Firelink

A fast, focused desktop download manager for macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Features · Install · Browser Extension · Development · Release Notes

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Why Firelink

Firelink is built for people who want a real desktop download manager again: fast segmented transfers, browser capture, media extraction, scheduling, recovery, and clear control over where files land. Version 1.0.0 completes the move from the earlier macOS-only Swift app to a modern Rust/Tauri application with a React and TypeScript interface.

The app keeps the heavy work native. Downloads are coordinated by a Rust backend, accelerated with aria2, enriched with yt-dlp and FFmpeg for media workflows, and persisted locally with SQLite so queues survive restarts and app updates.

Features

• Fast segmented downloads powered by aria2 with configurable connections, retries, and speed limits.
• Media extraction with yt-dlp, FFmpeg, and Deno for video/audio links and richer format selection.
• A real Add window for manual, extension-captured, and media downloads, including metadata, duplicate handling, and save-location choices before downloads start.
• Persistent queue management with safe concurrency limits, pause/resume, retry, redownload, sorting, multi-select, and bulk controls.
• Download scheduling with start/stop windows, speed-limiter tools, and optional post-queue actions.
• Smart organization through categories, default folders, per-download overrides, and open/reveal/trash actions.
• Private browser handoff through authenticated local pairing with replay protection and desktop-server proof checks.
• Native desktop integration including tray controls, notifications, completion sounds, sleep prevention, and OS keychain support where available.
• Diagnostics built in with engine health checks, structured logs, and packaged-engine verification.

Installation

Download the latest desktop build from GitHub Releases.

Platform	Package	Notes
macOS Apple silicon	.dmg	Unsigned and not notarized. Open through Finder or approve once in System Settings -> Privacy & Security.
Windows x64	NSIS .exe installer	Unsigned. Windows SmartScreen may warn until code signing is added.
Linux x64	.AppImage	Make executable before launching if your desktop environment does not do that automatically.

Production bundles include the required media engines for the target platform. Users do not need to install aria2, yt-dlp, FFmpeg, Deno, Python, Homebrew, or a package manager for everyday app usage.

Browser Extension

Firelink Companion connects your browser to the desktop app so links and browser downloads can open in Firelink instead of disappearing into the browser's default download shelf.

What it adds:

• Automatic capture for ordinary browser downloads, while still routing every captured link through Firelink's Add window.
• Context-menu actions for "Download with Firelink" and selected links.
• Signed local requests using the pairing token from Settings -> Integrations.
• Server identity checks so the extension only trusts the real local Firelink app.
• Offline-safe behavior that resumes browser downloads when Firelink is closed or rejects a handoff.
• Protocol-aware compatibility so older desktop builds are rejected before automatic capture can cancel a browser download.

Install the extension, open Firelink, then pair it from Settings -> Integrations. The Firefox add-on is maintained in the Firelink-Extension repository and is also vendored here as the Extensions/Firefox submodule.

Platforms

Target	Status
macOS arm64	Supported. Automated native build, engine validation, packaged launch smoke test, and unsigned DMG packaging.
Windows x64	Supported. Native GitHub Actions build, engine validation, silent installer smoke test, and NSIS packaging.
Linux x64	Supported. Native GitHub Actions build, engine validation, AppImage repackaging, and xvfb launch smoke test.

Development

Requirements

• Node.js 22 or newer
• npm
• Rust and Cargo
• Tauri 2 platform prerequisites

Clone the repository with its browser-extension submodule:

git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/nimbold/Firelink.git
cd Firelink

Install dependencies and launch the desktop app:

npm install
npm run tauri dev

Run the core checks:

node --test scripts/*.node-test.js
npm test -- --run
npm run build
cd src-tauri
cargo test --all-targets

Create a production bundle:

npm run tauri build

macOS development uses locked payloads in src-tauri/binaries. Windows and Linux payloads are provisioned from checksum-pinned archives:

node scripts/provision-engines.js --target x86_64-pc-windows-msvc
node scripts/provision-engines.js --target x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu

Build staging includes only the current target. See engines.lock.json, engine-sources.lock.json, and RELEASE.md.

Repository Structure

.
├── src/                  React and TypeScript interface
├── src-tauri/            Rust backend, Tauri config, and native tests
├── scripts/              Engine provisioning, release, and smoke-test tooling
└── Extensions/Firefox/   Firelink Companion submodule

Help and Project Status

• Report bugs or request improvements in GitHub Issues.
• Read CHANGELOG.md for release history.
• Review RELEASE.md for packaging policy and release verification.

Technology & Credits

Firelink is made possible by these open-source projects:

• Tauri 2 for the lightweight desktop runtime
• Rust and Tokio for native application logic
• React and TypeScript for the interface
• Zustand for frontend state management
• SQLite for persistent local data
• aria2 for segmented downloading
• yt-dlp, FFmpeg, and Deno for media extraction and processing

License

Firelink is available under the MIT License.