Xiaohongshu Download

Why Save Xiaohongshu (RED) Posts with Ai2Done?

Xiaohongshu (小红书 / RED) is the de-facto search engine for Chinese consumers researching beauty SKUs, travel itineraries, skincare routines, restaurant lists, and FMCG product comparisons. For brand teams, agencies, and KOL platforms it's a treasure trove of original product photography, swatches, before/after stills, and pacing references — but RED's UI is hostile to offline workflows: there's no "Save image" on most note posts, the in-app screenshot watermarks the creator's nickname over your capture, and the share-to-WeChat handoff strips image EXIF. Ai2Done's Xiaohongshu downloader is built around two RED post types: 笔记 (image-album notes with up to 18 stills) and 视频笔记 (short video posts). For album notes you get a ZIP of every still in original resolution with the order preserved — critical for swatch sequences and before/after comparisons. For video notes you get the original-quality MP4. Inputs accepted: xhslink.com share links (from the app), www.xiaohongshu.com/explore/<id> permalinks, and www.xiaohongshu.com/discovery/item/<id> URLs. RED is notoriously aggressive about anti-scrape: weekend evening hours (UTC+8 19:00-23:00) sometimes throttle fetches. Two etiquette points specific to RED culture: (1) Always preserve the original creator's nickname and post URL in your filename — RED creators have launched coordinated campaigns against agencies caught silently reposting their swatches. (2) Many RED posts are sponsored 种草 ("seeding") content that contractually bind the creator to the brand for 90 days — your archive may need to capture the brand mention along with the visual.

How to download a RED 笔记 (note) or video post

  1. In the RED app, tap the Share icon under the post and choose Copy link (复制链接) — you'll get an xhslink.com short URL. Or open the post on the web at www.xiaohongshu.com/explore/<id> and copy the address bar URL directly.
  2. Paste the link. The tool auto-detects whether the post is an image album (you'll see thumbnails of every still) or a video note. For albums, all stills are pre-selected; uncheck any you don't need.
  3. Download. Image albums arrive as a ZIP named `xhs_{creator}_{noteid}.zip` with stills numbered 01-18 to keep carousel order. Video notes arrive as a single MP4. Store the original xhslink URL plus the creator's nickname in your DAM so attribution survives.

Xiaohongshu / RED downloader FAQ

How do I download an image-album note with all stills in order?
Paste the note URL — the tool detects album mode automatically and lists every still. By default all stills are selected and packaged in a ZIP with numerical ordering (01, 02, …) so swatch sequences and before/after comparisons stay readable.
Will the RED watermark or creator nickname be on the images?
The originals you get are clean — RED doesn't burn watermarks into image-album files server-side. The in-app watermark only appears when you screenshot inside the app. Because of that, we strongly recommend storing the creator nickname in the filename so attribution doesn't get lost.
Why is RED rate-limiting my downloads on a Sunday evening?
RED ramps up anti-scrape protections during evening peak (UTC+8 19:00-23:00) when their commerce livestreams run. Retry off-peak (morning Asia time) or space requests apart. We don't queue-bypass — that would risk RED banning the public endpoint for everyone.
Can I download a note from a private RED account?
No. Private accounts require an approved follow relationship; the tool only fetches public posts. If the creator made the note public but later turned it private, the link will fail.
Is it OK to repost a RED creator's swatch photos in my brand brief?
For internal briefs and competitive analysis, yes with attribution. For any external brand-channel publication, social media post, or paid-media use, you must license the photos from the creator in writing — RED creators have organized class actions against agencies that silently reused 种草 photography.