FireDM

Homepage: https://github.com/GurucharanSavanth/FireDM

FireDM is a Python open-source Internet Download Manager with a Tkinter GUI, command-line mode, LibCurl/pycurl transport, yt-dlp extraction, and ffmpeg post-processing.

Project Status

This repository is a Windows-first fork/revival of the original FireDM project. The revival work keeps the original user-facing download-manager behavior where practical, but modernizes dependencies, packaging, GitHub Actions, and Windows runtime discovery.

Current verified baseline:

Windows 10/11 x64
Python 3.10.11
repo-local .venv
pycurl 7.45.7
yt-dlp 2026.3.17 with yt-dlp-ejs 0.8.0
external ffmpeg 8.1
Deno 2.7.13 for extractor JavaScript runtime support
PyInstaller one-folder Windows package

Python 3.11 and 3.12 are not advertised as supported yet. They remain validation targets until install, tests, import smoke, and Windows packaging pass.

Supported Features

Multi-connection segmented downloads through pycurl/LibCurl.
Resume, retry, speed limit, proxy, cookies, authentication, referer, and custom user-agent options.
Video metadata extraction through yt-dlp as the primary extractor.
Optional legacy youtube-dl compatibility through the [legacy] extra.
Single video, playlist selection, subtitles, thumbnails, DASH/HLS handling, and ffmpeg merge/conversion paths.
Tkinter GUI only (no Qt); command-line mode, clipboard monitor, scheduler, checksums, themes, and completion actions.
Plugin system with 6 blocked plugins (DRM, anti-detection, browser integration, native extractors, post-processing, protocol expansion); shipped plugins disabled by default.

Real GUI interaction, real network downloads, playlist-network behavior, and real ffmpeg post-processing still require manual validation before a release claim. Unit tests cover deterministic seams, but mocked tests are not treated as proof of those live workflows.

Installation

Windows source setup:

git clone https://github.com/GurucharanSavanth/FireDM.git
cd FireDM
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\bootstrap\bootstrap.ps1

Manual editable install:

py -3.10 -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m pip install --upgrade pip
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m pip install -e ".[dev,build]"

Linux remains source-compatible where dependencies are available, but this revival pass validates Windows first.

Running

Source CLI:

.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m firedm --help
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe firedm.py --imports-only

Source GUI:

.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m firedm --gui

Packaged Windows build:

.\release\FireDM\firedm.exe --help
.\release\FireDM\FireDM-GUI.exe

Testing

Maintained validation commands:

.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m pytest -q
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m ruff check firedm\FireDM.py firedm\app_paths.py firedm\extractor_adapter.py firedm\ffmpeg_service.py firedm\tool_discovery.py firedm\setting.py firedm\update.py tests
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m mypy

The full legacy tree is not yet Ruff-gated. Ruff and mypy are intentionally scoped to modernized seams and tests.

Building And Packaging

Canonical Build Script

Root .\windows-build.ps1 is the canonical build entry point:

# Full Windows PyInstaller release build
powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\windows-build.ps1 -Clean -Kind OneFolder -Backend PyInstaller -Mode Release

# Dry-run (show what would happen)
powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\windows-build.ps1 -DryRun

# Dependency/toolchain preflight only
powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\windows-build.ps1 -DryRun -SkipTests

Python Wheel/sdist

.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m build --no-isolation
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m twine check dist\*.whl dist\*.tar.gz

Build Output

Canonical artifacts: release\ directory
- release\FireDM\firedm.exe — CLI entry point
- release\FireDM\FireDM-GUI.exe — Tkinter GUI launcher
- release\manifest.json — Plugin manifest (all 6 blocked plugins listed)
- release\build.log — Build transcript and plugin discovery output
Legacy/compat: dist\FireDM\ mirror (optional)
Windows installer: dist\installers\FireDM_Setup_<build_id>_<channel>_win_x64.exe (generated from one-folder build)

Tkinter Packaging Notes

PyInstaller may print warnings about tkinter on Windows. The project includes a manual Tcl/Tk workaround in scripts/firedm-win.spec. Build-time checks are in windows-build.ps1.

A valid Windows package must include these Tkinter assets:

release\FireDM\_internal\tkinter\__init__.py
release\FireDM\_internal\_tcl_data\init.tcl
release\FireDM\_internal\_tk_data\tk.tcl

Verify with:

.\release\FireDM\firedm.exe --imports-only  # Should show "tkinter: ok"

Do not remove the manual spec override until PyInstaller detection works without warnings.

External Tools

ffmpeg is external by default. FireDM discovers ffmpeg.exe in this order and then verifies it with ffmpeg -version:

saved configured path
application/current directory
global settings directory
PATH
Winget package folders on Windows

ffprobe is checked separately for diagnostics and metadata support. FireDM first looks beside the resolved/saved ffmpeg path, then uses the same application directory, settings directory, PATH, and Winget fallback search. This patch does not make ffprobe mandatory for current download enqueue or post-processing behavior.

If ffmpeg is missing, FireDM no longer downloads stale binaries from the historical upstream repository. The GUI opens ffmpeg installation guidance instead.

Deno is also external by default for yt-dlp JavaScript-runtime support. Keep Deno on PATH or in the discoverable Windows package location.

