Yes. No plans, ads, trials or accounts. The full source of the app and the extension is on GitHub under the MIT license, and you can build it yourself.

How much faster is it, really?

In our test, a 961 MB file from archive.org took 13.5 s with 32 connections instead of 6 min 54 s over the single connection a browser uses: 30× faster. The gain is largest when a server limits each connection or is far away, and small when one connection already fills your line.

Does it work on sites with a login or a “verify you're human” page?

Usually, yes. The extension passes along the exact session the browser used, including clearance cookies, user agent and referer, so the server sees the same visitor that just passed the check. When that isn't enough, the browser keeps the download and you lose nothing.

Is it safe? What can the extension see?

The extension asks for these permissions, each for one job: downloads, to notice a download, hold it while the app checks the file, and cancel or resume it; webRequest, cookies and access to all sites, to read the headers and cookies the browser sent for that download, so the app can send the same ones; contextMenus for “Download with Byterush” and storage for its settings and the list of recent hand-overs. It only talks to the Byterush app on your own computer at 127.0.0.1. The app only accepts calls that carry the extension's id, and nothing is sent anywhere else: no account, no analytics.

Do I need the extension?

No. You can paste a link with “+ add url”, let the clipboard watcher offer copied links, or queue a whole pattern with a batch download. The extension just makes it automatic for downloads that start in Chrome or Edge. There is no Firefox version yet.

Where are my settings and the download list?

On your computer only, in the system's app-data folder: %APPDATA%\com.byterush.app on Windows, ~/Library/Application Support/com.byterush.app on macOS, ~/.local/share/com.byterush.app on Linux. Your files go to the download folder you choose, optionally sorted into folders by type.

30×faster than a browser download in our test

Downloads up to 30× faster
than your browser

A browser fetches a file over one connection. Byterush opens up to 32 and downloads the parts side by side. In the video below, Chrome needs 13 minutes for a 961 MB file; with Byterush it takes 17 seconds. If the app closes or the link expires, the download carries on where it stopped.

Download Watch the demo

Free and open source · Windows, macOS and LinuxOther platforms

Chrome alone, then Chrome with Byterush

The same file clicked twice in Chrome: once on its own, once with Byterush installed. Real screen recordings, timed from the click, no cuts.

The click, Byterush's New download window, then both downloads side by side. The video only loads when you press play.

What you get

Big files, fast
Up to 32 connections per file, each fetching its own part. On servers that limit every connection, like mirrors and file hosts, that is the 30× in the video. On a fast server next door, it is no slower than your browser.
Works from Chrome and Edge
Click a download like you always do. The extension hands it to Byterush together with your login and cookies, so sites behind a sign-in keep working. If Byterush can't get the exact same file, the browser simply keeps it.
Never start over
Progress is saved to disk every few seconds. Crash, reboot, power cut: when Byterush opens again, every download picks up where it stopped. Link expired halfway? Click it again in the browser and the same download continues.
And the usual, done right
A queue with a limit on how many run at once and a “download later” button. One speed cap for everything. Files sorted into Video, Music, Documents, Archives and Programs. Batch downloads from a pattern like img*.jpg. A clipboard watcher that offers any link you copy. Light and dark theme.
No account, no ads, no telemetry. MIT licensed, source on GitHub.

How much faster, measured

Same file, same machine, same evening: one connection, the way a browser downloads, against Byterush.

We downloaded Sintel_Documentary_by_Ali_Boubred.avi (961 MB) from archive.org. Over a single connection, the way a browser does it, it took 6 min 54 s. Byterush took 28.4 s with 8 connections, 22.8 s with 16 connections and 13.5 s with 32 connections.

30×faster than one connection, using 32 connections

71.2MB/saverage with 32 connections, against 2.3 MB/s over one

6 min 41 sless waiting for one 961 MB file

The same file, downloaded four ways

Method. Sintel_Documentary_by_Ali_Boubred.avi, 961 MB, downloaded from archive.org, measured 2026-10-23 on a datacenter line that reaches ~70 MB/s on one connection to a nearby server. Average speed is file size ÷ time. When “Byterush · 32 connections” finished, the single connection had 3% of the file. The Internet Archive limits how fast each connection may go, like many mirrors and file hosts: one connection got a short fast start and then about 2 MB/s. Average of two runs per setting with scripts/bench.sh; curl stands in for the browser, which also uses one connection per file. Your numbers depend on the server, how far away it is and your own line.

