Rayburst Connect Updates & Release Notes

Rayburst Connect 2.1.7

Rayburst Connect 2.1.7 fixes browser downloads that stayed paused after Rayburst handed them back to the browser.

🐛 Bug Fixes

A download returned to the browser now continues on its own. Chromium refuses to resume a download while the extension still holds its filename, so a download Rayburst did not take, for example because the desktop app was not ready in time, stayed paused until resumed by hand (#102).

The Download with Rayburst context menu entry no longer logs a duplicate-ID warning when the browser starts.

📦 Install

The release workflow attaches these packages:

• Chrome / Edge: rayburst-connect-2.1.7-chromium-mv3.zip. Extract it, enable Developer mode on the browser's extensions page, then choose Load unpacked.
• Firefox: rayburst-connect-2.1.7-firefox-mv3.zip. For temporary testing, extract it and load manifest.json through about:debugging → This Firefox → Load Temporary Add-on. Regular installation uses the signed Firefox Add-ons listing.

Browser store submissions are separate from this GitHub Release.

Full changelog: v2.1.6...v2.1.7

Original source

Rayburst Connect 2.1.6 removes the last nested scrollbar from the popup.

🐛 Bug Fixes

Popup scrolling: the media and task lists no longer cap their height and scroll on their own, so several sniffed videos or a preview no longer give the popup a second scrollbar. The page is now the only scroll container (#100)

📦 Install

The release workflow attaches these packages:

• Chrome / Edge: rayburst-connect-2.1.6-chromium-mv3.zip. Extract it, enable Developer mode on the browser's extensions page, then choose Load unpacked.
• Firefox: rayburst-connect-2.1.6-firefox-mv3.zip. For temporary testing, extract it and load manifest.json through about:debugging → This Firefox → Load Temporary Add-on. Regular installation uses the signed Firefox Add-ons listing.

Browser store submissions are separate from this GitHub Release.

Full changelog: v2.1.5...v2.1.6

Original source

Rayburst Connect 2.1.5 fixes a second scrollbar in the popup at browser zoom levels above 100% and removes the module preload warnings Chrome listed for the extension.

🐛 Bug Fixes

• Popup scrolling: the popup now scrolls as one page. At a browser zoom such as 125%, the browser makes the popup shorter than its content's 600 px limit, and both the page and its content scrolled, for example on the media selection page (#100)
• Extension errors: Chrome no longer lists "A preload … is found, but is not used" warnings for the popup

📦 Install

The release workflow attaches these packages:

• Chrome / Edge: rayburst-connect-2.1.5-chromium-mv3.zip. Extract it, enable Developer mode on the browser's extensions page, then choose Load unpacked.
• Firefox: rayburst-connect-2.1.5-firefox-mv3.zip. For temporary testing, extract it and load manifest.json through about:debugging → This Firefox → Load Temporary Add-on. Regular installation uses the signed Firefox Add-ons listing.

Browser store submissions are separate from this GitHub Release.

Full changelog: v2.1.4...v2.1.5

Original source

Rayburst Connect 2.1.4 lets the Rayburst dialog take over a download as soon as it shows it, so the browser's download list no longer keeps a paused item while you decide, and makes the media panel easier to filter. The takeover change needs Rayburst 4.1.0-beta.6 or later; with older versions the extension works as before.

🛠 Improvements

• Handoff: once the Rayburst dialog shows a download, the browser's item is released and removed from the browser's list right away, without waiting for you to confirm. Chromium names every download within 15 s, so if Rayburst has not answered after 12 s, the paused item is given its name and stays paused until Rayburst decides (rayburst#720)
• Media panel: each type in the filter shows how many resources it has under the current search, and the select-all box checks only the resources the filters show

📦 Install

The release workflow attaches these packages:

• Chrome / Edge: rayburst-connect-2.1.4-chromium-mv3.zip. Extract it, enable Developer mode on the browser's extensions page, then choose Load unpacked.
• Firefox: rayburst-connect-2.1.4-firefox-mv3.zip. For temporary testing, extract it and load manifest.json through about:debugging → This Firefox → Load Temporary Add-on. Regular installation uses the signed Firefox Add-ons listing.

