T20:37:48Z&spr=https&sig=/SOVEFfsKDqRry4bk3qz1vAQFwY5DDzp2%2B/3Eykf/JLs%3D&sharesnapshot=2020-09-23T08:21:07.0000000Z'`. ## Download with optional flags You can tweak your download operation by using optional flags. Here's a few examples. |Scenario|Flag| |---|---| |Automatically decompress files.|**--decompress**| |Specify how detailed you want your copy-related log entries to be.|**--log-level**=[WARNING\|ERROR\|INFO\|NONE]| |Specify if and how to overwrite the conflicting files and blobs at the destination.|**--overwrite**=[true\|false\|ifSourceNewer\|prompt]| For a complete list, see [options](https://github.com/Azure/azure-storage-azcopy/wiki/azcopy_copy#options). ## Download static website contents AzCopy doesn't support downloading data from static websites hosted in Azure Storage through the public endpoint, such as `https://mystorageaccount.z12.web.core.windows.net`. Instead, use the `$web` container at the blob endpoint to download files from your static website. ```azcopy azcopy copy 'https://mystorageaccount.blob.core.windows.net/$web/*' 'C:\myDirectory' --recursive ``` ## Specify source and destination types AzCopy uses the `--from-to` parameter to explicitly define the source and destination resource types when automatic detection might fail - such as in piping scenarios or emulators. This parameter helps AzCopy understand the context of the transfer and optimize accordingly. | FromTo Value | Description | |------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | `BlobFSLocal` | Download from Azure Data Lake Gen2 (BlobFS) to local file system | | `BlobLocal` | Download from Azure Blob Storage to local file system | ## Next steps Find more examples in these articles: - [Examples: Upload](storage-use-azcopy-blobs-upload.md) - [Examples: Copy between account](storage-use-azcopy-blobs-copy.md) - [Examples: Synchronize](storage-use-azcopy-blobs-synchronize.md) - [Examples: Amazon S3 buckets](storage-use-azcopy-s3.md) - [Examples: Google Cloud Storage](storage-use-azcopy-google-cloud.md) - [Examples: Azure Files](storage-use-azcopy-files.md) See these articles to configure settings, optimize performance, and troubleshoot issues: - [AzCopy configuration settings](storage-ref-azcopy-configuration-settings.md) - [Optimize the performance of AzCopy](storage-use-azcopy-optimize.md) - [Find errors and resume jobs by using log and plan files in AzCopy](storage-use-azcopy-configure.md) - [Troubleshoot problems with AzCopy v10](storage-use-azcopy-troubleshoot.md)