Firelink Companion

Browser integration for the Firelink desktop download manager.

What it does

Firelink Companion sends browser downloads, selected links, media pages, magnet links, and torrent metadata to the native Firelink app.

Captured links open Firelink's Add window first. You can review them before starting or queuing a download.

Status

The Companion package prepared here is 2.2.1. It is compatible with Firelink 1.4.0.

Version 2.2.1 prepares the shared Chromium package for a public Microsoft Edge Add-ons listing. The Partner Center upload and Microsoft certification are still separate release steps; until the listing is certified, use the manual Chromium installation below. The submission material is kept in store/edge/listing.md.

The project is actively maintained. Use the latest Companion release with the latest Firelink release.

Torrent handoff uses protocol version 5 and requires Firelink 1.4.0 or a newer build that supports the same contract.

Installation

• Chromium browsers: Download firelink-chromium.zip from the latest release. Follow the manual installation guide.
• Microsoft Edge: The Edge Add-ons listing is being prepared. Until it is published, download the same firelink-chromium.zip package and follow the manual guide.

After installation:

1. Open Firelink.
2. Go to Settings -> Integrations.
3. Copy the pairing token.
4. Open the Firelink Companion popup.
5. Paste the token and save.

Features

• Automatic capture for ordinary browser downloads.
• Magnet links through the existing link and selection context menus.
• Automatic .torrent handoff to Firelink's Add window, including authenticated browser sessions and opaque download URLs.
• Paused Torrent captures that wait for Firelink confirmation before the browser download continues.
• Batch selected links from page context menus.
• Optional Firelink folders named from page titles.
• Explicit Fetch media actions from the popup and context menu.
• Localized popup UI in Firelink's six supported languages, including RTL layout for Hebrew and Persian.
• Localized browser context menus that follow the selected language.
• System, light, dark, Dracula, and Nord popup themes.
• Firefox and Chromium Manifest V3 support.
• Signed local requests with HMAC-SHA256.
• Desktop identity checks before trusting localhost responses.
• Safe fallback when Firelink is closed or rejects a handoff.
• Recovery for interrupted or ambiguous captures without silent duplicates.
• Recovery for interrupted and paused Firefox captures across service-worker restarts.
• Safer popup state and automatic-capture handling when settings change during a handoff.
• Dynamic local port discovery across 127.0.0.1:6412-6422.

The extension deliberately keeps media fetching in the popup and context menu instead of injecting an in-page player button. Browser sites frequently change their DOM and player behavior, and media can be exposed through site-specific, single-page, MSE, or blob-based paths that require ongoing maintenance.

Handoff and privacy

• Ordinary captures may use browser cookies when the browser session requires them.
• Explicit media requests send the canonical page URL, not a raw browser Cookie header.
• Firelink handles media authentication through its configured media cookie source.
• The original browser download is kept unless Firelink confirms the handoff.
• Torrent downloads remain paused until Firelink confirms receipt; ambiguous handoffs stay paused to avoid duplicate delivery.
• Requests stay on the local machine. The extension does not send download data to a remote service.

Browser permissions

The extension requests access to all web pages because automatic capture runs at document start and browser cookies may be needed for authenticated ordinary downloads. It also uses the browser downloads, context-menu, storage, alarm, script-injection, notification, and cookie APIs listed in manifest.json. Those permissions support the features above; the extension sends handoff data only to the paired Firelink app on localhost.

For the Edge store listing, see the privacy policy and the submission kit.

Manual Chromium installation

Chromium builds are distributed as load-unpacked packages until the Edge Add-ons listing is certified and published.

1. Download firelink-chromium.zip from the latest release.

2. Extract the ZIP to a stable folder.

3. Open your browser's extension manager:

   Browser	Extension manager
   Chrome / Chromium	chrome://extensions
   Edge	edge://extensions
   Brave	brave://extensions
   Vivaldi	vivaldi://extensions
   Opera	opera:extensions

4. Enable Developer mode.

5. Select Load unpacked.

6. Choose the extracted folder containing manifest.json.

7. Pair the extension from Firelink Settings -> Integrations.

Manual Chromium installs do not auto-update. Extract the new ZIP and click Reload after an update. Managed browsers may disable Developer mode.

Temporary Firefox installation

Use this flow for local testing or add-on review:

1. Clone this repository.
2. Open about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox in Firefox.
3. Select Load Temporary Add-on... and choose manifest.json.
4. Pair the extension from Firelink Settings -> Integrations.

Temporary Firefox add-ons are removed when Firefox restarts.

Development

npm test
npm run check
npm run build

The build writes load-unpacked packages to dist/firefox/ and dist/chromium/.

Release packages are firelink-firefox.zip and firelink-chromium.zip. firelink.zip remains a Firefox-package compatibility alias.

Credits

The extension uses standard WebExtensions APIs. It integrates with Firelink.

Thanks to users who report browser compatibility issues, test releases, and review the integration.

License

Firelink Companion is available under the MIT License.