GitHub Actions / CI

Current workflows:

windows-smoke.yml: Windows source install, tests, scoped Ruff, package build, PyInstaller package smoke, artifact upload.
draft-release.yml: tag/manual Windows x64 installer lane using scripts/release/build_windows.py --arch x64, uploads build-ID artifacts, and dry-runs GitHub release creation unless manual publish_release=true or a build-YYYYMMDD_VN tag run is used. Manual runs default to dev; tag builds force stable and require signing configuration.
pypi-release.yml: PyPI package build, twine check, and trusted-publishing upload path.

CI currently targets Python 3.10 because that is the only verified runtime. Add 3.11/3.12 to CI only when the project is ready to fix and support failures found on those versions.

Validation Status

Area	Status
Source help/import smoke	Verified on Python 3.10.11
Unit tests	Maintained through `pytest`
Scoped lint/type checks	Maintained for modernized seams
Wheel/sdist build	Verified with `python -m build --no-isolation`
Windows PyInstaller build	Verified with `.\windows-build.ps1 -Clean -Kind OneFolder -Backend PyInstaller -Mode Release`
Packaged CLI import smoke	Verified with `release\FireDM\firedm.exe --imports-only`
Packaged Tk GUI launcher	Built as `release\FireDM\FireDM-GUI.exe`; full interaction remains manual
Full GUI interaction	Manual/unverified
Real file downloads	Manual/unverified
Playlist network behavior	Manual/unverified
Real ffmpeg post-processing	Manual/unverified
Python 3.11	Unvalidated locally
Python 3.12	Blocked locally by broken Store launcher

Manual Release Validation

Before publishing a Windows release, run:

.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m pytest -q
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m build --no-isolation
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m twine check dist\*.whl dist\*.tar.gz
powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\windows-build.ps1 -Clean -Kind OneFolder -Backend PyInstaller -Mode Release
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe scripts\release\build_windows.py --arch x64 --channel dev
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe scripts\release\validate_portable.py --archive dist\portable\<portable>.zip
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe scripts\release\github_release.py --manifest dist\release-manifest.json
.\release\FireDM\firedm.exe --help
.\release\FireDM\firedm.exe --imports-only
.\release\FireDM\FireDM-GUI.exe

Manual checks still required:

Start GUI, paste a normal direct-download URL, validate queue/progress/cancel/resume behavior.
Download a safe small file and verify final path, checksum option, and resume behavior.
Test one single-video URL and one playlist URL with yt-dlp metadata extraction.
Test one ffmpeg-required DASH/HLS item and verify merge/post-processing output.
Remove or rename ffmpeg temporarily and verify missing-tool error/reporting behavior.

Troubleshooting

If ffmpeg is installed but not found or not usable, check the actual install path and run ffmpeg -version. Agent shells can have stale PATH; FireDM also checks Winget package folders where the current process has access. If Winget package folders are access-denied, add ffmpeg to PATH or copy ffmpeg.exe beside the app. ffprobe health is reported separately and can be fixed by placing ffprobe.exe beside ffmpeg.exe or on PATH.
If PyInstaller reports tkinter as broken, keep the manual Tcl/Tk spec override and verify packaged Tk assets exist.
If .venv dependency installation fails on Windows, verify Python 3.10.11 and the official pycurl wheel path before attempting source builds.
If release\FireDM or dist\FireDM cannot be removed during rebuild, close stale packaged FireDM processes.

Known Limitations

controller.py, video.py, and tkview.py are still large stateful modules. See docs/legacy-refactor-plan.md.
GUI, live downloads, playlist network behavior, and ffmpeg post-processing need manual release validation.
Python 3.11/3.12 support is intentionally not advertised yet.
Packaged Windows builds are release-replace, not in-place self-updating.
Linux AppImage scripts are historical reference, not the preferred current release path.

Contributing

Open issues at https://github.com/GurucharanSavanth/FireDM/issues/new.

Developer references:

Credits / Maintainers

Original author: Mahmoud Elshahat ( 2019-2022 original FireDM );

Gurucharan Savanth ( 2026 fork/revival modernization ) Email: savanthgc@gmail.com

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 22 Commits
.claude/agents		.claude/agents
.github/workflows		.github/workflows
artifacts		artifacts
bootstrap		bootstrap
docs		docs
firedm		firedm
icons		icons
scripts		scripts
tests		tests
.gitattributes		.gitattributes
.gitignore		.gitignore
AGENT.md		AGENT.md
AGENTS.md		AGENTS.md
BASELINE_AUDIT.md		BASELINE_AUDIT.md
CLAUDE.md		CLAUDE.md
ChangeLog.txt		ChangeLog.txt
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
contributors.md		contributors.md
firedm.py		firedm.py
pyproject.toml		pyproject.toml
requirements-advanced.txt		requirements-advanced.txt
requirements.txt		requirements.txt
setup.py		setup.py
todo.md		todo.md
windows-build.ps1		windows-build.ps1

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FireDM

Project Status

Supported Features

Quick Links

Installation

Running

Testing

Building And Packaging

Canonical Build Script

Python Wheel/sdist

Build Output

Tkinter Packaging Notes

External Tools

GitHub Actions / CI

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Manual Release Validation

Troubleshooting

Known Limitations

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FireDM

Project Status

Supported Features

Quick Links

Installation

Running

Testing

Building And Packaging

Canonical Build Script

Python Wheel/sdist

Build Output

Tkinter Packaging Notes

External Tools

GitHub Actions / CI

Validation Status

Manual Release Validation

Troubleshooting

Known Limitations

Contributing

Credits / Maintainers

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