Imgur Archive Viewer

A modern, feature-rich desktop application for finding and downloading lost or deleted media from Imgur's history on the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.

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Overview

Imgur Archive Viewer is a powerful tool built with Python and Tkinter that queries the Wayback Machine's CDX API to find and recover archived Imgur media. With a sleek, modern UI powered by sv-ttk, it provides a seamless user experience, including automatic dark/light mode detection and robust batch processing capabilities.

If an Imgur link is dead but you suspect it was once archived, this is the tool to find it.

Key Features

• Modern User Interface: A clean, professional-looking UI with automatic light/dark theme detection that matches your OS settings.
• Robust Batch Processing:
  • Process hundreds of URLs from a .txt file.
  • View real-time status for each URL (Queued, Searching, Success, Failed) in an interactive list.
• Retry Failed Downloads: A "Retry Failed" button conveniently re-queues only the items that failed in the last batch.
• Intelligent Search Modes:
  • Best Quality (Default): Slower, prioritized search that finds videos (.mp4, .webm) over static thumbnails (.jpg).
  • Quick Scan: Faster search that finds any available version, prioritizing speed.
• Interactive Preview: Click on a successfully downloaded item in the batch list to see an image preview directly within the app.
• Configurable Settings: Easily adjust the save location and network request timeout directly from the UI.
• Comprehensive Logging:
  • See a detailed, color-coded log of the entire process.
  • Export the session log to a .txt file for record-keeping.
• Standalone Executable: Comes with instructions to build a single .exe file for easy distribution on Windows.

Requirements

• Python: Version 3.8 or higher.
• Dependencies: The application relies on several external libraries.

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/Imgur_Archive_Viewer_Repo.git
   cd Imgur_Archive_Viewer_Repo

2. Create and activate a virtual environment (recommended):

   # On Windows
   python -m venv .venv
   .\.venv\Scripts\activate
   
   # On macOS/Linux
   python3 -m venv .venv
   source .venv/bin/activate

3. Install the required dependencies from requirements.txt:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

How to Use

1. Launch the Application:

   python imgur_archive_viewer_v4.1.py

2. Configure Settings:

   • Save Location: Browse to the folder where you want files to be saved.
   • Search Quality: Check the box for "Best Quality" mode (slower but recommended) or uncheck it for a faster scan.
   • Timeout: Adjust the network timeout if you are on a slow connection.

3. Choose an Input Mode:

   • For a Single URL:

     1. Select the "Single URL" radio button.
     2. Paste the full Imgur URL into the entry box.
     3. Click "Start Download".

   • For Batch Processing:

     1. Create a .txt file where each line is a different Imgur URL.
     2. Select the "Batch from .txt File" radio button.
     3. Click "Browse..." to select your .txt file.
     4. Click "Start Batch".

4. Monitor Progress:

   • Watch the Batch Process list update with the status of each URL.
   • Observe detailed logs in the Log panel.
   • The progress bar will show the overall completion of the batch.

5. Post-Processing:

   • Click "Retry Failed" to re-attempt downloads for any URLs that errored out.
   • Click on a successful item in the list to see its preview.
   • Use the "Open Last File" and "Open Last Folder" buttons for quick access to your downloads.

Building a Windows Executable (.exe)

You can create a standalone .exe file using PyInstaller.

1. Install PyInstaller:

   pip install pyinstaller

2. Provide an Icon (Optional): Place an icon file (e.g., app_icon.ico) in the project's root directory.

3. Run the Build Command: The sv-ttk library requires its data files to be bundled explicitly. Use the following command, replacing <path_to_sv_ttk> with the actual path on your system.

   Tip: To find the path, run python -c "import sv_ttk, os; print(os.path.dirname(sv_ttk.__file__))" in your activated virtual environment.

   pyinstaller --onefile --windowed --icon="app_icon.ico" --add-data="<path_to_sv_ttk>;sv_ttk" imgur_archive_viewer_v4.1.py

   Example Path: --add-data="C:\Users\YourUser\...\.venv\Lib\site-packages\sv_ttk;sv_ttk"

4. Find your application in the dist folder. It is now a portable executable.

License

This project is released under the Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA). You are free to use, modify, and distribute it as long as appropriate credit is given.

Contributing

Contributions, issues, and feature requests are welcome. Feel free to check the issues page if you want to contribute.

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