Download Gravatar Images

Download Gravatar avatar images to local files.

Usage

npx tsx scripts/download.ts <email> <output-file> [options]

Arguments

Argument	Required	Description
email	Yes	Email address
output-file	Yes	Path where image will be saved

Options

Option	Description
--size=N	Image size in pixels (default: 200, max: 2048)
--default=TYPE	Default image type: mp, identicon, monsterid, wavatar, retro, robohash, blank
--rating=LEVEL	Rating level: g, pg, r, x (default: g)
--no-cache	Bypass cache and fetch fresh data

Output

Email: user@example.com
Output: avatar.jpg
Hash: b48bf4373d7b7374351c0544f36f7fc3

✓ Downloaded successfully
  Size: 12.4 KB
  File: avatar.jpg

Script Execution (Preferred)

npx tsx scripts/download.ts <email> <output-file> [options]

Options:

• --size=N - Image size in pixels (default: 200, max: 2048)
• --default=TYPE - Default image type: mp, identicon, monsterid, wavatar, retro, robohash, blank
• --rating=LEVEL - Rating level: g, pg, r, x (default: g)
• --no-cache - Bypass cache and fetch fresh data

Run from the gravatar plugin directory: ~/.claude/plugins/cache/gravatar/

How It Works

1. Generates Gravatar URL with specified parameters
2. Downloads image using cached HTTP request
3. Saves image to specified file path
4. Caches downloaded images for 24 hours

Examples

Basic download (200px PNG):

npx tsx scripts/download.ts user@example.com avatar.png

Large avatar (800px):

npx tsx scripts/download.ts user@example.com large-avatar.jpg --size=800

Download with fallback to identicon:

npx tsx scripts/download.ts newuser@example.com avatar.png --default=identicon

Force fresh download:

npx tsx scripts/download.ts user@example.com avatar.png --no-cache

Image Size Options

Size	Use Case	File Size (approx)
80	Small thumbnails	2-4 KB
200	Profile avatars (default)	8-15 KB
400	Large profile images	20-35 KB
800	High-resolution displays	50-90 KB
2048	Maximum quality	200-400 KB

Default Image Types

When no Gravatar exists, these defaults are used:

Type	Description
mp	Mystery Person (simple silhouette)
identicon	Geometric pattern based on email hash
monsterid	Unique monster generated from email
wavatar	Unique face generated from email
retro	8-bit arcade-style face
robohash	Unique robot generated from email
blank	Transparent PNG

Use Cases

Team Avatar Cache

Download avatars for all team members:

for email in dev1@company.com dev2@company.com dev3@company.com; do
  npx tsx scripts/download.ts "$email" "avatars/${email}.png" --size=400
done

Profile Image Backup

Save user avatars locally:

npx tsx scripts/download.ts maintainer@project.org backup/maintainer.jpg --size=800

Generate Placeholder Avatars

Create consistent default avatars:

npx tsx scripts/download.ts user1@example.com user1.png --default=identicon
npx tsx scripts/download.ts user2@example.com user2.png --default=identicon

High-Resolution Display

Download retina-ready images:

npx tsx scripts/download.ts user@example.com avatar@2x.png --size=400

Caching

Downloaded images are cached for 24 hours:

• Same email + parameters = cached file returned
• Different parameters = new download
• --no-cache = fresh download

This reduces API calls and bandwidth usage.

Error Handling

The script will fail if:

• Email is missing or invalid format
• Output file path is missing
• Network errors occur
• Disk write fails

Error messages indicate the specific failure for troubleshooting.

File Formats

Gravatar serves images in these formats:

• JPG - Smaller file size, good for photos
• PNG - Better for geometric/generated images (identicon, robohash)
• WebP - Modern format, smallest size (when supported)

The file extension in the output path determines the format saved.

Related

• Use gravatar-check skill to verify Gravatar exists before downloading
• Use gravatar-url skill to generate URLs for web display
• Combine with npm/GitHub user data to download contributor avatars