Browser store submissions are separate from this GitHub Release.

Full changelog: v2.1.3...v2.1.4

Original source

Rayburst Connect 2.1.3 fixes two bugs. In Chrome, Edge and other Chromium browsers, the browser no longer downloads the file in the background while the Rayburst dialog waits for confirmation. In Firefox, memory no longer keeps growing on pages that stream media, such as live streams.

🐛 Bug Fixes

• Chromium: while the Rayburst dialog waited for confirmation, the browser kept downloading the same file in the background and only dropped it after the dialog was confirmed. The browser's download is now paused until Rayburst answers. It is cancelled once the dialog is confirmed or dismissed, and resumes in the browser if the dialog times out. The Invalid downloadId error on the extensions page is gone too (rayburst#717)
• Firefox: on pages that keep loading media, such as a Bilibili live stream, the media list was saved again for every new segment, and Firefox's memory could grow past 2 GB. The list is now saved at most once a second, and extension pages no longer receive a copy of it on every save (#97)

📦 Install

The release workflow attaches these packages:

• Chrome / Edge: rayburst-connect-2.1.3-chromium-mv3.zip. Extract it, enable Developer mode on the browser's extensions page, then choose Load unpacked.
• Firefox: rayburst-connect-2.1.3-firefox-mv3.zip. For temporary testing, extract it and load manifest.json through about:debugging → This Firefox → Load Temporary Add-on. Regular installation uses the signed Firefox Add-ons listing.

Browser store submissions are separate from this GitHub Release.

Full changelog: v2.1.2...v2.1.3

Original source

Rayburst Connect 2.1.2 works with older desktops again: Rayburst 4.0 and Motrix Next 3.8 or later take downloads from it, alongside the current Rayburst 4.1 (4.1.0-beta.5). Updating the desktop to Rayburst 4.1 is still recommended, as only it supports every feature. This release also fixes downloads from pages that leave through a redirect, such as Tencent Meeting.

✨ New

• Older desktops: Rayburst 4.0 and Motrix Next 3.8+ connect and take downloads again. With them the popup shows task counts without the task list, and Motrix Next receives direct media files only, as it has no media support. Motrix Next before 3.8 has no browser API and is not supported.
• Update notice: an older desktop shows a notice with a link to the latest Rayburst. In the popup it can be closed and stays closed for that version; in the connection settings it stays.
• Start Rayburst Through a Browser Link (Legacy): Options → Behavior. When on, Rayburst is started by opening its rayburst:// link (motrixnext:// for Motrix Next) in a tab, as before Native Messaging, instead of through Native Messaging. It is off by default. If Native Messaging cannot start the desktop, the popup offers to switch.

🛠 Improvements

• The extension starts the desktop it last connected to, Rayburst or Motrix Next, and falls back to the other if that one is not installed
• The popup opens directly in its final state instead of growing and then shrinking while it checks the connection

🐛 Bug Fixes

• Fixed downloads from pages that leave with a script redirect, such as the Tencent Meeting download page: the page itself was saved instead of the installer, which then could not be opened (rayburst#711)

📦 Install

The release workflow attaches these packages:

• Chrome / Edge: rayburst-connect-2.1.2-chromium-mv3.zip. Extract it, enable Developer mode on the browser's extensions page, then choose Load unpacked.
• Firefox: rayburst-connect-2.1.2-firefox-mv3.zip. For temporary testing, extract it and load manifest.json through about:debugging → This Firefox → Load Temporary Add-on. Regular installation uses the signed Firefox Add-ons listing.

Browser store submissions are separate from this GitHub Release.

Full changelog: v2.1.1...v2.1.2

Original source

Rayburst Connect 2.1.1 adds an option to name sniffed media files after the page they come from. It pairs with Rayburst 4.1.0, currently 4.1.0-beta.2.

✨ New

Name sniffed files after the page title: Options → Media → Behavior → "Name sniffed files after" → "Page title". Files that servers name with a random ID, such as 407814-1080p.mp4, are saved as My Video.mp4 and keep their own extension. The default still uses the server's name (#93).

