Question 1

Is Mister Download Manager really free?

Accepted Answer

Yes, completely. Mister Download Manager (MDM) is free and open-source software under the GNU General Public License, version 3. There is no trial period, no paid edition, no registration key, no nag screen and no ads, and there never will be. You may use it at home or at work, copy it and give it to others.

Question 2

Is it a copy or a crack of Internet Download Manager?

Accepted Answer

No. MDM is an independent program written from scratch in Rust, with no connection to Tonec Inc., the makers of Internet Download Manager (IDM). It contains none of IDM's code or artwork. Its windows are laid out the way IDM users expect, so you can switch without learning anything new — and because MDM is free, there is nothing to crack. Please don't download "cracked" download managers: they are a common way to spread malware.

Question 3

How is MDM different from IDM?

Accepted Answer

The layout is familiar on purpose: the toolbar, the categories, the download list, the progress window with every connection, queues and the scheduler. The differences: MDM is free and open source, downloads BitTorrent and magnet links in the same list, finished faster in our benchmark, speaks 86 languages and has experimental builds for macOS and Linux. IDM is the more mature product, refined over many years. See the full comparison.

Question 4

Is it safe? Does it contain adware or spyware?

Accepted Answer

MDM contains no adware, spyware, bundled offers or tracking. Its whole source code is public, so anyone can check what it does, and every release is built from that code by GitHub's servers, where the build can be inspected. The helper programs it can fetch for videos are verified before they run: yt-dlp against its developers' signing key, ffmpeg against its published checksums. Download MDM only from this site or the project's GitHub releases.

Question 5

Does MDM collect my data?

Accepted Answer

No. MDM has no accounts, no analytics and no telemetry. It connects to the servers you download from and, once a week, asks GitHub whether a newer version exists (you can turn that off in Help → Check for updates). The browser extension talks only to MDM on your own computer. The details are in the privacy policy.

Question 6

Who makes Mister Download Manager?

Accepted Answer

MDM is made by Ahmed Nefzaoui, an independent developer, and is open to contributions from anyone on GitHub. Bug reports, translations and code are all welcome.

Question 7

Which systems does it run on?

Accepted Answer

Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit, is the main platform. Builds for macOS (one download for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs) and Linux (AppImage, .deb, .rpm and .tar.gz) come with every release too; they are marked experimental because they are new and less tested. See Download.

Question 8

Does it run on Windows 7 or 8?

Accepted Answer

No. MDM needs Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. The Rust toolchain it is built with no longer supports Windows 7 and 8, and neither does Microsoft.

Question 9

Can I use it without installing it?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The portable download is a zip: unzip it anywhere, a USB stick included, and run it. Your downloads list and settings stay in its own data folder, so nothing is written to the computer. See Portable mode.

Question 10

Can I bring my download list over from IDM?

Accepted Answer

Yes. In IDM, export your list (Tasks → Export → To IDM export file). In MDM, choose Tasks → Import → From IDM export file and pick that .ef2 file: every download comes over with its address, referrer and cookies. A plain text file of links works too. See Adding downloads.

Question 11

How do I uninstall it?

Accepted Answer

Open Windows Settings → Apps, find Mister Download Manager and choose Uninstall. The uninstaller asks whether to delete your download list and settings as well. Files you downloaded are never touched. For the portable copy, delete its folder.

Question 12

Which browsers does it work with?

Accepted Answer

Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Brave, Opera and Vivaldi, through the MDM browser extension. Firefox support is written and in testing. The extension hands downloads to MDM with their cookies and referrer, so files behind a sign-in still work, and it adds Download with Mister Download Manager to the right-click menu and a Download video button over videos. See Browser integration.

Question 13

How do I install the browser extension?

Accepted Answer

Install MDM with the setup and keep Set up browser integration ticked. Then load the extension in your browser from MDM's extension folder: open the browser's extensions page, turn on Developer mode and choose Load unpacked. Store listings for Chrome, Edge and Firefox are on the way, which will make this a single click. The tutorial walks through it.

Question 14

Why doesn't MDM take over my download?

Accepted Answer

Check four things: the extension is installed and turned on; Options → General → Use advanced browser integration is on and your browser is ticked; the file's type is in Options → File types; and the site isn't in the list of sites MDM leaves alone. Right-click a link and choose Download with Mister Download Manager to send any file whatever its type. More in Troubleshooting.

