submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by to c/linux@lemmy.ml
 

Something as simple and as convenient to use as internet download manager

If you have ever used IDM before then you know what I mean, I'm yet to find an alternative that's on par with its ease of use and convenience

Here are my requirements:

  • I don't have to copy-paste any links or right click on any links (just like IDM)
  • it works on all sites, well except for mega.nz (just like IDM)
  • it can scan the website and show me a download button on top of the media if it detects media like a YouTube video or an audio file playing, etc... (just like IDM)
  • It works perfectly with Firefox (just like IDM)
  • it doesn't have to keep running in the background, starting a direct download link should initiate it and show me a pop download dialog/window (just like IDM)

I have tried:

  • Persepolis: it has failed me miserably, the download fails 99% of the time (like from GitHub) so I ended up disabling the browser extension because it was getting in my way.
  • Motrix: I have tried it on Windows with Firefox, but it doesn't auto-detect the downloads and I have to copy and paste the download links and in some cases this is very difficult as many websites don't show the direct download link to the user.
  • Varia: tried it quickly yesterday, and it failed to auto capture the download link and Firefox built in download manager started instead.
  • FDM: I have tried to download it off the package manager (a flatpak from Linux mint software manager) but it failed to install for some reason and now the download option doesn't load at all! But I have used FDM on Windows before, and it is not as good as IDM.

I just downloaded KGet, and it doesn't seem to be what I'm looking for, but we will see.

Some notes:

  • youtube-dl: I never used it before but from what I know about it, I'm pretty sure it doesn't fit my criteria
  • I'm using 1DM+ on my android phone, and it is so damn good, it's almost perfect, it is the golden standard for download managers on android, this app is another example of "it just works".
  • I think I'm losing hope, and I'm going to see if IDM can run perfectly using WINE

final update

Tested JDownloader2 with the Download with JDownloader Firefox extension vs FDM and the winner is FDM because it just worked out of the box no configuration was needed beyond just installing the browser extension, and it did a better job at meeting my requirements except for the 3rd one, but thankfully I found this great extension so it's alright

  • ah I almost forgot, yes I tested DownThemAll, and it didn't automatically capture downloads, so this was an instant no

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[–] 70 points 2 years ago (2 children)

I have nothing to contribute, but I'm extremely curious as to why someone would need a "download manager"? What's the use case?

I seem to recall most downloader programs just being malware like Orbit downloader etc.

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  • [–] 18 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    I mostly use a download manager for parallel downloading a file. (downloading multiple parts of a single file at the same time).

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  • [–] 16 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    I might be dumb but I still don’t understand the use of such a download manager.

    I mean I guess I have an integrated download manager in Firefox and it’s sufficient for my user case.

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  • [–] 50 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    You’re not dumb you just haven’t needed that use case before.

    Here’s an example of the last time JDownloader saved me. There was a website where people were posting archives of old skateboard videos. There were hundreds of links across dozens of pages in a forum. All links to sites like mega.

    I was able to view all pages in one document and extracted all of the hundreds of links and put them in JDownloader. Over the course of the next several weeks JDownloader was able to manage those downloads without clogging my bandwidth. If a download failed it would notify me and I could retry it.

    Can you imagine trying to do that in Firefox?

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago

    A long time ago I used a CLI download manager that could download from different mirrors at the same time.

    I think it was a tool called axel and it worked very well.

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  • [–] 60 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    I'm surprised you tried all of these downloaders that I've never heard of, but somehow missed like the biggest one. JDownloader2 , the best one imo

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  • [–] [S] 8 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 child)

    Lol, I actually know about JDownloader2 but never used it but well I'm downloading it right now so let's see

    Update: close but not enough, FDM is the winner for me

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  • [–] 8 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    the thing about jdownloader it does not grab url and transfer it immediately to download manager with extension like IDM does.

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  • [–] 14 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    well yeah, that's true, but it auto grabs clipboard, so you can just Right click > copy link address. Yeah yeah 1 extra click and messes your old workflow ik, but at least it checks all the other requirements

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  • [–] 24 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Jdownloader2 is the the best, I've not used anything else for years.

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  • [–] 13 points 2 years ago

    (go old school, curl and wget)

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  • [–] 11 points 2 years ago

    curl -c in a while loop

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  • [–] 8 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    I use Java version of XDM and it work flawlessly on brave and firefox

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    [–] 7 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    any website

    I'm sorry to say this is not possible with any app.

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  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    jdownloader seems pretty close to "internet download manager"

    Also I prefer yt-dlp over youtube-dl

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    [–] 5 points 2 years ago (3 children)
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    [–] 4 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    https://www.wfdownloader.xyz/

    Wfdownloader is often overlooked but it's probably one of the best and versatile tools around.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Out of my toolkit:

    • Audio and video? yt-dlp, hands down.
    • Files? The plugin DownThemAll for Firefox.
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  • [–] [S] 2 points 2 years ago

    yt-dlp

    Hmm seems really interesting, will take a look at it when I have time

    DownThemAll

    Tested it unfortunately requires an extra step (right clicking on links), I'm looking for something that will auto start whenever I left click on a link instead of the browser built in download manager

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    uGet always worked great for me.

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  • [–] [S] 0 points 2 years ago (1 child)
    • Does it auto capture download requests from the browser?
    • Do I need to copy-paste the direct download link to it?
    • Do I need to right click on links then select it?
    • does it work flawlessly with Firefox?
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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (4 children)
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    [+] 1 point 2 years ago (3 children)
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    [+] 1 point 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 child)
  • [–] [S] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    XDM?

    Ok I just googled startpaged it and oh boy it is FOSS but the UI man it looks like a smartphone app from android 4.4 era but the devs are working on a full overhaul so I'll wait and see

    There is also FileCxx.

    I will look into it, seems interesting

    There is nothing that will work as simple as IDM

    I strongly agree but from my experience FDM seems the closest to it and FDM is not as simple as IDM, I wish if there is a native linux version.

    especially with that little floating button on top of videos it detects, with all available frame resolutions.

    Damn right man, it is so damn good, can't anyone else copy it please???

    For video sites, I use yt-dlp. For galleries, gallery-dl.

    I know of yt-dl but never heard of dlp before well until yesterday and for gallery-dl the name alone is very intriguing, I will definitely take a look at it, thanks for mentioning it!

    For anime sites, I just log into Windows and use IDM.

    They called me a mad man

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  • [+] 1 point 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 child)
  • [–] [S] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    IDM looks like Windows 98 era

    Yep I agree but at least it looks like a desktop app not a phone app on a big screen, anyway it's okay I will keep using FDM while keeping an eye on XDM hopefully the new version will live up to the expectations

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