📦 Install

The release workflow attaches these packages:

• Chrome / Edge: rayburst-connect-2.1.1-chromium-mv3.zip. Extract it, enable Developer mode on the browser's extensions page, then choose Load unpacked.
• Firefox: rayburst-connect-2.1.1-firefox-mv3.zip. For temporary testing, extract it and load manifest.json through about:debugging → This Firefox → Load Temporary Add-on. Regular installation uses the signed Firefox Add-ons listing.

Browser store submissions are separate from this GitHub Release; the stores keep 2.0.6 until Rayburst 4.1.0 is stable.

Full changelog: v2.1.0...v2.1.1

Original source

Important

Rayburst Connect 2.1.0 pairs with Rayburst 4.1.0 or later, currently 4.1.0-beta.1. Browser handoff was rebuilt for this release. Rather than keep the old handoff path alongside the new one, we chose to keep both apps lean, so the two new versions work with each other but not with the earlier ones. Until both are updated, the extension shows "Desktop version not supported" and the browser simply keeps its downloads.

What's Changed

Rayburst Connect 2.1.0 is a major update built together with Rayburst 4.1.0 and its rebuilt Aria2 Next 3.0.0 engine. Download handoff is redesigned so that a download can no longer be lost or duplicated: the browser keeps the download until Rayburst has checked the file and answered. The popup is rebuilt around a live throughput meter and a task list you can control, media sniffing combines separate video and audio tracks into one complete video, and everything the extension hands over downloads with the much faster new engine.

Rayburst 4.0.x
Rayburst 4.1.0
Rayburst Connect 2.0.x
✅
Update the extension
Rayburst Connect 2.1.0
Update Rayburst
✅

🚀 Faster Downloads

Downloads handed to Rayburst 4.1.0 run on Aria2 Next 3.0.0. Against Rayburst 4.0.1 on the same machine and network, every file verified:

Download Size Rayburst 4.1.0 vs 4.0.1 Multi-mirror Metalink (openSUSE image) 261 MiB about 20× faster ED2K (eMule installer) 3.2 MiB about 6× faster Torrent with a web seed (Sintel) 123 MiB about 2× faster; first data about 10× sooner HTTP (Linux kernel tarball) 149 MiB about 1.8× faster HLS and DASH streams 4 cases all complete; 4.0.1 failed 3 Server that throttles with 503 or 429 — completes; 4.0.1 failed the task

Fast single servers download at the same speed with 2–4× less CPU time.

✨ New

• Verified handoffs: a taken-over download is held, not cancelled. Rayburst has its engine request the URL with the browser's headers and cookies and answers added, cancelled or fallback. Only added and cancelled release the browser download; a web page, a rejected or unreachable URL, a size mismatch, a timeout or a lost answer leaves it to the browser. Handoffs are no longer journaled and replayed, so nothing is downloaded twice.
• Popup task list with progress, pause, resume and show in folder (#89).
• Alt-click leaves a download to the browser; a setting turns this off (#46).
• Complete videos from track files: players that read separate video-only and audio-only files show them as one complete video at the top of the list. Its download combines the tracks, and the selection shows real resolutions and bitrates. Checking several files offers a merge.
• In Rayburst 4.1.0: .torrent links can open their content or be saved as files (#50), and site rules choose a proxy per site (#52).

🛠 Improvements

• Redesigned popup: a live throughput meter with a scrolling speed trace and the task counts, sliding tabs, height that animates with its content, and pause and resume that respond at the click.
• The sniffer has simpler scope, type and sort pickers, a filter row only once the list needs it, and the next step in the footer: select all, then merge or download.
• Sniffed files without a name, such as Douyin videos, are named after their page instead of index.html.
• New installations start with sniffing rules adapted from cat-catch: Instagram and Facebook byte-range requests are captured once without the range, and Bilibili live-stream segments are ignored.
• Starting Rayburst from the popup waits as long as the configured startup timeout, and Firefox can start it when the browser forbids leaving its job object (#62).
• The unsupported-desktop notice is redesigned with the detected version and a Check again button, and diagnostics record why a desktop was rejected.

