FetchKiln Guide

1. Install and remove

1. Download the Windows package and extract it.
2. Run Install.cmd. The app is installed for the current Windows user and does not request administrator access.
3. Keep the installer window open until it says Installation complete. It clearly labels two incoming downloads: yt-dlp first, then the larger FFmpeg package.
4. The installer stages and checks both engine packages before copying them into FetchKiln and creating a Start menu entry. If setup was closed early, running this installer again discards its temporary download and safely completes or repairs the local copy.
5. Open FetchKiln from the Start menu.

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 0.1.1 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. FetchKiln 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.
• Version 0.1.1 does not import browser cookies or authenticated sessions.
• DRM-protected streams are not supported.
• The first installation downloads approximately 150 MB of third-party engine files, depending on current builds.

6. Architecture

FetchKiln is a per-user Windows PowerShell/WPF application. The installer downloads yt-dlp and FFmpeg into a bounded temporary staging directory, validates the required executables, then places the application and engines under the current user’s local application-data directory. It creates a Start menu shortcut and registers an ordinary uninstall entry only after the engine downloads succeed.

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 Forgeworks 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 Forgeworks 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. FetchKiln’s original code is released under the MIT License.

yt-dlp and FFmpeg are separate projects downloaded from their own release hosts during installation and remain governed by their respective licences. Their binaries are not included in the FetchKiln package.

npm ci
npm test
npm run dev