Adding Downloads

MacGet accepts downloads through five paths. All of them end in the same place: a Download in the queue, scheduled by the engine.

The Add sheet

The direct route. Paste a URL, choose a destination folder, and optionally override the thread count or supply a checksum.

If the URL points at a known media host and media extraction is enabled, you'll get a format picker instead of a plain file download.

Drag and drop

Drop a URL — from a browser address bar, a link, or a text selection — onto the MacGet window or its Dock icon.

Clipboard watching

MacGet can watch the pasteboard and offer to enqueue http(s) URLs as you copy them. It polls once per second and only reacts to URLs it hasn't already seen.

This is off by default. Enable it in Settings → General → Watch clipboard for URLs.

macOS Services

MacGet registers a system Service, so you can select a URL in almost any app and send it straight to MacGet from the Services submenu of the app menu, or from the right-click menu.

The macget:// URL scheme

For scripting and integrations, MacGet registers a custom URL scheme. Both forms work:

macget://download?url=<percent-encoded-http-url>
macget://download/<percent-encoded-http-url>

For example, from the shell:

open "macget://download?url=https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2Ffile.zip"

Only http and https targets are accepted.

From your browser

The most convenient path for everyday use is the browser extension, which intercepts downloads as they start and hands them to MacGet with the cookies and referrer needed for logged-in downloads.

What happens next

Whether a download starts immediately depends on two settings:

• Start downloads automatically (on by default) — new downloads begin as soon as they're added, rather than sitting queued.
• Maximum concurrent downloads (3 by default) — how many run at once. Anything past the limit waits its turn, ordered by priority.