From b61186921804c1629992c84f9c011ddadcdee985 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: nimbold <11913706+nimbold@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Mon, 1 Jun 2026 06:03:04 +0330
Subject: [PATCH] docs: simplify and restructure README to GitHub standards
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-# Firelink
+
+
Firelink
+
A clean, native SwiftUI download manager for Apple Silicon macOS
-Firelink is a clean SwiftUI download manager for Apple Silicon Macs. The goal is to bring the practical parts of IDM/FDM-style download management to macOS with a native interface, segmented downloads, queue control, automatic file organization, and credential-aware transfers.
+ [](https://swift.org)
+ [](https://apple.com)
+ [](https://aria2.github.io/)
+ [](LICENSE)
+
-This project is early, but it already has a working native prototype, an `aria2c`-backed download engine, a queue-focused UI, batch link intake, and app-wide settings.
+---
-## Features
+**Firelink** brings the efficiency of multi-segmented download managers (like IDM or FDM) to macOS with a modern, native SwiftUI interface. Designed specifically for Apple Silicon, it delivers high-speed concurrent transfers, drag-and-drop queue control, automated file organization, and Keychain-secured authentication—all in a lightweight native package.
-- Native SwiftUI macOS interface.
-- Segmented downloads with a per-file connection count that also controls the split count.
-- Multiple files downloading at the same time.
-- Queue-based downloads with drag-and-drop priority ordering.
-- Batch Add Downloads window for pasting one or many links at once.
-- Automatic link parsing from newlines, whitespace, and common separators.
-- Metadata preview for new downloads, including file size when the server reports it.
-- Total required disk space and available disk space summary before adding downloads.
-- Per-batch save location override, while keeping automatic file-type folders by default.
-- Native macOS Settings window, available from App menu > Settings and the main toolbar.
-- Configurable default per-server connection count.
-- Configurable parallel file download limit in Settings.
-- Per-batch connection controls in the Add Downloads window.
-- Sidebar filters for all downloads, queued, active, completed, failed, and file categories.
-- Sortable, resizable download table columns with a right-click column chooser.
-- Default table columns for file name, size, progress/status, ETA, last try date, and date added.
-- Download row context menu with properties, show in Finder, resume, stop, queue, and delete actions.
-- Download properties window for editing URL, file name, save location, connection count, and login behavior.
-- Delete confirmation with optional move-to-Trash for downloaded or partial files.
-- Automatic cleanup of unfinished `.aria2` cache files when removing incomplete downloads.
-- Automatic save folders under `~/Downloads`:
- - `Musics`
- - `Movies`
- - `Compressed`
- - `Pictures`
- - `Documents`
- - `Other`
-- Custom download locations per file category.
-- Broad file extension detection for audio, video, archive, image, and document formats.
-- HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and SFTP URL support through `aria2c`.
-- Site login rules with URL pattern matching and Keychain-stored passwords.
-- Optional prevention of system sleep while files are downloading, while still allowing display sleep.
-- Pause, resume, cancel, delete, progress, speed, ETA, and connection count display.
-- Release `.app` bundle script for local macOS builds.
+---
-## Engine
+## ✨ Key Features
-This first version uses `aria2c` as the download engine. It is a better fit than plain `curl` for the requested IDM/FDM-style behavior because it has segmented downloads, resumable transfers, concurrent downloads, HTTP/FTP/SFTP support, and username/password options built in.
+- ⚡ **High-Speed Downloads:** Multi-segmented download engine powered by `aria2c` for concurrent connections and optimal bandwidth utilization. Supports HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and SFTP.
+- 🎨 **Native macOS & SwiftUI:** Responsive interface designed natively for Apple Silicon, featuring resizable tables, customizable columns, sidebar filters, and a native Settings panel.
+- 🗂️ **Smart Queue & Categories:** Drag-and-drop priority ordering, batch link ingestion with smart parsing, and automatic file organization (`Musics`, `Movies`, `Compressed`, `Pictures`, `Documents`, `Other`) based on extension detection.
+- 🔒 **Keychain Security:** Local macOS Keychain integration for secure site credential storage and matching during transfers.
+- ⚙️ **Power & System Integrity:** Optional system sleep prevention during active downloads, disk-space safety checks, and automated cleanup of partial `.aria2` metadata cache files.
-Firelink uses one per-file connection value for both `aria2c` split count and same-server connection count. That keeps the download behavior close to the familiar IDM-style model: choosing 8 connections splits the file into 8 parallel segments.
+
+🔍 View Full Feature Index (30+ features)
-## Requirements
+### All native SwiftUI macOS features:
-Install the engine:
+- **Core Download Engine:**
+ - Segmented downloads with per-file connection/split counts.
