When downloading files from the internet, we assume that most of us want fastest download speeds. Downloading files such as games, videos, programs and drivers through browsers is always not the fastest. A download manager is a tool used to manage downloading files from the web. It boosts download speeds and also allows pause and resume in case the download breaks. It maybe built into a web browser or as an independent manager.
Fortunately, there are quite many download manager applications. In this article, we will discuss the best open source download managers for Linux. Here is the list of the best open source download managers available for Linux users.
- Motrix
- Persepolis Download Manager
- uGet Download Manager
- Xtreme Download Manager
- JDownloader
- FireDM
- Free Download Manager
Aside from the above there are many others like, Steady Flow, Flareget, Multiget, Kget, DownThemAll among others.
Best Open-Source Download Managers for Linux.
Let’s discuss the best open-source download managers available for Linux, their installation, configuration and use.
1. Motrix
Motrix is a full featured open-source download manager that supports FTP, HTTP, BitTorrent, Magnet e.t.c. Motrix is available for Windows, MacOS and Linux sytems.
Install Motrix On Linux
Motrix download manager has many features which include:
- Simple and clean user interface. Also has dark mode.
- Supports upto 64 threads
- Supports Bittorent and magnet.
- UPnP and NAT-PMP port mapping.
- Notification for completed download.
- Supports up to 10 download tasks at the same time.
Motrix download manager can be installed on Linux systems using the following ways;
Install Motrix On Debian/Ubuntu
For Debian/Ubuntu, download Motrix .deb file with:
curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/agalwood/Motrix/releases/latest |grep browser_download_url | cut -d '"' -f 4 | grep amd64.deb | wget -i -After a successful download, install Motrix using the command;
sudo apt install Motrix_*_amd64.debInstall Motrix on RHEL/CentOS
For RHEL/CentOS users, download Motrix .rpm files with this command;
curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/agalwood/Motrix/releases/latest |grep browser_download_url | cut -d '"' -f 4 | grep x86_64.rpm | wget -i -Then install the downloaded .rpm file with Motrix binaries using:
sudo yum localinstall Motrix-*.x86_64.rpmInstall Motrix On Arch Linux
For Arch Linux user, Motrix is available in Aur and can be installed using:
$ yay motrixBy the time of this installation, this was the latest version of Motrix. Check the latest version of Motrix available on GitHub/Release
Motrix User Interface
Motrix has a simple and clean user interface as shown:
You can add a URL to download from by clicking at +
If you click submit, the download starts, you can pause and resume your downloads whenever you want.
2. Persepolis Download Manager
Persepolis is a free and open source developed for GNU/Linux distributions, Mac OS and Microsoft Windows. This download manager is written in Python. It has several features like, scheduling downloads, creating queue for downloads, multi segment downloading and many others.
Install Persepolis on Debian/Ubuntu
Those running Debian/Ubuntu can install Persepolis Download manager using the below steps.
Add Persepolis repositories
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:persepolis/ppa
sudo apt updateWith repositories added and the system updated, proceed and download Persepolis with:
sudo apt install persepolisInstall Persepolis on Fedora
For Fedora users, Persepolis can be downloaded with this command:
sudo dnf install persepolisInstall Persepolis on Arch LInux
On Arch Linux, Persepolis Download manager can be installed by running this:
sudo yaourt -S persepolisAfter a successful download, Persepolis GUI resembles this:
3. uGet Download Manager
uGet formerly known as UrlGfe is a free, open source and very powerful download manager. It is a multi-platform based program that has been written in C programming language. uGet is release and licensed under GPL license. This application manager is supported by Android, Linux, BSD and Windows systems.
It has a variety of features that inlude:
- Multiple download support
- supports queuing of downloads.
- Allows multi-protocol i.e HTTP, HTTPS, BitTorent, Aria2 command-line plugin and FTP
- Supports Firefox Integration.
- Supports scheduling of downloads.
- Download path auto-creation in case the provided folder doesn’t exist.
- Supports multiple languages.
