rDownloader is a local-first, open-source download hub that collects links from hosters, Usenet, torrents, and feeds into one persistent queue, then verifies, extracts, and files the results automatically.
rDownloader is an open-source download manager that runs as a small local service and opens in your browser, which is why its habits feel closer to a media server than to a desktop downloader. Links arrive from an extension, the clipboard, a torrent or NZB file, a watched folder, or an API call, and everything lands first in the LinkGrabber, where status, size, host, and duplicates are checked before a single byte moves. You group what matters into a package, set a category and priority, and send it to a persistent queue that survives restarts. rDownloader then follows the package through verification, repair, extraction, and filing.
The breadth is the point: HTTP and file hosters with resolvers for cloud drives and multihosters, FTP, SFTP and WebDAV, object storage, Usenet with PAR2 repair, torrents, plus media, galleries, and livestreams through external tools it calls. Everything shares one set of packages, priorities, destinations, and recovery behaviour, so a series episode from a hoster and a disc image from Usenet are handled the same way. Accounts and tokens for captcha-bearing hosts are configured once rather than per download. If you only ever move ordinary web files, a lighter client such as Ghost Downloader will feel less ceremonious; the value here appears when sources multiply and the rules around them do too.
The benefit of rDownloader is that the boring part after a download stops being your job. Packages resume into verification, PAR2 repair for Usenet, extraction of archives, optional malware scanning, script hooks, and an upload or move to where the file belongs, and an interrupted step picks up again rather than starting the chain over. Rules and event triggers handle the rest: change priorities when storage runs low, pause new starts on battery or a metered connection, limit speed by schedule or per host, and shut the machine down when the queue drains. Because positions and transfer states are stored, rDownloader survives a reboot mid-queue without a pile of orphaned fragments. For anyone running a home server, rDownloader quietly replaces a folder of cron jobs and shell scripts with rules you can read in a web interface.
Key capabilities and highlights.
Nothing starts downloading the moment it arrives. Links queue in a grabber that shows online status, size, host, and duplicates you have already fetched, so a batch of forty mirrors can be trimmed to the one or two packages you actually want.
rDownloader carries a package past the download itself: checksum verification, PAR2 repair, archive extraction, cleanup, an optional ClamAV scan, a script hook, and a final move or upload, with every stage optional and resumable if something interrupts it.
Hosters, cloud drives, FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, object storage, Usenet, torrents, feeds, galleries, and livestreams all become packages in the same list, so priorities, destinations, and recovery behave identically instead of changing with each client you used to keep around. That consistency is the feature.
Queue and transfer state are written as work progresses, so a restart, a crash, or a closed browser tab does not lose your place, chunks resume where they stopped, and finished packages stay searchable in the history instead of disappearing along with the window.
Automations fire on events, storage thresholds, or a schedule to change priorities, pause the queue, unpack, notify, or add new links, and rDownloader logs each run, which turns recurring housekeeping into something you configure once instead of remembering every week.
Speed can be limited live, by schedule, or per host, account, category, or package, traffic can be routed through a proxy, and new starts can pause on battery or metered connections, so one large queue does not ruin a working day.
A documented REST interface with live events, a remote CLI, MCP support for AI assistants, and SABnzbd plus BitTorrent compatibility adapters let Sonarr, Radarr, AriaNg, and monitoring dashboards treat the queue as a service rather than a closed desktop app.
An extension for Chromium browsers and Firefox adds context actions, download interception, and Click'n'Load for sites you allow, so a link clicked in the browser becomes a reviewed package without retyping a URL or hunting down the original host page again.
Browse historical releases and previous builds.
Common questions about rDownloader.
Yes. rDownloader is published under the GPL and developed in the open, with source code, a user handbook, and plugin documentation available publicly. There is no paid tier standing between you and the core downloader.
No, but it helps. The app runs as a local service on an ordinary desktop and opens in the browser, and it can also live on a home server or in a container so the queue keeps working while your laptop is closed.
It complements them. Compatibility adapters let those tools talk to rDownloader as though it were a Usenet or torrent client, so scheduling and library management stay where they are while the transfers land in one queue.
Yes. Bundled resolvers cover common cloud drives and file hosters, including multihoster accounts, with fallback between providers when one fails, and credentials sit in the local store rather than in every task you create.
rDownloader hands the package to its pipeline: verify, repair a Usenet set, extract, clean up, optionally scan, run a script, then move or upload. Every step is optional, and a failure stops the chain rather than unpacking an incomplete set.
Yes. A REST interface with live updates and a remote CLI cover scripting, and a built-in MCP server exposes the queue, grabber, logs, and settings to compatible AI clients under the same permissions model.
Downloads and their metadata stay on your machine or server, since the design is local-first: encrypted secrets, scoped tokens, and an audit log. Only the actions you configure, such as notifications or uploads, leave the box.
Native builds exist for Windows, macOS, and Linux, and there is a container image for server use. The browser interface is the same everywhere, offered in several languages with light and dark colour themes.
rDownloader is a local-first, open-source download hub that collects links from hosters, Usenet, torrents, and feeds into one persistent queue, then verifies, extracts, and files the results automatically.
Gephi is an open-source desktop application for exploring and visualising networks, letting analysts import graph data, run layout and centrality metrics, then export publication-ready network diagrams.
Ghost Downloader is a free, open-source download manager that speeds up HTTP, torrent, FTP, and streaming-video transfers with smart chunking, browser sniffing, and real-browser TLS fingerprints.
NVDA RC is the release candidate build of the free NVDA screen reader for Windows, published ahead of each stable version so testers can try new speech, braille, and browsing changes early.
NVDA is a free, open-source screen reader for Windows that speaks what is on screen and follows the keyboard, giving blind and low-vision users access to applications, documents, and the web without a paid licence.
Comments