transfer states

Transfer states

Every row in the queue is in exactly one state. This is the complete list, what puts a row there, and what takes it out.

The states

State	Meaning	Leaves when
Queued	Waiting for a slot	A runner picks it up, or you pause it
Resolving	A resolver is turning the link into a downloadable address	Resolution succeeds, fails, or parks on a captcha
Downloading	Bytes are moving	It finishes, fails, is paused, or is cancelled
Paused	You stopped it	You start it again
Mirror	Another link in this package is downloading the same file; this one is its fallback	The active link finishes (this one is done too) or gives up for good (this one takes over)
Retrying	It failed, or met a hoster's limit — an account's used-up traffic included — and is waiting before the next attempt; the row shows Next attempt at	The wait elapses, a check finds the account's traffic back, or the retry budget (48 waits in a row for a limit) runs out
Verifying	A checksum or SFV index is being checked, or a Usenet file with missing segments waits for its set's PAR2 verdict	Verification passes or fails; a file waiting for its PAR2 verdict can also be cancelled or removed
Repairing	PAR2 repair is running	Repair succeeds or the recovery set is unusable
Extracting	An archive is being unpacked	Extraction finishes or fails
Blocked	Something outside this transfer is stopping it	The reason goes away — see below
Failed	It gave up	You reset or retry it, or — with Retry failed downloads automatically on and a failure that may pass — the next round puts it back into the queue at the time the row shows
Cancelled	You cancelled it	You reset it
Completed	Done	Nothing; it can be removed or reset
Seeding	A finished torrent is sharing data	The seeding policy's ratio or time is reached, or you stop it

A Usenet recovery volume held back until a repair needs it reads Postponed, not Mirror; only as many volumes as the repair asks for are released when PAR2 reports missing blocks.

Mirror is neither a failure nor an end state. If the link that was downloading dies, one of the mirrors takes over instead of the package failing. You can also start a mirror by hand, which makes it the active one and puts the others behind it.

The states of a job running at a provider

A remote job is not a queue row and has a vocabulary of its own; that page explains how one is started, chosen from and ended, and this table is the state list it refers to:

State	Meaning
Being handed over	The job is on its way to the provider
The provider is preparing it	Accepted, not yet fetching
Waiting for your selection	It stopped and wants to know which entries you want; nothing moves until you answer
Fetching at the provider	Running there, whether or not this machine is on
Finished	Done; the addresses go to the LinkGrabber
Failed	The provider gave up
Deleted at the provider	Ended in your account. The entry stays here and records that it was

Why a row is Blocked

Blocked always carries a reason. The common ones:

Reason	Fix
The transfer service is switched off	Settings → Services — switching it back on returns the entry to the queue
storage.capacity_blocked — the storage root is below its free-space threshold	Free space, then release the root — or, with automatic resume on, wait until a waiting download fits again (Free space). Every kind of download blocked this way comes back with the release. The block is persisted and survives a restart
An IP block at the hoster	It clears when the hoster says so, or after 15 minutes when it names none
A tool version blocks the capability — media.tool_incompatible	Update the tool, or use a managed version
A media site refuses yt-dlp without its cookies — media.ytdlp_cookies_required	Hand over the site's cookies, then resume — see When a site wants its cookies
A signed address could not be renewed	The partial file is kept; nothing can renew the address
A POST the server will not resume	Restart it from the beginning as an explicit action
The plugin version the download was pinned to was withdrawn — plugin.pinned_version_withdrawn	Resume it; it continues with the plugin's current version

One failure worth recognising

A download from a provider that encrypts on the client, such as MEGA, can fail on its integrity value. That is not a network problem but a wrong key, which would otherwise produce a file of exactly the right length. The partial file is kept, and nothing is put in place.

Priorities

Priority
High
Normal	The default
Low

Ordering is manual within a priority tier. A move that would take a package out of its tier is refused — set the priority first.

What the estimate covers

A row's estimated time remaining is derived from the current rate. It is left blank, never invented, when:

• the total size is unknown,
• the transfer is paused,
• the rate is zero.

States that are outstanding but not being fetched stay out of the queue-wide estimate entirely: Queued, Retrying, Verifying, Repairing, Extracting, Blocked and Seeding. The "remaining bytes" figure beside the estimate does count them, and says so.

What survives a restart

Everything in this table, plus the manual ordering, the retry budget, seed time, and a persisted capacity block.

Two things do not:

• a waiting captcha — the download returns to the queue and raises a fresh challenge;
• an active IP block — the first free link of that hoster is tried once more.

Related pages

• The download queue
• Troubleshooting
• Glossary