+ - Multi-threaded, parallel downloading with configurable limits.
+ - Support for HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and SFTP transfers via `aria2c`.
+- **Advanced Queue Control:**
+ - Drag-and-drop download reordering to manage priorities.
+ - Comprehensive download table with resizable, custom columns (Name, Size, Status, ETA, Dates).
+ - Individual download controls: pause, resume, stop, and queue actions.
+- **Smart Link Ingestion:**
+ - Batch Add window for pasting multiple links at once.
+ - Automated link parsing (whitespaces, newlines, standard separators).
+ - Disk space availability checks and total size calculation prior to adding.
+- **File Organization:**
+ - Automatic categorization of files (Music, Movies, Compressed, Documents, Images) into structured subfolders under `~/Downloads`.
+ - Smart fallback to customizable download folders per category.
+ - Automatic cleanup of unfinished `.aria2` metadata/cache files on removal.
+- **Security & System:**
+ - Local macOS Keychain integration for site logins.
+ - Prevents system sleep while active transfers are in progress, preserving display sleep.
+ - Release `.app` bundle build scripts ready for distribution.
-```sh
+
+
+---
+
+## ⚙️ Engine Architecture
+
+Firelink leverages `aria2c` under the hood as its core download engine. Unlike standard `curl`, `aria2c` allows:
+- **Segmented Downloads:** Splits files into multiple streams for maximum transfer speeds.
+- **Unified Connection Control:** A single slider regulates both the server connection count and segment split count, matching the intuitive behavior of classic managers like IDM/FDM.
+- **Built-in Resumability:** Seamlessly resumes interrupted or paused downloads without data corruption.
+
+---
+
+## 🛠️ Requirements & Setup
+
+### 1. Install Dependencies
+Ensure you have **Homebrew** and the **Swift toolchain** installed:
+```bash
brew install aria2
```
+- **OS Support:** macOS 14.0 or newer (built natively for Apple Silicon)
+- **Toolchain:** Xcode 15+ / Swift 6.0 toolchain
-- macOS 14 or newer.
-- Apple Silicon Mac.
-- Swift 6 toolchain.
-- `aria2c` installed with Homebrew, or bundled into the app resources later.
-
-## Run
-
-```sh
+### 2. Build & Run
+Run the application directly via the terminal:
+```bash
swift run Firelink
```
-Build a release `.app` bundle:
-
-```sh
-make app
-open build/Firelink.app
+Or build a production `.app` bundle:
+```bash
+make app && open build/Firelink.app
```
-Because the current machine only has Command Line Tools selected, this repository is set up as a Swift Package with a bundling script rather than a generated Xcode project. Opening the package in Xcode will still give you a native macOS app workflow.
+---
-## Roadmap
+## 🗺️ Roadmap
-- Persist download history, queue order, column choices, and active download state across launches.
-- Bundle or manage `aria2c` automatically so users do not need a separate Homebrew install.
-- Add first-class pause/resume semantics with clearer partial-file and cache handling.
-- Add per-download and global speed limits, plus scheduler rules for start/stop windows.
-- Add retry policies, mirror fallback, and richer failure recovery for unstable servers.
-- Add browser integration or a companion extension for capturing download links from Safari/Chrome/Firefox.
-- Add cookie/header support for authenticated downloads that require browser sessions.
-- Improve site-login editing, credential migration, and matching diagnostics.
-- Add duplicate detection for URLs, file names, and already-downloaded files.
-- Add checksum/hash verification and optional post-download integrity checks.
-- Add download history search, saved filters, and better category management.
-- Add signed/notarized release builds, auto-update support, and downloadable GitHub releases.
-- Add localization-ready strings and accessibility review for keyboard and VoiceOver workflows.
-- Add unit and integration tests for file classification, URL parsing, queue behavior, settings persistence, `aria2c` progress parsing, and metadata fetching.
+- [ ] **Data Persistence:** Store history, column layout preferences, and active queues across restarts.
+- [ ] **Zero-Config Setup:** Automatically bundle and configure `aria2c` inside the `.app` bundle.
+- [ ] **Bandwidth Limits:** Add global and per-download speed caps and calendar schedules.
+- [ ] **Browser Extensions:** Capture links directly from Safari, Chrome, and Firefox.
+- [ ] **Advanced Transfer Features:** Checksum validation, cookie/header ingestion, and smart mirror failovers.
+- [ ] **Distribution:** Notarized release builds, automated Sparkle updates, and Homebrew formulae.
-## License
+---
-Firelink is released under the MIT License. See [LICENSE](LICENSE).
+## 📄 License
+
+Firelink is released under the MIT License. See [LICENSE](LICENSE) for details.