FastTube Downloader v2

FastTube Downloader is a powerful, IDM-style universal download manager for Linux. It works with any website and any file type - not just YouTube! It combines the robustness of yt-dlp and aria2 with a modern, dark-themed GTK interface.

🚀 What's New in v2

• Universal Download Support: Download from any website, not just YouTube
• All File Types: Videos, music, documents, archives, programs, images - everything!
• IDM-Style Categories: Auto-organize files into Videos/, Music/, Documents/, Archives/, etc.
• Playlist Folder Organization: Playlists download to Videos/[PlaylistName]/
• Background Downloads: Runs in background without blocking your workflow
• Context Menu Integration: Right-click any link to "Download with FastTube"
• System Tray Support: Minimize to tray for background operation
• Browser Extension v2.1.2: Works on ALL websites with download interception
• Rust-Powered Engine: Optional high-performance download engine (3-5x faster)
• Improved Performance: Faster downloads with optimized connection handling

✨ Features

• IDM-Style Interface: Modern dark UI with blue gradients, card-style list items, and animated progress bars
• Universal Browser Integration: Chrome/Chromium/Firefox extension intercepts downloads from any site
• High Performance: Uses aria2 for multi-connection downloads and yt-dlp for video extraction
• Smart Categorization: Automatically sorts downloads into category folders
• Playlist Support: Automatically organizes playlist downloads into subfolders
• Detailed Stats: Real-time display of download speed, ETA, and file size
• Queue Management: Pause, resume, and prioritize downloads
• Drag & Drop: Drop URLs directly into the window

📦 Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+
• yt-dlp
• aria2
• GTK3 and Python GObject bindings

Quick Install (Linux)

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Dawaman43/FastTubeDownloader.git
   cd FastTubeDownloader

2. Run the setup script:

   sudo ./setup.sh

   This will install the app to /opt/FastTubeDownloader, create a desktop entry, and set up the native messaging host for browser integration.

3. Install the Browser Extension:

   Chrome/Chromium:

   • Open Chrome/Chromium and go to chrome://extensions
   • Enable Developer mode
   • Click Load unpacked
   • Select the FastTubeDownloader folder (where manifest.json is located)
   • Note the Extension ID. If it differs from the one in EXTENSION_ID_GUIDE.md, update native_host/com.fasttube.downloader.json and re-run setup.sh

   Firefox:

   • Open Firefox and go to about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox
   • Click Load Temporary Add-on
   • Select manifest.firefox.json from the FastTubeDownloader folder

🎯 Usage

1. Launch the App: Open "FastTube Downloader" from your applications menu
2. Download:
   • From Browser: Navigate to any website. The extension will intercept downloads and send them to the app
   • Context Menu: Right-click any link → "Download with FastTube"
   • Manual: Paste a URL into the "Add URL" box in the app and click "+"
3. Manage: Use the toolbar buttons to pause, resume, or remove downloads

Supported Sites

Thanks to yt-dlp, FastTube supports 1000+ video sites including:

• YouTube (videos, playlists, channels)
• Vimeo, Dailymotion, Twitch
• Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok
• And many more!

Plus direct downloads from any website for:

• Videos (.mp4, .mkv, .webm, etc.)
• Music (.mp3, .flac, .m4a, etc.)
• Documents (.pdf, .docx, .xlsx, etc.)
• Archives (.zip, .rar, .7z, etc.)
• Programs (.deb, .rpm, .AppImage, etc.)
• Images (.jpg, .png, .gif, etc.)

📁 File Organization

FastTube automatically organizes your downloads:

~/Downloads/
├── Videos/
│   ├── MyPlaylist/          # Playlists get their own folder
│   │   ├── Video1.mp4
│   │   └── Video2.mp4
│   └── SingleVideo.mp4
├── Music/
│   └── Song.mp3
├── Documents/
│   └── Report.pdf
├── Archives/
│   └── Files.zip
└── Programs/
    └── app.AppImage

🚀 Performance Optimization (Optional)

For maximum download speed, build the optional Rust engine:

# Install Rust (one-time setup)
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
source $HOME/.cargo/env

# Build with Rust engine
sudo ./setup.sh --with-rust

Benefits:

• 3-5x faster downloads for large files
• Lower CPU and memory usage
• Better connection management

If Rust isn't available, the app automatically falls back to aria2c (still fast!).

See BUILD_RUST.md for details.

🔧 Configuration

Settings are stored in ~/.config/FastTubeDownloader/config.json:

• Download Folder: Base directory for downloads
• Category Mode: idm (categorized) or flat (single folder)
• Max Connections: Number of parallel connections per download
• Max Concurrent: Number of simultaneous downloads
• Speed Limit: Download speed limit in KB/s

📦 Packaging

To create packages for your distribution:

./release.sh

This will generate:

• RPM: dist/rpm/ (requires rpmbuild)
• DEB: dist/deb/ (requires dpkg-deb)
• Arch: dist/arch/ (PKGBUILD, requires makepkg)
• AppImage: dist/appimage/ (requires appimagetool)

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Quick Start for Contributors

# Clone
git clone https://github.com/Dawaman43/FastTubeDownloader.git
cd FastTubeDownloader

# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate

# Install dependencies
pip install yt-dlp

# Run the app
python3 gui/main_window.py

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• yt-dlp - YouTube and video site downloader
• aria2 - Multi-protocol download utility
• All our contributors!

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Made with ❤️ for the open source community