Brightwheel Photos

Python script for downloading a student's photos and videos from Brightwheel.

My kid went to a daycare that used Brightwheel to communicate with parents and guardians. The teachers sent plenty of photos using Brightwheel. This script downloads them all so I can keep them.

Photos are saved as JPEG, converted from whatever format Brightwheel serves, because photo libraries reliably read EXIF metadata from JPEG. Each photo's EXIF data includes the original creation date and any message attached to the photo as a comment. Videos are saved as MP4.

Installation

Install with uv:

uv tool install brightwheel-photos

Or with pipx:

pipx install brightwheel-photos

Use

Using Environment Variables (Recommended)

For better security and convenience, you can store your credentials in a .env file:

1. Copy the example environment file:

   cp .env.example .env
   

2. Edit .env and add your credentials:

   BRIGHTWHEEL_EMAIL=your.email@example.com
   BRIGHTWHEEL_PASSWORD=your_password_here
   BRIGHTWHEEL_DIRECTORY=~/Photos/brightwheel
   # Optional: specify student ID if you have multiple students
   # BRIGHTWHEEL_STUDENT_ID=student_id_here
   

3. Run the tool (it will automatically load credentials from .env):

   brightwheel-photos
   

Using Command Line Arguments

Alternatively, you can provide credentials via command line:

brightwheel-photos --email <brightwheel-account-email> --password <brightwheel-account-password> --directory ~/Photos/brightwheel

Note: Command line arguments will override any values set in the .env file.

The program will exit when all the photos have been saved.