⚠️ Removed

• Screen and WebRTC recording: they recorded what a page shows, not what it serves. Buffer capture and playback recording remain.

🐛 Bug Fixes

• Popup commands and diagnostics answer on Chromium before 148, which ignored promise replies from message listeners (#90).
• Other extensions keep the filenames they choose; the filename hook is registered only while interception is on (#37).
• Rescanning media works in tabs opened before the extension started.
• Cancelling a media download settles when Rayburst is unreachable, so Retry starts a new attempt.
• A tab picked in the sniffer is no longer replaced when the media list arrives.
• Media failures keep their underlying cause in diagnostics.

📦 Install

The release workflow attaches these packages:

• Chrome / Edge: rayburst-connect-2.1.0-chromium-mv3.zip. Extract it, enable Developer mode on the browser's extensions page, then choose Load unpacked.
• Firefox: rayburst-connect-2.1.0-firefox-mv3.zip. For temporary testing, extract it and load manifest.json through about:debugging → This Firefox → Load Temporary Add-on. Regular installation uses the signed Firefox Add-ons listing.

Browser store submissions are separate from this GitHub Release; the stores keep 2.0.6 until Rayburst 4.1.0 is stable.

Full changelog: v2.0.6...v2.1.0

Original source

Rayburst Connect 2.0.6 fixes download handoffs after redirects, makes interception rules more consistent, and improves request context for media downloads.

🐛 Bug Fixes

• Preserve the original request URL through redirects and send it to Rayburst. Use captured cookies only for their matching URL, with cookie lookup scoped to the original request.
• Normalize pasted site URLs to host patterns and match host rules without case sensitivity.
• Recognize torrent and NZB MIME types when a filename is unavailable. On Firefox, defer early response takeover when file-type rules need metadata the browser has not resolved yet.
• Forward recent media request headers from the same page and frame, applying current forwarding settings and keeping the newest context for each origin.
• Configure Zod's interpreted validation before schemas initialize, avoiding dynamic code generation prohibited by Manifest V3's Content Security Policy.

📦 Install

The release workflow attaches these packages:

• Chrome / Edge: rayburst-connect-2.0.6-chromium-mv3.zip. Extract it, enable Developer mode on the browser's extensions page, then choose Load unpacked.
• Firefox: rayburst-connect-2.0.6-firefox-mv3.zip. For temporary testing, extract it and load manifest.json through about:debugging → This Firefox → Load Temporary Add-on. Regular installation uses the signed Firefox Add-ons listing.

Requires Rayburst 4 or later. Browser store submissions are separate from this GitHub Release.

Full changelog: v2.0.5...v2.0.6

Original source

Rayburst Connect 2.0.5 improves download handoff recovery, preserves browser request context, and fixes popup sizing.

✨ New

• Exclude or re-enable the current website directly from a compact popup control.

🐛 Bug Fixes

• Preserve unresolved handoffs across browser restarts and retry with the original request ID and connection settings.
• Hold the original browser download while handing it off; remove the cancel-and-recreate fallback that lost request context.
• Keep private, known non-GET and page-save downloads in the browser, including when a site rule requests interception.
• Preserve captured cookies and use the appropriate Firefox cookie store or Chromium frame partition when retrieving them.
• Correct garbled UTF-8 filenames in download headers without decoding browser-provided names a second time.
• Use one bounded popup scroll area and a sticky header to prevent clipped controls and unstable sizing.
• Check actual cookie permissions and avoid duplicate context-menu registration on Firefox startup.

🛠 Improvements

• Use one store-identity configuration for publishing and status checks, and report unavailable review status accurately.
• Avoid generated media-contract check failures caused only by Windows line endings.

📦 Install

Chrome / Edge: extract rayburst-connect-2.0.5-chromium-mv3.zip, enable Developer mode, then choose Load unpacked.

