Download Router

Routes Chrome downloads with resilient rules, diagnostics, and safe after-route automation.

Download Router automatically organizes Chrome downloads based on where they came from. Create routing rules that send completed downloads to different Windows folders according to the webpage that initiated the download. Rules can match an entire site, a path, a path pattern, an exact path, or an exact URL, with optional filename, extension, and file-size conditions. Key features • Route downloads to any Windows folder, drive, or accessible network location • Match the source webpage rather than only the server that hosts the downloaded file • Add filename, extension, and file-size conditions • Use destination templates for date-, site-, filename-, and rule-based organization • Choose rename, skip, or replace behavior when a destination file already exists • Pause routing without disabling the extension • Review local routing history and explain why a rule matched • Retry recoverable routing failures • Diagnose unavailable destinations and native-host configuration problems • Run optional, user-configured post-route automation scripts How source-based routing works A download is often served by a CDN, storage provider, or temporary URL that is different from the webpage where the user clicked Download. Download Router associates the completed download with its initiating browser tab and webpage so rules can be based on the source page the user actually recognizes. To provide this feature, Download Router locally observes browser metadata relevant to download attribution, including source-page URLs, clicked hyperlink URLs, and related request/download metadata. This information is used only for download routing, history, diagnostics, and related user-facing features. It is not sent to the developer, advertisers, data brokers, or other third parties. Windows companion required Chrome extensions cannot move files to arbitrary filesystem locations on their own. Download Router therefore uses a separately installed Windows companion application through Chrome Native Messaging. The companion runs locally as the current Windows user and performs the requested filesystem operations. Automation Rules may optionally run trusted local programs or scripts after a file has been successfully routed. Automation is disabled independently from routing, script failures do not turn a successful file move into a routing failure, and scripts run only when explicitly configured by the user. Download Router does not replace Chrome's normal downloader. Chrome finishes the download first; Download Router acts afterward.