outline-dl

Download unit outline PDFs from Curtin University's LITEC system.

Installation

pip install outline-dl

After installing, you need to install the browser binary:

playwright install chromium

From source

git clone https://github.com/michael-borck/outline-dl.git
cd outline-dl
uv sync
uv run playwright install chromium

Configuration

Credentials

Credentials are resolved in this order:

1. CLI flags (-u / -p)
2. Environment variables (UO_USERNAME / UO_PASSWORD)
3. .env file (searched in order):
   • ~/.config/outline-dl/.env (recommended for global installs)
   • ~/.outline-dl.env
   • ./.env (current directory)
4. Interactive prompt

To set up a .env file:

mkdir -p ~/.config/outline-dl
cat > ~/.config/outline-dl/.env <<EOF
UO_USERNAME=your_curtin_id
UO_PASSWORD=your_password
EOF
chmod 600 ~/.config/outline-dl/.env

Unit codes

Unit codes (e.g. COMP1000) can be provided via:

1. CLI arguments: outline-dl COMP1000 ISAD1000
2. File: outline-dl -f units.txt (one per line, comma or space-separated)
3. Interactive prompt: enter a space or comma-separated list when prompted

Usage

Batch mode

When unit codes are provided on the CLI or via a file, the tool runs non-interactively — it automatically selects the latest version and the best matching availability.

# Download a single unit outline (defaults to Bentley Perth Campus)
outline-dl COMP1000

# Download multiple units
outline-dl COMP1000 ISAD1000 COMP2000

# From a file
outline-dl -f units.txt

# Specify a different campus
outline-dl -c "Singapore Campus" COMP1000

# Download for all campuses
outline-dl -c all COMP1000

# Custom output directory
outline-dl -o ~/Downloads COMP1000

Interactive mode

When no unit codes are given on the CLI or via a file, the tool enters interactive mode. You'll be prompted for unit codes, then for each unit you can interactively select which version and availability to download.

outline-dl

Skipping existing downloads

By default, PDFs that have already been downloaded are skipped. This makes it safe to re-run a batch after a crash — it will pick up where it left off.

To force re-download:

outline-dl --overwrite COMP1000

Other options

# Watch the browser (useful for debugging)
outline-dl --visible COMP1000

# Adjust timeout for slow connections (milliseconds)
outline-dl --timeout 60000 COMP1000

PDFs are saved to ./outlines/ by default.

Help

outline-dl --help

License

MIT