Results for each run of this test
Run	Time	Average speed	vs. browser
Browser / single connection1 connection	6 min 54 s	2.3 MB/s	baseline
Byterush · 8 connections8 connections	28.4 s	33.8 MB/s	14× faster
Byterush · 16 connections16 connections	22.8 s	42.2 MB/s	18× faster
Byterush · 32 connections32 connections	13.5 s	71.2 MB/s	30× faster

Why it's faster

Most servers, mirrors and CDNs limit how fast one connection may go, and the farther away the server is, the slower a single connection runs, however fast your line is. Byterush asks for different parts of the same file over many connections at once, so together they use the bandwidth you actually have. When a connection finishes its part, it takes over half of the biggest part still left, so none of them sit idle at the end.

The gain is largest on slow, busy or distant servers. When one connection already fills your line, for example a fast CDN nearby, nothing can beat your own bandwidth and the times come out about the same.

Your browser starts it. Byterush finishes it.

A small extension for Chrome and Edge watches the browser's downloads and passes them to the app on your computer. You keep clicking download the way you always have.

Catches every download. Link clicks, scripts, redirects and files the server names itself.
Keeps your login. It passes along the exact cookies, user agent and referer the browser used, so sign-ins and “verify you're human” checks still pass.
Never loses a file. Byterush takes over only when it gets the exact same file. One-time links, form posts and challenge pages stay in the browser.
Right-click → Download with Byterush on any link, video, audio or image, and a per-site switch for sites that need the browser.

Install it in a minute

01
Install Byterush and start it. The extension only hands downloads over while the app runs.
02
Add the extension from the Chrome Web Store: Chrome, Brave and Vivaldi click Add to Chrome; Edge first allows extensions from other stores; Opera needs its “Install Chrome extensions” add-on.
03
Done. Downloads in that browser now go to Byterush, cookies and all. The setup page checks that it works.

Add to Chrome Setup guide and check How it works, on GitHub

Download Byterush

Free for Windows, macOS and Linux. Every build comes from the latest GitHub release.

Windows

Windows 10 and 11 · x64

The installer is the usual choice. The MSI suits managed or scripted installs.

macOS

macOS 11 Big Sur or later

Apple Silicon is any Mac with an M chip. Not sure? Apple menu → About This Mac.

Linux

64-bit · x64 and arm64

x64

arm64.AppImage .deb .rpm

The AppImage runs on most distributions: make it executable and open it. The arm64 builds are for ARM computers running 64-bit Linux.

Older versions and every file of a release are on GitHub Releases. Rather build it yourself? See building from source. To check a download, compare it with the release's SHA256SUMS.txt.

Questions

Is it really free?
Yes. No plans, ads, trials or accounts. The full source of the app and the extension is on GitHub under the MIT license, and you can build it yourself.
How much faster is it, really?
In our test, a 961 MB file from archive.org took 13.5 s with 32 connections instead of 6 min 54 s over the single connection a browser uses: 30× faster. The gain is largest when a server limits each connection or is far away, and small when one connection already fills your line.
Does it work on sites with a login or a “verify you're human” page?
Usually, yes. The extension passes along the exact session the browser used, including clearance cookies, user agent and referer, so the server sees the same visitor that just passed the check. When that isn't enough, the browser keeps the download and you lose nothing.
Is it safe? What can the extension see?
The extension asks for these permissions, each for one job:
- downloads to notice a download, hold it while the app checks the file, and cancel or resume it.
- webRequest, cookies and access to all sites to read the headers and cookies the browser sent for that download, so the app can send the same ones.
- contextMenus for “Download with Byterush” and storage for its settings and the list of recent hand-overs.
It only talks to the Byterush app on your own computer at 127.0.0.1. The app only accepts calls that carry the extension's id, and nothing is sent anywhere else: no account, no analytics. The privacy page spells it out.
Do I need the extension?
No. You can paste a link with “+ add url”, let the clipboard watcher offer copied links, or queue a whole pattern with a batch download. The extension just makes it automatic for downloads that start in Chrome or Edge. There is no Firefox version yet.
Where are my settings and the download list?
On your computer only, in the system's app-data folder:
Windows
%APPDATA%\com.byterush.app
macOS
~/Library/Application Support/com.byterush.app
Linux
~/.local/share/com.byterush.app
Your files go to the download folder you choose, optionally sorted into folders by type.

Downloads up to 30× faster than your browser

Chrome alone, then Chrome with Byterush

What you get

Big files, fast

Works from Chrome and Edge

Never start over

And the usual, done right