Windows and Mac boast of many premium download managers, including the Internet Download Manager, Download Accelerator Plus, and many others. Some apps offer cross-platform support on open-source platforms such as Linux and BSD, while others are exclusive for closed-source OSes.
But did you know that there are several open-source download managers for Linux currently in the market? As a Linux user, you must check out the following download managers that help extend the open-source ethic of Linux and rival premium alternatives in terms of efficiency and related features.
Here are the top eight download managers for Linux you should try.
Xtreme Download Manager (XDM) is a leading open-source download management tool available within the Linux ecosystem. The download manager is quite similar to the Internet Download Manager (IDM) as it claims to boost your download speeds on Linux systems by nearly 500 percent.
Users can use XDM to download audio-video streaming content and convert them to various formats. It is also possible to pause, resume, or recover broken downloads via this application.
XDM integrates with browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Vivaldi, and other popular versions with relative ease. Linux users can configure XDM to work in conjunction with their proxy server to circumvent firewalls, as and when required.
Download: XDM
FireDM boosts your download speeds by pooling in your hardware and server resources. This open-source download manager is programmed in Python using the libcurl multi-protocol transfer library and the youtube-dl library.
FireDM shares a few similarities with XDM; it downloads audio and video content from a host of premium sites, just like its counterpart.
With this app, you can meta-tag your video downloads with descriptions. The manager flexes a flawless automatic file segmentation and downloads a link refresh utility to fix broken downloads.
FireDM offers an impeccable log and concurrent download queue management. Users can enjoy cross-platform support with FireDM. It also has a set of nifty UI theme customization options for pleasing the toughest of users.
You can run FireDM on your system by downloading the AppImage available on its GitHub Releases page.
Download: FireDM
uGet is a download speed-boosting app racing to bag the title of the top open-source download manager. It deftly performs multi-connection download queuing and speed management.
uGet has a credible clipboard monitor that auto-grabs content from any copied link. It seamlessly integrates with your browser to become the default download manager on your system.
As an app, it quickly adopts the UI theme layout of your Linux desktop, so that you don’t feel like you’re using a third-party app.
uGet is available for use on Linux, Mac, BSD, Windows, and mobile platforms, like Android.
Download: uGet
Persepolis is yet another cross-platform alternative that will impress users on GNU/Linux, BSD, and other OSes. It is not a standalone download manager but rather a GUI for aria2, the multi-source command line-based download management utility.
Persepolis is written in Python, just like its counterpart, FireDM. It delivers an excellent download queuing and scheduling solution. Additionally, you can rely on it for multi-segment downloads from Dailymotion, YouTube, and Vimeo.
The application comes with a dedicated support system, which connects you directly to the developers and the open-source community.
To download Persepolis on Debian and Ubuntu:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:persepolis/ppa
sudo apt update
sudo apt install persepolisOn Arch Linux:
yay -S persepolisOn RPM-based distros like CentOS or Fedora:
sudo dnf install persepolisKGet fashions itself as a versatile, open-source download manager that helps users download and manage files from HTTP and FTP sources. The application disperses a user-centric interface, thereby, allowing users to control and catalog their downloads.
Users can download from multiple sources and pause/resume downloads at will. The advanced metalink support provided by KGet lets you download from various URLs at once. The app goes far to obtain the checksum and other relevant details to facilitate this service.
KGet is one of the few open-source download managers in the market that include torrent download management. The application readily integrates with the KDE desktop environment and the Konqueror browser.
FlareGet is a free download manager available on Debian, Arch, and RPM-based systems. The application is written in C++ with the Qt framework and relies on segmentation algorithms to boost the download speed. FlareGet integrates with a wide array of browsers, including Edge and Safari.
The download manager helps you categorize your downloads by file type. FlareGet has an intelligent resume and source URL recovery feature that allows users to resume downloads even after a power failure or when the browser shuts off unexpectedly.
One can expect a range of premium features, similar to Internet Download Manager or Download Accelerator Plus. Nonetheless, the software enjoys unmatched popularity for its support on Windows and macOS.
You can access both FlareGet’s binary packages, as they are available in 32 and 64-bit versions.
Download: FlareGet
Motrix is an end-to-end download manager, as it helps users manage FTP/HTTP downloads, torrent downloads, and magnet URL downloads via one single platform. Rest assured, with this app, you can manage up to 10 simultaneous downloads.
Motrix’s torrent download facility allows users to download files selectively and refresh trackers to boost local peer download speeds. The multi-faceted download manager even supports UPnP & NAT-PMP port mapping.
Motrix offers cross-platform support with a neat UI that’s also available in a dark mode.
Download: Motrix
Unlike the other options listed above, DownThemAll is a browser plugin that helps users boost downloads without installing a full-fledged, dedicated download application. The extension supports multiple browsers and is available on Windows, Linux, macOS, and BSD.
DownThemAll brings crafty features to the table. These features include auto-grabbing streaming audio and video and multi-source downloads while managing and maintaining custom speed ranges to prevent bottlenecking.
You can download the extension on Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Opera.
Download: DownThemAll (Chrome | Firefox)
Using a Suitable Download Manager on Linux
The world of Linux apps is far-fetched, and the number of applications will never cease to amaze you. As a power user, you can use a series of download managers on different Linux distros.
Pick the one which tickles your fancy, so that you can change your defaults to your favorite download manager on Linux.
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