The latest yt-dlp release (2026.06.09) requires heavy JavaScript execution to solve YouTube's PoW challenges. This takes ~35s on most machines, which exceeded the hardcoded 30s timeout, causing 'Failed to load options'. Increased the timeout to 120s and improved the UI to show actual errors instead of hardcoding 'Failed to load options'.
Firelink reimagines macOS file downloading by wrapping legendary open-source engines (aria2c, yt-dlp, and ffmpeg) in a beautifully crafted, highly polished SwiftUI interface. Enjoy high-speed segmented downloads, native media extraction, seamless browser integration, and intelligent file organization without compromising on the aesthetics of your Mac.
📸 Screenshots
✨ Features
- ⚡ Multi-Segmented Engine: Ultra-fast parallel downloading powered by
aria2cwith configurable speed limits and a built-in download scheduler. - 🪄 Media Downloader: Instantly extract high-quality media (4K, 1080p, MP3) with smart cascading format pickers, powered by bundled
yt-dlpandffmpeg. - 🎨 Premium Native UI: A responsive, frosted-glass SwiftUI interface strictly adhering to Apple Human Interface Guidelines, featuring a visual chunk map and dynamic progress tracking.
- 🌐 Seamless Browser Integration: Send downloads directly from your browser via the secure Firelink Companion extension.
- 🛡️ Privacy & Security: Zero-configuration setup with deferred Keychain integration and secure HMAC-SHA256 authenticated local API endpoints ensure your system remains strictly isolated and protected from malicious scripts.
- 🗂️ Smart Organization: Auto-categorizes incoming files and remembers your preferred download locations.
- 🔄 Native Updater: Built-in seamless GitHub release checking for lightweight and transparent app updates.
🧩 Browser Integration
We are live! Send downloads directly from your browser to the Firelink app with zero friction.
(Check out the Firelink-Extension source code to contribute or learn more.)
🛠️ Quick Start
OS Support: macOS 14.0 or newer (Apple Silicon natively).
Run the application directly:
swift run Firelink
Or build a production .app bundle:
make app && open build/Firelink.app
🏆 Credits
Firelink stands on the shoulders of giants. A massive thank you to the contributors of these phenomenal open-source projects:
- aria2 - The legendary multi-protocol download utility driving our core engine.
- yt-dlp - The definitive command-line audio/video downloader.
- FFmpeg - The industry standard for media stream manipulation and merging.
📄 License
Firelink is released under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.





