downloads

Enables extensions to interact with the browser's download manager. You can use this API module to download files, cancel, pause, resume downloads, and show downloaded files in the file manager.

To use this API you need to have the "downloads" API permission specified in your manifest.json file.

Types

downloads.FilenameConflictAction

Defines options for what to do if the name of a downloaded file conflicts with an existing file.

downloads.InterruptReason

Defines a set of possible reasons why a download was interrupted.

downloads.DangerType

Defines a set of common warnings of possible dangers associated with downloadable files.

downloads.State

Defines different states that a current download can be in.

downloads.DownloadItem

Represents a downloaded file.

downloads.StringDelta

Represents the difference between two strings.

downloads.DoubleDelta

Represents the difference between two doubles.

downloads.BooleanDelta

Represents the difference between two booleans.

downloads.DownloadTime

Represents the time a download took to complete.

downloads.DownloadQuery

Defines a set of parameters that can be used to search the downloads manager for a specific set of downloads.

Functions

downloads.download()

Downloads a file, given its URL and other optional preferences.

downloads.search()

Queries the DownloadItems available in the browser's downloads manager, and returns those that match the specified search criteria.

downloads.pause()

Pauses a download.

downloads.resume()

Resumes a paused download.

downloads.cancel()

Cancels a download.

downloads.getFileIcon()

Retrieves an icon for the specified download.

downloads.open()

Opens the downloaded file with its associated application.

downloads.show()

Opens the platform's file manager application to show the downloaded file in its containing folder.

downloads.showDefaultFolder()

Opens the platform's file manager application to show the default downloads folder.

downloads.erase()

Erases matching DownloadItems from the browser's download history, without deleting the downloaded files from disk.

downloads.removeFile()

Removes a downloaded file from disk, but not from the browser's download history.

downloads.acceptDanger()

Prompts the user to accept or cancel a dangerous download.

downloads.drag()

Initiates dragging the downloaded file to another application.

downloads.setShelfEnabled()

Enables or disables the gray shelf at the bottom of every window associated with the current browser profile. The shelf will be disabled as long as at least one extension has disabled it.

Events

downloads.onCreated

Fires with the DownloadItem object when a download begins.

downloads.onErased

Fires with the downloadId when a download is erased from history.

downloads.onChanged

When any of a DownloadItem's properties except bytesReceived changes, this event fires with the downloadId and an object containing the properties that changed.

Browser compatibility

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	WebView Android	Chrome Android	Firefox for Android	Opera Android	Safari on IOS	Samsung Internet
BooleanDelta	Yes	79	47	?	Yes	No	?	?	48-79	?	?	?
DangerType	Yes	79	47	?	Yes	No	?	?	48-79	?	?	?
DoubleDelta	Yes	79	47	?	Yes	No	?	?	48-79	?	?	?
DownloadQuery	Yes	79	47	?	Yes	No	?	?	48-79	?	?	?
DownloadTime	Yes	79	47	?	Yes	No	?	?	48-79	?	?	?
FilenameConflictAction	Yes	79	47	?	Yes	No	?	?	48-79	?	?	?
InterruptReason	Yes	79	47	?	Yes	No	?	?	48-79	?	?	?
State	Yes	79	47	?	Yes	No	?	?	48-79	?	?	?
StringDelta	Yes	79	47	?	Yes	No	?	?	48-79	?	?	?
acceptDanger	Yes	79	No	?	Yes	No	?	?	No	?	?	?
cancel	Yes	79	48	?	Yes	No	?	?	48-79	?	?	?
download	Yes	79	47	?	Yes	No	?	?	48-79	?	?	?
drag	Yes	79	No	?	Yes	No	?	?	No	?	?	?
erase	Yes	79	48	?	Yes	No	?	?	48-79	?	?	?
getFileIcon	Yes	79	48	?	Yes	No	?	?	No	?	?	?
onChanged	Yes	79	47	?	Yes	No	?	?	48-79	?	?	?
onCreated	Yes	79	48	?	Yes	No	?	?	48-79	?	?	?
onErased	Yes	79	48	?	Yes	No	?	?	48-79	?	?	?
open	Yes	79	48	?	Yes	No	?	?	48-79	?	?	?
pause	Yes	79	48	?	Yes	No	?	?	48-79	?	?	?
removeFile	Yes	79	48	?	Yes	No	?	?	48-79	?	?	?
resume	Yes	79	48	?	Yes	No	?	?	48-79	?	?	?
search	Yes	79	47	?	Yes	No	?	?	48-79	?	?	?
setShelfEnabled	Yes	79	No	?	Yes	No	?	?	No	?	?	?
show	Yes	79	48	?	Yes	No	?	?	48-79	?	?	?
showDefaultFolder	Yes	79	48	?	Yes	No	?	?	48-79	?	?	?

Example extensions

• latest-download