Browser extension
Add RDM to Chrome
The extension sends downloads, videos and HLS streams from Chrome (or Edge) to the RDM app on your PC. It talks only to the app on your own computer.
The extension needs the RDM desktop app running on the same PC — it hands every download to the app on 127.0.0.1. Install the app first if you haven't.
Install it manually in about a minute
Until RDM is in the Chrome Web Store, load it like this.
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Download the extension
Get the zip file. It's small and contains only the extension's own files.
Download rdm-extension.zip -
Unzip it
Right-click the zip → Extract All… and pick a folder you'll keep — for example
Documents\RDM extension. Chrome loads the extension from this folder, so don't delete it later. -
Open the extensions page
Type this into Chrome's address bar and press Enter. (In Edge, use
edge://extensions.)chrome://extensions -
Turn on Developer mode
Flip the Developer mode switch in the top-right corner of the page. (In Edge it's in the left sidebar.)
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Click "Load unpacked"
Choose the folder you extracted in step 2 — the one that contains
manifest.json. RDM appears in your extensions list. -
Pin it and you're done
Click the puzzle-piece icon in the toolbar and pin RDM. Its popup has an on/off switch for taking over downloads, so you can hand a download back to Chrome any time.
Chrome may remind you that you have developer-mode extensions turned on. That's expected for extensions installed this way — keep RDM enabled and close the notice. Once RDM is in the Chrome Web Store you can switch to that version.
Using another download manager too? Turn off its browser integration (for IDM: Options → General → uncheck "Use advanced browser integration"), or it and RDM will both try to take every download.