Question 15

Can I download without the browser extension?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Copy a link to a file and MDM offers to download it at once (Options → General → Offer to download links copied to the clipboard, on by default). You can also paste links into Add URL, drag them onto the drop target, add a whole batch, or use the command line. See Adding downloads.

Question 16

Why is MDM faster than a browser?

Accepted Answer

A browser fetches a file over one connection. MDM asks the server for several parts of the file at once, up to 32 connections, and keeps re-splitting: when a connection finishes its part, it takes over half of the biggest part still left, so no slow connection holds up the end. It also remembers servers that refuse extra connections and stops asking them. See Connections and speed.

Question 17

How many connections does it use?

Accepted Answer

Eight per download by default, and up to 32 if you choose in Options → Connection. MDM uses fewer when a server allows fewer, and only one when a server can't send parts of a file at all.

Question 18

Can it resume broken downloads?

Accepted Answer

Yes. MDM writes its progress as it goes, so after a lost connection, a crash or a restart it carries on where it stopped. Before resuming it checks that the file on the server hasn't changed. When a download address has expired, Refresh download address lets you give it a fresh one and keep the data. See Resume a broken download.

Question 19

Can I limit the download speed?

Accepted Answer

Yes: for one download from its progress window, or for everything with Downloads → Speed Limiter. See Keep some speed for everything else.

Question 20

Can it download overnight or on a schedule?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Put downloads in a queue and let the Scheduler start it at a set time, stop it at another, and even shut down or put the computer to sleep when the queue is done. See Download overnight.

Question 21

Does it support FTP?

Accepted Answer

Yes: ftp://, and FTP over TLS both ways (ftpes:// and ftps://), with several connections at once, resume, and logins from the address or from Sites Logins. See Adding downloads.

Question 22

Does it support proxies?

Accepted Answer

Yes: HTTP and SOCKS proxies, and proxy auto-config (PAC) scripts, in Options → Proxy / Socks. See Options.

Question 23

How do I download a video from YouTube or another site?

Accepted Answer

Point at the video in your browser and click the Download video button that appears over it, or paste the page's address into Tasks → Download video from a page. MDM lists every quality the site offers, with sizes; pick one and it downloads like any file. It uses yt-dlp, which supports thousands of sites. Download only videos you have the right to. See Download a video from a page.

Question 24

Can it download from Netflix or other paid streaming services?

Accepted Answer

No. MDM doesn't break copy protection (DRM), by design. Videos that are protected stay protected.

Question 25

Does it download torrents?

Accepted Answer

Yes, built in: open a .torrent file or paste a magnet link, tick the files you want in the folder tree, and the torrent downloads in the same list as everything else, with its peers, trackers and pieces one tab away. See Torrents.

Question 26

Does it keep uploading after a torrent finishes?

Accepted Answer

No, unless you want it to. While a torrent downloads it trades pieces with other people, as every torrent client does. When it finishes, it stops, like any other download. Turn on Keep sharing torrents after they finish in Options if you'd like to give back.

Question 27

Is MDM available in my language?

Accepted Answer

Very likely: MDM speaks 86 languages, every display language Windows 11 offers, chosen on the first start or any time in View → Language. Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Urdu and Uyghur are laid out right to left. See all the languages and how to help improve yours.

Question 28

Can other programs or scripts control MDM?

Accepted Answer

Yes. MDM accepts IDM's familiar command-line switches, comes with misterdownloadmanager-cli for downloads from a terminal, and has a local, token-protected automation API that can list, pause, start and remove downloads. The API is off until you turn it on. See Command line and automation.

Question 29

Can my AI assistant use MDM?

Accepted Answer

Yes. MDM comes with an MCP server, misterdownloadmanager-mcp: add it to Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code or another assistant that supports MCP, and you can ask it in your own words to list, add, pause, resume or remove downloads. It works with the MDM on your computer only, and needs the automation API on. See AI assistants.

Question 30

How do I report a bug or ask for a feature?

Accepted Answer

Use Help → Report a problem in MDM: it opens the bug report form on GitHub with your version, system and language filled in. Or open the form yourself. Security problems go privately through the security page.

Questions and answers

About Mister Download Manager

Installing

Browsers

Downloading

Video and torrents

Help and more