browser extension · setup

Hand your browser's downloads to Byterush

The extension passes each download your browser starts to the Byterush app on this computer, with the same cookies, so it downloads over many connections instead of one. It takes a minute to add, and this page tells you when it works.

Checking this browser…

Looking for the Byterush extension.

  1. a supported browser
  2. the extension is loaded
  3. it reaches the Byterush app
  4. catching downloads is on

01 · install

Add the extension to Chrome

It is on the Chrome Web Store, which Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera and Vivaldi all install from, and it updates by itself from there. Pick your browser if it isn't this one:

  1. 01
    Install and start Byterush. Download it for Windows, macOS or Linux. The extension only hands downloads over while the app is running.
  2. 02
    Open the Chrome Web Store page. Click Add to Chrome, then Add extension.
  3. 03
    Pin it. The puzzle piece in the toolbar → the pin next to Byterush. Its popup shows each hand-over, and why a download stayed in the browser.
  4. 04
    Reload this page. The status at the top turns green once the extension reaches the app. Then start any download.
Add to Chrome
No access to the store (a managed browser, or offline)? Load it from a folder

The same extension ships inside the app and as a .zip on every release. It won't update by itself this way: after updating Byterush, click the reload arrow on its card on the extensions page.

  1. 01
    Find the extension folder. In the app, open Settings → browser → set up the extension…: under the store button, “load it from a folder” shows the folder's path with a copy button. Or get the extension .zip and unzip it.
  2. 02
    Open chrome://extensions
    Websites can't link to browser pages: paste it in the address bar.
  3. 03
    Turn on Developer mode: the switch at the top right of the page.
  4. 04
    Click Load unpacked and choose the extension folder (the one with manifest.json in it).

Also worth setting

  • Private windows. Extensions are off there by default. On the extensions page: Byterush → Details → Allow in Incognito.
  • Ask before each download. On by default: a New download window shows the file, its size, the folder and the free space, with Start and Cancel, like IDM. Turn it off in Settings → browser to start right away.
  • Leave small files to the browser. Off by default. In Settings → browser, “leave downloads smaller than 1 GB to the browser” keeps quick downloads in the browser and sends only big ones to Byterush. Pick any size.
  • Right-click. “Download with Byterush” on a link, video, audio or image always goes to the app, whatever its size.

02 · troubleshooting

A download stayed in the browser

Byterush only cancels the browser's copy once it has the same file itself, so nothing is lost when it can't take one: the browser just carries on. The extension's popup lists the last downloads with the reason, and the app shows a notice when it tried and couldn't. The usual reasons:

  • “Byterush is not running”

    The extension hands downloads to the app on 127.0.0.1:51723, so the app has to be open. If it is running and the popup still says so, another program may hold that port: the app's Settings → browser says whether it is listening.

  • Nothing at all reaches the app

    Check the switches: catch downloads in the extension's popup, the switch for the site you are on just below it, and catch downloads from the browser extension in the app's Settings → browser. In a private window, the extension must be allowed there (see above).

  • Small files stay in the browser

    That is the “leave downloads smaller than … to the browser” setting. Turn it off, or lower the size, in Settings → browser. Downloads picked with right-click → Download with Byterush ignore it.

  • “the server answered 403”, a login page, or a different file

    Byterush asks for the file with the browser's own cookies, user agent and referer, and checks the answer before taking over. Some sites still refuse a second request: one-time links, downloads behind a bot check, or links tied to a single connection. The browser keeps those, on purpose.

  • Forms, generated files and “blob:” downloads

    A file made by a form submission (POST) or built inside the page (blob: and data: links) exists only in that browser tab, so another program can't fetch it. These always stay in the browser.

  • Busy servers

    When a server answers “too many requests” or “unavailable” (429, 502, 503, 504) or drops the first connection, Byterush waits a moment, up to three seconds or what the server asks for, and tries twice more before it leaves the download to the browser.

  • The store page says it can't be added, or Developer mode is greyed out

    The browser is managed by an organisation (a work or school computer) whose policy decides which extensions may be installed. Ask your administrator, or use the app's clipboard watch: copy a download link and Byterush offers to download it.

  • After updating Byterush

    From the store, the extension updates by itself. If you loaded it from a folder, the app update replaced that folder too: click the reload arrow on Byterush's card on the extensions page, or restart the browser, to run the new version.

  • Firefox and Safari

    The extension is for Chromium browsers: Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera and Vivaldi. In other browsers, copy the link (Byterush watches the clipboard) or paste it into add url.

Report a download that didn't work How the extension works
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