Media Downloader Guide

1. Install and remove

1. Download the complete Windows package and extract the whole ZIP.
2. Run Install.cmd. The app is installed for the current Windows user and does not request administrator access.
3. The installer checks the included yt-dlp, FFmpeg, and FFprobe files, copies them with the app, and creates a Start menu entry. It does not download anything else.
4. Open FetchKiln from the Start menu.

Media Downloader is the permanent public name. The tested 0.1.4-test package retains FetchKiln as its download, installation, Start-menu, and removal name for compatibility.

The browser download is about 89 MB because it already contains the app and its three required engine executables. Browser download progress replaces the slow, unlabelled dependency download that earlier packages performed during setup.

Running the installer again safely updates or repairs the local copy while retaining an existing local settings file. The installer now opens and closes the real interface invisibly before reporting success, so a Windows startup failure is caught during setup.

Already installed version 0.1.3-test? Download the small startup repair instead of downloading the complete package again.

Remove FetchKiln from Settings → Apps → Installed apps, or run Uninstall.cmd from the downloaded package. The app, engines, local settings, Start menu shortcut, and uninstall record are removed.

This test package is not code-signed. Windows may therefore ask for confirmation before running its scripts.

2. Use

1. Paste one supported media URL.
2. Choose MP4 video or MP3 audio. For MP4, choose Best, 1080p, or 720p.
3. Choose an output folder.
4. Select Download. Progress and engine output remain visible in the app.

Version 0.1.4 processes one URL at a time and does not automatically expand playlists.

3. Data behavior

The website serves the installer package. It does not receive the URL entered in the desktop app and does not relay the media.

The installed app contacts the supplied source and any endpoints required by its retrieval engine. Downloaded media and conversion work stay on the user’s computer. Media Downloader has no account, analytics, advertising, remote history, or clipboard monitoring. The app’s theme and output-folder preferences are stored locally.

The website defaults to Dark Gray. A first-party cookie shares only its Light, Dark Gray, or Pure Black choice across the `myforgeworks.net` family; local storage supplies immediate display and fallback behavior. This site preference is separate from the installed app setting and is not a visitor identifier.

4. Formats

Output quality is bounded by what the source makes available. Conversion cannot create missing detail.

5. Limits

• Windows 10 and 11 are the current release target.
• An internet connection is required. This is local processing, not offline retrieval.
• Supported URLs can change when source sites or the retrieval engine change.
• The included engines stay at their release versions until a newer Media Downloader package is published.
• Version 0.1.4 does not import browser cookies or authenticated sessions.
• DRM-protected streams are not supported.
• The complete website download is about 89 MB. Installation itself requires no additional download.

6. Architecture

Media Downloader’s current release is a per-user Windows PowerShell/WPF application distributed under the technical package and installed-app name FetchKiln. Its release ZIP contains the app plus pinned yt-dlp, FFmpeg, and FFprobe executables. The installer validates those included files, places them under the current user’s local application-data directory, creates a Start menu shortcut, and registers an ordinary uninstall entry.

The app starts yt-dlp as a child process, passes the selected format and output folder, reads line-oriented progress, and can stop the active process. There is no site-operated media proxy, database, account service, or remote job queue.

The downloadable package carries the interface source, installation and removal scripts, architecture notes, design rules, change history, test procedure, and third-party component record so another developer or AI collaborator can continue it without reconstructing the project from a chat transcript.

7. Test standing

The release checks cover the website production build, routes, download link, archive integrity, required installer and application files, install/uninstall contracts, data wording, theme structure, and shared website interface contract.

The Windows application could not be executed inside this Linux build environment. It is therefore labelled a test release until installation, retrieval, conversion, cancellation, and removal are verified on Windows 10 and 11.

8. Source and licence

Download the complete site and application source package. Media Downloader’s original code is released under the MIT License. The source archive retains the technical FetchKiln name for compatibility.

The Windows package includes pinned yt-dlp and FFmpeg executables as separate programs. They retain their own licences; their exact versions, checksums, original release locations, corresponding-source locations, build record, and licence texts travel inside the package.

npm ci
npm test
npm run dev

Website settings

Settings lets you show or hide the top header and choose Light, Dark Gray or Pure Black. Dark Gray is the first-visit default. The footer stays available when the header is hidden.

The theme and header preferences are shared across myforgeworks.net websites in this browser. They use first-party cookies with local storage as a fallback on other hostnames. They contain no document data or visitor identifier. The website’s settings are separate from any installed application.

The Buy me a coffee button has no donation destination yet. Selecting it shows a short notice.