The latest articles on DEV Community by Mahamudul Hasan (@sabadia). https://dev.to/sabadia https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F2778655%2F8632bcc2-10c1-46ed-a483-376757c401e3.jpg https://dev.to/sabadia en Mahamudul Hasan Fri, 30 Oct 2026 10:59:09 +0000 https://dev.to/sabadia/show-dev-dlm-a-native-looking-open-source-download-manager-for-desktop-24le https://dev.to/sabadia/show-dev-dlm-a-native-looking-open-source-download-manager-for-desktop-24le <h2> Show DEV: DLM – A native-looking open-source download manager </h2> <p><strong>macOS downloads list</strong>:<br> <a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F837lmr3yl3e0y7z5v2m5.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F837lmr3yl3e0y7z5v2m5.png" alt="DLM on macOS – downloads list" width="800" height="524"></a></p> <p><strong>macOS downloads list (dark)</strong>:<br> <a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Flrifvjenoe9u707vlfpz.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Flrifvjenoe9u707vlfpz.png" alt="DLM on macOS – downloads list (dark)" width="800" height="524"></a></p> <p><strong>Windows (Fluent) downloads list</strong>:<br> <a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fmqxup7wwqij8g8wiheux.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fmqxup7wwqij8g8wiheux.png" alt="DLM on Windows – downloads list" width="800" height="524"></a></p> <p><strong>Linux (Adwaita) downloads list</strong>:</p> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Ffgvpenupwb3eeu8cd7om.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Ffgvpenupwb3eeu8cd7om.png" alt="DLM on GNOME – downloads list" width="800" height="524"></a></p> <p>I built <strong>DLM</strong>, a free and open-source download manager for macOS, Windows, and Linux that tries to feel like a native app on each platform.</p> <p>Paste a link, go make coffee, come back to your file.</p> <h2> Why I built it </h2> <p>I wanted a download manager that:</p> <ul> <li>Looks and feels native (not a generic web app in a window)</li> <li>Handles the awkward real-world cases (expiring links, login-protected sites, video pages, torrents)</li> <li>Stays fast even with thousands of downloads</li> <li>Runs completely locally</li> </ul> <h2> What it can do </h2> <ul> <li> <strong>Almost anything</strong>: multi-connection web downloads with resume, torrents/magnets, video pages (via yt-dlp), HLS/DASH, FTP, ed2k, URL patterns, mirrors + checksums</li> <li> <strong>Links that fix themselves</strong>: it remembers the original page and can refresh expired links (even ones that need a browser or cookies)</li> <li> <strong>Queues</strong> with weekly schedules, speed limits, quotas, and post-finish actions (sleep, shutdown, etc.)</li> <li> <strong>Browser extension</strong> (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Brave…) that can take over browser downloads, list files on a page, and send cookies when needed</li> <li> <strong>Native look</strong> on macOS, Windows, GNOME, and KDE (follows system theme, accent color, etc.)</li> <li>Categories, search/filter, command palette, clipboard helper, notifications, global shortcuts</li> <li>Everything runs on your machine. Credentials stay in the OS secure storage</li> </ul> <h2> Quick install </h2> <div class="table-wrapper-paragraph"><table> <thead> <tr> <th>OS</th> <th>How</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td><strong>macOS</strong></td> <td> <code>brew install --cask sabadia/tap/dlm-app</code> or grab the <code>.dmg</code> from Releases</td> </tr> <tr> <td><strong>Windows</strong></td> <td>Download the <code>*_setup.exe</code> (no admin needed) or the portable <code>.zip</code> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><strong>Linux</strong></td> <td> <code>.deb</code>, <code>.rpm</code>, or <code>.tar.gz</code> from Releases</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <blockquote> <p>Builds are not code-signed yet, so the first launch needs the usual “Open anyway” / “Run anyway” step. Signed builds are planned.</p> </blockquote> <h2> First download in 30 seconds </h2> <ol> <li>Open DLM</li> <li>Press <code>Ctrl+N</code> (or <code>⌘+N</code> on Mac) or drop a link / <code>.torrent</code> </li> <li>Paste links and hit Add</li> </ol> <p>It keeps running in the menu bar / tray even after you close the window.</p> <h2> Tech notes </h2> <ul> <li>Flutter desktop app with platform-specific skins</li> <li>Download engine is a separate local daemon (<a href="https://github.com/sabadia/dlm-server" rel="noopener noreferrer">dlm-server</a>)</li> <li>Apache-2.0 license</li> </ul> <h2> Links </h2> <ul> <li> <strong>App repo</strong>: <a href="https://github.com/sabadia/dlm-app" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/sabadia/dlm-app</a> </li> <li> <strong>Releases</strong>: <a href="https://github.com/sabadia/dlm-app/releases" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/sabadia/dlm-app/releases</a> </li> <li> <strong>Backend repo</strong>: <a href="https://github.com/sabadia/dlm-server" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/sabadia/dlm-server</a> </li> <li> <strong>Browser extension</strong>: <a href="https://github.com/sabadia/dlm-extension" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/sabadia/dlm-extension</a> </li> </ul> <p>DLM was inspired by <a href="https://github.com/GopeedLab/gopeed" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gopeed</a>, but it is a separate project written from scratch (Apache-2.0, no Gopeed code).</p> <p>I’d love feedback, bug reports, or contributions. What download manager pain points still annoy you the most?</p> <p><em>If you try it, a star on the repo is appreciated ⭐</em></p> go flutter showdev multiplatform