01 · Product name
SingleFile
Saves one web page as a single HTML file on your machine.
Published by Gildas Lormeau.
In short
SingleFile is a free browser extension, and a separate command-line tool, by Gildas Lormeau. The project site says it saves a page, including images and styles, as one HTML file, and that the file stays on your computer: no account and no cloud service. The site listed version 1.31.1 and stores for Firefox, Chrome, Edge, and Safari. The repository README licenses it AGPL. The FAQ says it is not a WARC archive and that scripts are removed unless you change that option.
Product pricing strategy
02
Free
SingleFile is free. The project site says it is free and open source, that there is no account, and that the saved file stays on your computer. The repository README says the license is AGPL, and that someone who wants a commercial license for a service or product should contact the author. It does not print a dollar amount for that license. The stores linked from the download section are the browser vendors' stores. This listing does not quote a store price, because the project page does not. The command-line tool is a separate repository under the same author, also without a price on the page this listing cites.
Utility and features
03
SingleFile's site describes one job. You are on a page. You save it. The result is a standard HTML file that can be opened later in a browser without the extension, including offline. The same page says nothing is uploaded to a cloud service and that you do not create an account. Version 1.31.1 was the version printed on the download section. Store links cover Firefox, Firefox for Android, Chrome, Edge, and Safari on macOS and iOS.
- One file, on disk. The saved page is HTML. Images and styles are embedded. The project site says you can open it later without the extension.
- Scripts are off unless you opt in. The FAQ says scripts are removed by default. Interactive widgets in the saved file will not behave like the live page.
- Not a WARC archive. The FAQ says web archivists should use WARC tools. SingleFile is a personal copy of a page you opened.
The examples section publishes a saved copy of the Wikipedia article on the data URI scheme. The site says that example is one 350 KB HTML file, that the images and styles are embedded, and that the Wikipedia text and images are CC BY-SA 4.0. Opening that file shows the article, not a screenshot of it. The FAQ says professionals who archive the web should use WARC tools instead, that SingleFile does not upload the page to a third-party server, and that scripts are removed by default because they can change the page. A command-line companion is documented at github.com/gildas-lormeau/single-file-cli. The frames on this listing are the project's published example, not a local save of another site.
- 1
Install the extension from the store the project site links, in a browser you control.
- 2
Save a page you are allowed to keep. Confirm the file is on disk and opens with the network disconnected.
- 3
If a widget is missing, read the FAQ. Scripts are removed unless you change that option.
- 4
For a case file that needs a hash and a timestamped package, use a capture tool built for that, and keep SingleFile as the reading copy.
Caveats
04
A SingleFile save is the page as the extension processed it. The FAQ says scripts are removed unless you change that option, so menus, maps, and carousels can be wrong or missing. Some sites block extensions. Some images require a Referer header the FAQ says is off by default.
The FAQ also says the extension does not upload the page to a third-party server, while still downloading resources the page references. That is a copy, not a chain of custody. The command-line tool is a separate repository. The frames here are the project's published Wikipedia example, not a save this directory made of another site. Hunchly is the pivot when the file needs a hash and a case.
Screenshots
05
Potential use cases
06
- A public page is about to change and you need a reading copy on disk. Save it with SingleFile from the browser you are already using. The project site says the result is one HTML file, with images and styles embedded, and that it stays on the computer. Open the file with the network off before you file it. Pivot to the Wayback Machine if you needed yesterday's copy rather than the page you can still see.
- A colleague does not have the extension. Send the HTML file, not a request that they install something. The project's published example is a Wikipedia article saved as one 350 KB file, and the site says it displays without the extension. Your file should do the same. The Wikipedia text in that example is CC BY-SA 4.0. Your page has its own license. Saving is not a license to republish.
- A matter needs a hashed, timestamped package for someone else to review. SingleFile's FAQ says it is not the WARC tool professional archivists use, and that scripts are removed by default. Use Hunchly or a WARC workflow for the exhibit, and keep the SingleFile HTML as the copy people can open. Do not claim the HTML is a signed evidence package.
Hard cases
The case where the first result is easy to over-read.
The saved page is missing the part you needed
The live site had a folded comment thread or a map. The HTML file shows the static page and not the widget. The FAQ says that is what removing scripts does. Either change the option and save again, and say you did, or stop claiming the file shows the interactive state. Do not describe the file as a full archive. If the case needs that standard, switch to a WARC tool and keep this file as a convenience copy.
Questions
Is SingleFile free?
Yes. The project site says it is free and open source, with no account. A commercial license is a conversation with the author, and the README does not print a price for it.
Does SingleFile upload the page?
The FAQ says it does not upload the page to a third-party server. Saving can still download images and other resources that the live page references.
Citations
07
Titled sources. These public pages are what the quotes on this listing come from.
Product
SingleFile
https://www.getsinglefile.com/Documentation
SingleFile repository
https://github.com/gildas-lormeau/SingleFileDocumentation
SingleFile FAQ
https://github.com/gildas-lormeau/SingleFile/blob/main/faq.md