Download Helper for VS Code Colab Extension Notebooks
This function enables downloading files when using the Colab extension inside VS Code, where direct access to the Colab workspace is not available. It works by encoding the file in Base64 and embedding it into an HTML download link, allowing you to save files locally even though the Colab filesystem cannot be browsed from VS Code.
Features
Instantly generate download links for any file.
Works in Google Colab, VS Code Jupyter, and other IPython notebook environments.
Lightweight — no external libraries required.
Helpful for exporting logs, generated files, reports, models, etc.
Example Usage
The function generates a link like:
Download logfile.txt
Click it to save the file locally.