Firefox: extract rayburst-connect-2.0.5-firefox-mv3.zip and load its manifest.json through about:debugging for temporary testing. Permanent installation requires the signed AMO release.

Requires Rayburst 4 or later. GitHub packages and browser-store submissions are distributed separately.

Full changelog: v2.0.4...v2.0.5

Original source

Rayburst Connect 2.0.4 distinguishes engine startup or failure from desktop activation failure, so a running Rayburst instance is no longer repeatedly launched when its download engine is unavailable.

🛠 Improvements

• Show separate engine is starting and engine is unavailable messages in the popup and connection settings, translated into all 27 supported languages.
• Offer Open Rayburst and Try Again actions for engine failures, allowing users to inspect the desktop and recheck the connection.
• Preserve the desktop version obtained during the current connection check when a later API request fails.

🐛 Bug Fixes

• Stop automatic activation attempts when a reachable desktop explicitly reports that its engine is starting or unavailable.
• Keep engine errors visible instead of replacing them with the generic “Could not start Rayburst” message.

📦 Install

• Use Rayburst 4.0.0-beta.6 or later for the new engine-status responses. Browser-store publication is separate from this GitHub Release.
• Chrome / Edge: extract rayburst-connect-2.0.4-chromium-mv3.zip, enable Developer mode on the extensions page, and choose Load unpacked.
• Firefox: extract rayburst-connect-2.0.4-firefox-mv3.zip, open about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox, and load manifest.json as a temporary add-on. Permanent installation requires Mozilla signing.
• Packages are attached after the release build completes.

Full changelog: v2.0.3...v2.0.4

Original source

Rayburst Connect 2.0.3 tightens the desktop compatibility boundary. The extension now confirms that the connected desktop is Rayburst, authenticated, and ready for the current download contract before it reports a usable connection or transfers download ownership.

🛠 Improvements

• Validate the Rayburst product identity, API credentials, and download capabilities during connection checks.
• Show a direct upgrade message in both the popup and settings when the desktop is unsupported.
• Recognize legacy Motrix Next discovery responses only to explain the failure; the legacy API is not used.
• Stop native activation retries and download submission when the desktop contract is incompatible.
• Keep compatibility failures visible with the detected desktop version when available.

🐛 Bug Fixes

• Prevent incompatible desktops from receiving a download after the browser has begun handing it off.
• Avoid repeated launch attempts and ambiguous browser fallback behavior for unsupported desktop versions.

📦 Install

Requires Rayburst 4 or later on the same computer. Browser-store publication is separate from this GitHub Release.

• Chrome / Edge: Download rayburst-connect-2.0.3-chromium-mv3.zip, extract it, enable Developer mode, and choose Load unpacked.
• Firefox: Download rayburst-connect-2.0.3-firefox-mv3.zip, extract it, open about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox, and load manifest.json as a temporary add-on. Permanent installation requires Mozilla signing.

Packages are attached after the release build completes.

Full changelog: v2.0.2...v2.0.3

Original source

Fix Chromium download cancellation handling and align the extension icon with Rayburst.

🐛 Bug Fixes

• Prevent Download must be in progress errors caused by filename suggestions after a download has been cancelled. Release the filename callback when cancellation fails so the browser can continue. (#77)
• Handle cancellation failures immediately during background-worker startup, even while settings are still loading, to avoid unhandled promise rejections.

🛠 Improvements

• Use the same logo as the desktop app and refresh installation links and branding.

📦 Install

Requires Rayburst 4.0.0-beta.2 or later. Rayburst 4.0.0-beta.3 includes additional desktop activation and download destination fixes.

• Chrome / Edge: Extract rayburst-connect-2.0.2-chromium-mv3.zip, enable Developer mode and choose Load unpacked.
• Firefox: Extract rayburst-connect-2.0.2-firefox-mv3.zip, open about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox and load manifest.json as a temporary add-on. Permanent installation requires Mozilla signing.

Packages are attached after the release build completes. Browser-store publication is separate.