Install uGet on Linux
uGet added the latest versions of the repositories to different Linux distributions to make it easy to install and update uGet using supported repositories.
Install uGet on Debian
On Debian/Ubuntu, uget can be installed and updated using the official repositories with;
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ugetInstall uGet on Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Get uGet installed from official PPA repositories with this command on Ubuntu and Linux Mint
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:plushuang-tw/uget-stable
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ugetInstall uGet on Fedora
In Fedora systems installation of uGet is easy, run this command to have it installed:
sudo dnf install ugetInstall aria2 Plugin
Aria2 plugin is essential in uGet, it adds more functionality to this download manager. Some of the added functionalities include; multi-protocol as well as multi-source download, ability to download torrent files and meta-links
For Fedora users:
$ sudo yum install aria2For Debian/Ubuntu users:
Use the official Aria2 repositories and install the latest version of Aria2
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:t-tujikawa/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install aria2uGet GUI
With uGet installed on your system, navigate to the applications menu and launch it. The UI looks like this
To activate Aria2 plugin in uGet navigate to the uGet menu then Edit >Settings >Plug-in tab and to the drop down menu select Aria 2 then “Ok“
4. Xtreme Download Manager (XDM)
Xtreme Download manager also known as XDM or XDMAN is a popular download manager in most Linux systems. Its recent version of 2018 comes with a cool, amazing new look.
It gains popularity due to its compatibility with a number of browsers such as Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari that makes it easy to use the download manager as soon as you download something from the web.
Some of the features of Xtreme Download Manager include:
- Accelerates download speeds
- Has ability to resume downloads after pause or when it breaks
- Limit download speed feature
- Has web integration feature
- Allows download of any streaming video either from YouTube or any other sites. Also has the ability to convert videos to different formats.
- Supports proxy servers
- Ability to schedule downloads.
Install Xtreme Download Manager.
It is easy to install Xtreme Download Manager on any Linux distribution as below;
Install Xtreme Download Manager on Debian/Ubuntu
Install the latest version of Xtreme Download Manager on Debian/Ubuntu using this method. First Download Xtreme Download Manager .tar .xz file form the Xtreme Download Manager official site
On the site, you will find both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. You are required to download one that is appropriate for your system. Once the download is complete extract the .tar.xz file by clicking on it and select extract here, or alternatively do it in the terminal with this command:
cd ~/Downloads
curl -O https://github.com/subhra74/xdm/releases/download/7.2.11/xdm-setup-7.2.11.tar.xzAfter navigating to the download directory extract the file.
tar -xf xdm-setup-7.2.11.tar.xzGo to the directory ~/Downloads/xdm*
cd xdm*Now here, we run the installer script install.sh
sudo ./install.shYou have successfully installed Xtreme Download Manager on your system. Now, go to the applications menu and open XDM GUI.
Xtreme Download Manager GUI
Opening the application’s interface, you will see this
5. JDownloader
Jdownloader is a free and open source download manager with a large number of community developers. It increases download speeds, allows one to pause and resume downloads, auto extracts archived files, allows one set bandwidth limits and is easy to extend framework.
Install Jdwonloader on Linux
Installing Jdownliader on linux is easy. it can be installed on different Linux dostributions as below:
Install Jdownloader on Debian/Ubuntu
For Debian/Ubuntu users, Jdownloader installation is achieved with these steps;
First, we download appropriate Jdownloader using this;
For 32-bit systems
curl -O http://installer.jdownloader.org/JD2SilentSetup_x86.shFor 64-bit systems
curl -O http://installer.jdownloader.org/JD2SilentSetup_x64.shWhen the download is complete, give it executable permissions with: (remember to substitute JD2SilentSetup*.sh with the correct name of your download file)
chmod +x JD2SilentSetup*.shNow, proceed to Jdownloader installation with this command: (for this case I installed 64-bit file)
sudo ./JD2SilentSetup_x64.shAfter this you proceed to Jdownloader Graphical installation as such:
While here, it is much easier to navigate, press Next until your installation begins:
Wait until, the installation is complete, from there you can launch Jdownloader form your App menu.
