Avid users of Varia, a modern download manager for Linux desktops, may want to check out official browser extensions.
By installing the official Varia browser extension in Google Chrome/Chromium or Mozilla Firefox you no longer have to copy and paste download links from the browser into the app: just click an icon to punt the link to the app directly, where it can then download.
“When the extension is enabled, it will route all started downloads to Varia. In order to route the downloads to Varia, make sure to flip the switch in the extension, and make sure Varia is not running in remote mode,” reads the store description.
Fewer people need or want to use a download manager app these days. This isn’t a surprise. Most things we once downloaded (music, video, games, etc) we now stream or access on-demand — but that doesn’t mean download managers are obsolete.
I only have a mobile internet connection to work over and it’s awful at times — and Varia saves (what’s left of) my sanity so often!
Resumable downloads mean if my connection drops out — which it does, often — I don’t lose what’s been downloaded so far. And if my connection weakens to the point I can’t browser the web and download simultaneously I can pause the download or reduce the download speed.
But even if your internet connection is solid there’s lots of value in Varia: it uses the open-source aria2 backend which is fine-tuned to download things as fast as possible; it supports queuing and scheduling; bandwidth controls; you don’t need to keep a browser open; and more
Anyway, as I use Varia I wanted to pass on word about these browser extension because unless you regularly check the project’s homepage or Github you might not have heard about them — I hadn’t until today!