Full changelog: v2.0.1...v2.0.2

Original source

Prepare Rayburst Connect for Chrome, Edge and Firefox distribution

🛠 Improvements

• Preserve Chrome and Edge store identities and use a new Firefox listing.
• Refresh descriptions in all 27 interface languages and document local data handling.
• Use Firefox's built-in data consent and standard archive parsing.
• Validate release versions and store targets before submission.
• Omit the local Chromium key from store ZIPs for Edge Add-ons validation.

📦 Install

• Requires Rayburst 4.0.0-beta.2 or later.
• Chromium and Firefox ZIPs are attached; Firefox store installation requires Mozilla signing.

Original source

Note

The first release under the Rayburst Connect name. Version 2.0.0 adds a media Sniffer, browser capture and native media handoff to Rayburst. Use it with Rayburst 4.0.0-beta.1 and its bundled Aria2 Next 2.8.0 engine; the desktop companion is currently in beta.

Caution

Reinstall and reconnect when moving from the previous extension. The Chromium development identity and Firefox add-on ID have changed. An installation with a different ID cannot update in place. Disable or remove the previous extension before enabling Rayburst Connect, then configure its desktop connection again. Older settings backups are not supported by the new backup schema.

New

Media Sniffer

Discover media from network requests, page elements and resource timing. Open Sniffer in the popup, browser sidebar or a full-page workspace.

Browse the current page or all tabs, filter by type, name or URL, and sort by time, name or size. Copy URLs, preview resources, download in batches, combine tracks or submit ordered compatible fragments.

Inspect HLS/DASH sources in Rayburst and choose tracks, output container, a finite time range or a live recording limit before starting. Finite sources without track choices support quick download; live recording still requires confirmation.

Open Sniffer automatically when the current page already has resources. Later discoveries update the count without moving you away from the selected tab.

Capture and recording

Add opt-in deep search for Fetch/XHR, embedded manifests and candidate AES keys. Firefox can inspect bounded response copies while forwarding the original bytes unchanged.

Capture MediaSource buffers, record playback or a selected screen through native browser APIs, and capture tracks from newly created WebRTC connections. Hooks that must attach before player creation require a page reload.

Import manifest text or files, ordered fragment URLs and AES-128 key/IV inputs. Rayburst stores captured bytes; the engine handles supported decryption, inspection and remuxing.

Preview through native playback, Shaka Player or mpegts.js as appropriate. A site may reject preview requests even when native download works with captured request headers.

Improvements

Centralize Sniffer settings: discovery scope, site rules, extension/MIME filters, size conditions and ordered regular expressions. Media-only reset preserves the desktop connection and other settings.

Keep capture modes explicit per tab. Always-on deep search is off by default; TS and standalone subtitle capture are also off by default. Hiding a segment from the list does not remove credentials needed to download its playlist.

Preserve operation identity across lost desktop replies and popup closure. Keep request headers scoped to the observed origin and document instead of sharing them across sources.

Introduce the Rayburst Connect logo, purple theme and localized interface in 27 languages. Use native browser storage and Web Locks for concurrent settings updates.

Scope and privacy

DRM, transcoding and subtitle translation are not supported. Recording depends on browser permissions and available codecs. Buffer capture needs initialization data; hooks cannot recover media created before they were enabled. Candidate discovery state is cleared by browser restart or extension reload and is excluded from settings backups. Copied URLs and QR codes can contain private query parameters.

See the media guide for capture behavior and limits.

Install

GitHub packaging and browser-store publication are separate. This Release does not submit an update to Chrome Web Store, Edge Add-ons or Firefox AMO.

Browser Release package Installation Chrome / Edge rayburst-connect-2.0.0-chromium-mv3.zip Extract, enable Developer mode, then use Load unpacked. Firefox rayburst-connect-2.0.0-firefox-mv3.zip Extract, open about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox, then use Load Temporary Add-on and select manifest.json.

The unsigned Firefox package supports temporary installation and is removed when Firefox restarts. Permanent installation requires a signed distribution. Minimum browser versions are Chromium 132 and desktop Firefox 140. Packages are attached after the release workflow completes.

Full changelog: v1.3.7...v2.0.0

Original source