Contents

Documentation

Installation

GDownload provides ready-to-use installers for Windows, macOS and Linux, all available as free downloads from GitHub Releases.

Windows

  1. Download the Windows installer (.exe).
  2. Double-click to run the installer and follow the prompts; per-user installation is supported, so no administrator rights are needed to install into your user directory.
  3. Once installed, launch GDownload from the Start menu.

macOS

  1. Download the Universal DMG installer, which supports both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.
  2. Open the DMG and drag GDownload into the Applications folder to install it.
  3. If you see "cannot verify developer" the first time you open it, right-click (or Control-click) the app icon, choose "Open" and confirm again in the dialog. If that option doesn't appear, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security and click "Open Anyway" below the warning instead.

Linux

  1. Download the AppImage file for your architecture.
  2. Make the file executable in a terminal: chmod +x gdownload-linux-*.AppImage.
  3. Double-click it or run it directly from a terminal to launch - no installation needed; on older distributions, if it reports missing FUSE, install the libfuse2 dependency first.

Quick Start

Once installed, you can get comfortable with GDownload's core features in just a few minutes.

  1. New task: Paste a download link into the main window, or drag a torrent file straight into the window to create a task.
  2. Task category views: Tasks are grouped into "All", "Downloading" and "Completed" views, making it easy to find a specific task among many.
  3. Pause, resume and speed limits: Pause and resume a single task or all downloads at any time, and set speed limits so downloads don't saturate your bandwidth and crowd out other network use.
  4. Light/dark theme: Click the theme button in the navigation bar to switch between light and dark themes; your choice is saved automatically.
  5. Interface language: Choose from five interface languages in Settings - Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English, Japanese and Korean.

Browser Extension

GDownload's browser extension is bundled with the desktop installer, so there's no need to search for it separately in a browser store.

  1. Install and open the GDownload desktop app - the extension is already bundled in the installer.
  2. Open the extension setup page inside GDownload.
  3. Follow the on-screen instructions to install and pair the extension in Chrome, Edge or Firefox; pairing registers automatically via Native Messaging, with no manual configuration needed.

Once paired, page downloads in your browser are automatically taken over and handed off to GDownload, with support for in-page media sniffing and bulk link capture.

eD2k Network

GDownload has a built-in, in-house eD2k engine, with three sub-pages on the eD2k hub page.

Search

Supports both server search and Kad (decentralized network) search; Kad search requires waiting for the Kad network to finish bootstrapping before it's ready.

Servers

Lists available eD2k servers that you can connect to or disconnect from manually; you can also update the server list from a URL (server.met) to get the latest server information.

Sharing

Manage local shared folders and view upload statistics.

Besides searching, you can also paste an ed2k:// link directly to create a download task without searching first. The settings page lets you configure your nickname, port, the Kad network toggle, protocol obfuscation and auto-connect options.

Cloud-Drive Link Parsing

  1. Paste a cloud-drive share link into GDownload - 5 drives are currently supported, including Baidu Netdisk.
  2. The client automatically parses the link.
  3. Once parsed, check the files you need in the file list to download them.

Cloud-drive share APIs can change over time, so link parsing is implemented as separate plugins: check for updates in the in-app plugin marketplace and install or upgrade to the latest parsing plugin for each drive to keep parsing reliable.

Plugin setup guides

Some cloud-drive plugins need a login credential (Cookie / token) before they can download. See the step-by-step setup guide for each plugin:

FAQ

Download speed is slow or stuck at zero?

First check that your network connection and proxy settings are working correctly. BT and eD2k tasks depend on P2P networks, so speed only picks up once the client connects to enough peers or finds seeders. You can also increase the concurrent connection limit in Settings and keep your tracker list up to date to discover more available peers.

macOS says "cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified"?

Right-click (or Control-click) the app icon, choose "Open", and confirm again in the dialog that appears. Alternatively, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security and click "Open Anyway" below the warning message. The macOS build of GDownload is compiled from open-source code with a verifiable origin - this is a standard Gatekeeper warning, and the app works normally once allowed.

The AppImage won't run on Linux?

Make the downloaded file executable first, e.g. run chmod +x gdownload-linux-*.AppImage, then double-click it or run it directly from a terminal. If you see an error about missing FUSE, your system is missing libfuse2 - older distributions need this dependency installed before an AppImage will run.

The browser extension isn't working?

First open the extension setup page in the desktop client and confirm the status shows "Paired". If it still doesn't work, fully restart your browser, and check the browser's extension management page to make sure the GDownload extension hasn't been disabled.

A cloud-drive share link fails to parse?

First confirm the share link and extraction code are still valid - it may have expired or been unshared. Cloud-drive share APIs change frequently, so check the plugin marketplace for an updated parsing plugin for that drive and try again.

eD2k search returns no results?

eD2k search needs an active network connection first: connect to a server on the "Servers" page, or wait for the Kad network to become ready (check the status bar) before searching. If your server list has too few usable entries, update it from a URL (server.met) and try again.

How do I change the download directory?

Change the default download directory under Settings → General - new tasks will then be saved there by default. If only a single task needs a different location, you can also set its download directory individually when creating that task.

What if automatic updates fail?

Automatic updates need access to GitHub Releases, so confirm your network connection is working. Update packages are signature-verified, and a failed check automatically rolls back without affecting your existing install. You can also just download the latest installer and reinstall over it to complete the update.