Install Jdownloader on RHEL/CentOS
For RHEL/CentOS systems, Jdownloader installation is done through a couple of steps as demonstrated below:
First, we need to install Java because Jdownloader will not run without it
sudo yum install java-11-openjdk-develConfirm installation:
$ java -versionNow, we need to create a low privilege user “Jdown2” exclusively for running Jdownloader and make the user’s shell no-login as an added security measure.
sudo useradd -s /sbin/nologin jdown2Then, we need to create a directory in /opt for Jdownloader and set permissions then download the application in it.
sudo mkdir /opt/jdown2
sudo chown jdown2. /opt/jdown2
cd /opt/jdown2
sudo -u jdown2 wget http://installer.jdownloader.org/JDownloader.jarAfter a successful download, we now run Jdownloader using the “Jdown2” user, this will start the download process and pull additional files for the application to run.
sudo -u jdown2 java -jar JDownloader.jar -norestartAfter this process, you will be able to see Jdownloader app on your app menu. But now, there are a few settings not done yet. We need to register Jdownloader2 as a system service and allow it to launch on boot and then start it.
Add Systemd service unit:
sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/jdownloader2.service<<EOF
[Unit]
Description=jDownloader2 Java Daemon
After=network.target
[Service]
User=jdown2
Group=jdown2
Type=simple
ExecStart=/usr/bin/java -jar /opt/jdown2/JDownloader.jar -norestart
TimeoutStopSec=20
KillSignal=SIGABRT
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOFReload systemd and start service:
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable jdownloader2
ssudo systemctl start jdownloader2All done. You can now use Jdownloader to download whatever you want. Jdownloader interface is simple and looks like this:
6. FireDM
FireDm is a free and open source download manager developed in Python based on Libcurl and youtube_dl. It has a high speed engine and supports multi connections. Fredm has the following features:
- Ability to resume unfinished downloads and refresh dead links.
- Watch videos while downloading
- download an entire playlist of videos
- Check updates for applications
- Has a clipboard monitor
- Download streaming videos such as from YouTube
- Supports proxy
- Customize themes in UI
- set download speed limits and schedule downloads
FireDm is available for Windows and linux sytems
Install FireDM on Linux
Installation of FireDM can be done on Linux through several ways as illustrated.
Install FireDM on Arch
FireDM is available for Arch Linux on Aur official page
Always install the latest version of FireDM, version 6.18 was the latest during the time I was documenting this article.
Install FireDM with App Image
Using AppImage, FireDM can be installed on Debian/Ubuntu, RHEL/CentOS and Arch systems using these commands:
Download FireDM App Image:
curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/firedm/FireDM/releases/latest |grep browser_download_url | cut -d '"' -f 4 | grep x86_64.AppImage | wget -i -After a successful download, make it executable:
chmod +x FireDM-*-x86_64.AppImageNow navigate to your AppImage and click open FireDM-*-x86_64.AppImage as below:
Opening it, displays FireDM GUI, this shows you have the app and ready to begin your downloads.
7. Free Download Manager
Free Download manager is a ree and open source program distributed under GPL License. This program has many amazing features such as:
- BitTorrent compatibility.
- Ability to improve audio and video compatibility.
- Supports proxy through FTP, HTTP and HTTPS.
- One can adjust traffic caused by downloading files.
- Supports multiple languages.
Free download manager (FDM) is available for Android, MacOS, Windows and GNU/Linux systems.
Install Free Download Manager on Linux
Free Download Manager is available as .deb files which can be run on Debian/Ubuntu systems. Installing Free Download Manager is simple as in the steps outlined below:
Download the .deb file with get
curl -O https://dn3.freedownloadmanager.org/6/latest/freedownloadmanager.debWhen download is complete, we can install the program with:
sudo dpkg -i freedownloadmanager.debAfter installation is complete, we navigate to the App menu and launch Free Download manager
Conclusion
In this article, we have discussed some of the best free and open source download managers. We have seen the installation and GUI of each of them. I hope this article helped you make a choice of your favorite Download manager.
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