Quick Start

This walks through the full flow of creating a download in FluxDown, controlling it while it runs, and organizing tasks with queues and speed limits. See Installation if you haven’t set up FluxDown yet, and Interface Overview for a tour of every panel mentioned here.

Create Your First Download

Click New Download in the top bar (or press Ctrl/Cmd+F to search, then open it from a result). The dialog fields, top to bottom:

Field	What it does
Download URL	A multi-line box — paste one URL per line to queue a batch download (magnet and ed2k:// links work too), or a single URL for one task. FluxDown shows a live count of parsed URLs. Use Open .torrent file to pick a local .torrent, or Import TXT file to load a list of URLs from a text file.
Save Directory	Where the file lands. Defaults to your global save directory (Settings → Download), or your last-used folder if Remember Last Save Location is on.
Threads	Segments to split the download into: Auto (FluxDown picks based on file size and CPU count), a fixed preset (4/8/16/32/64), or a custom value from 1–256. Hidden for magnet links and .torrent files, since BitTorrent manages its own connections.
Rename (optional)	Override the detected filename. Only shown for a single URL — batch downloads and torrents always use the detected/embedded name.

Click Advanced Options to reveal per-task overrides that default to your global settings when left empty:

Field	What it does
Task Proxy	A proxy just for this task, e.g. socks5://127.0.0.1:1080 or http://host:port. Leave empty to use the global proxy. Doesn’t apply to BitTorrent downloads.
User-Agent	Pick a preset (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari) or type a custom string.
Cookie	Raw name=value; name2=value2 pairs, for downloads that require you to be logged in.
Hash Verification	Pick an algorithm (MD5/SHA-1/SHA-256/SHA-512) and paste the expected hash. FluxDown verifies the file after download and flags a mismatch. Leave blank to skip.
Custom Headers	Extra HTTP headers as key/value rows (use + Add header for more). Use the Cookie field above for cookies rather than a Cookie header here.

Two action buttons submit the form, each with a queue picker on its arrow:

• Start Download ▾ (shown as Download N files for a batch) — creates the task(s) and starts them right away. By default they join your default queue (Settings → Download → Default Queue, or the queue currently selected in the sidebar).
• Download Later ▾ — creates the task(s) in a paused state without starting them, parked in the built-in Download Later queue. They don’t occupy a concurrency slot until you start them (or start the whole queue — see below).

Click either button’s small arrow to pick an explicit target queue instead — choosing a queue from the menu submits immediately into it.

Controlling Tasks

• Double-click a row: pauses an active task, resumes a paused/failed one, or opens the file if it’s already complete.
• Right-click a row for the full menu: Pause/Resume, Boost Download (see below), Open File (completed tasks only) / Open Folder, Copy URL, Delete Task, and Delete Task & File.
• Multiple tasks at once: press Ctrl/Cmd+A or click the manage-mode toggle next to the file name column to check tasks individually, then use the batch action bar to delete the selection (with or without the underlying files). Press Esc to leave manage mode.
• Pause/Resume everything: use the Pause All / Resume All buttons in the top bar, or right-click empty space below the list for Start All / Pause All.

Queues and Speed Limits

A global speed limit lives in the status bar at the bottom of the window — click the limit indicator to open a popover with presets (128 KB/s, 512 KB/s, 1 MB/s, 2 MB/s, 5 MB/s) or type a custom KB/s value. It’s off (unlimited) by default.

Every task belongs to a queue. Two queues are built in and can’t be deleted or renamed:

• Main Queue — where new downloads land unless you pick another queue.
• Download Later — where the Download Later button parks tasks in a paused state.

Create additional named queues from the Queues section of the sidebar (click the + button). Click any queue in the sidebar to filter the task list down to it.

Queue settings

Hover (or right-click) a queue and open its manager dialog. The Settings tab holds the per-queue configuration:

• Name (locked for the two built-in queues)
• Speed limit in KB/s (0 = unlimited)
• Max concurrent downloads (0 = use the global setting)
• Default save directory
• Default thread count (0 = auto)
• Default User-Agent (empty = inherit the global one)

Deleting a named queue (built-in queues can’t be deleted) moves its tasks back to the Main Queue. To move an existing task between queues, use the Queue tab of its detail panel.

Starting and stopping a queue

A queue is always either running or stopped — the small dot next to its name in the sidebar shows which. Hover a queue for a play/pause button (also available from its right-click menu):

• Stop Queue pauses every waiting and active task in it. While a queue is stopped, nothing inside it is auto-started: Resume All and the scheduler skip stopped queues entirely.
• Start Queue flips it back to running and resumes its unfinished tasks, in queue order.

This makes a queue a one-click switch for a whole group of downloads — for example, keep bulk downloads in their own queue and stop it while you need the bandwidth, or park tasks in Download Later and start that queue overnight.

Daily schedule

Each queue can start and/or stop itself automatically. The queue manager’s Schedule tab has:

• A daily start time and stop time (HH:MM, picked from a time grid). You can fill either one or both — an empty side simply isn’t scheduled.
• The weekdays the schedule applies to.

When the clock crosses a scheduled time on an active day, the queue starts or stops exactly as if you’d clicked the button; each edge fires at most once per day, and an edge that already passed earlier the same day is caught up when FluxDown launches. Queues with an active schedule show a small alarm-clock icon in the sidebar.

Task order within a queue

The queue manager’s Task Order tab lists the queue’s tasks; move entries up or down to set the order in which they’re started when the queue starts. Changes are persisted immediately.

Concurrency

The global Max Concurrent Downloads cap (default 5) lives in Settings → Download and applies across all queues unless a queue overrides it with its own limit.

Boost: Prioritize a Download

Need one file now? Right-click any task that isn’t finished yet and choose Boost Download. FluxDown pauses every other active task and gives the boosted one full bandwidth; a banner appears at the top of the task list showing how many tasks will automatically resume once it completes, with a Cancel link to stop early. The boosted row also gets a small lightning-bolt badge. Right-click it again and choose Cancel Boost to release it manually.

After a Download Completes

By default (Settings → General → Completion Notifications), FluxDown shows a system notification with Open File / Open Folder actions — a floating toast in the bottom-right corner on Windows, or a native notification on macOS/Linux. Notifications for multiple near-simultaneous completions are batched together automatically. You can also just double-click the finished task, or right-click it for Open File / Open Folder at any time.