FireFetch

FireFetch is a desktop downloader built with Electron + Express, powered by yt-dlp, aria2c, and ffmpeg.

• Open source / free code: the source in this repository is free to use and modify.
• Binary distribution: prebuilt releases are available on Itch.io as donationware (free download, optional donation).
• Sponsor: Sponsored by Playcast.io.

What it does

• Video downloads via yt-dlp (format selection, metadata, many supported sites depending on your bundled yt-dlp version)
• Direct file downloads via aria2c
• Torrent / magnet support
• Queue UI with pause/resume, retries, reordering, and persistence
• Cookie upload (optional) for sites that require login (stored locally)
• Dependency Manager to check/update bundled tools

Run from source (development)

Requirements

• Node.js + npm
• Windows is the primary target in this repo (bundled tools are .exe)

Install & run

npm install
npm start

Key paths & persistence (runtime behavior)

FireFetch stores its data relative to the app’s base directory:

• Settings: settings.json
• Download queue state: downloads-state.json
• Download output: downloads/ (configurable in Settings)
• Cookie storage: cookies/ (only used if you upload cookies)
• Bundled tools: dep/

Notes

• DRM: FireFetch does not bypass DRM-protected content.
• App authentication: FireFetch does not require an app login. Cookies are only for site authentication when needed.

Docs

Developer-facing docs are in docs/:

• docs/api-reference.md
• docs/frontend-architecture.md
• docs/build-deployment.md
• docs/external-dependencies.md
• docs/troubleshooting.md

License

See the repository’s license (and/or package.json) for the current licensing terms.