Harbor

A beautiful, fully native macOS download manager built for real Mac workflows.

Free, local-first, privacy-friendly, and designed to feel like a proper Mac app from day one. No accounts. No sign-in. No hosted backend. No subscription mechanics.

Harbor exists to give macOS users a serious download manager without the usual tradeoffs. It combines a polished native SwiftUI interface with pragmatic download-engine separation, so the app feels clean and Mac-native while handling direct downloads, public media links, magnet links, and .torrent files.

If you want a downloader that respects the platform, respects your machine, and stays out of your way, Harbor is that app.

• Fully native macOS app built with SwiftUI
• Free and open source under GPL-3.0
• Local-first and privacy-friendly by design
• Direct HTTP and HTTPS downloads
• Public media downloads with previews and video or audio format selection
• Magnet link and local .torrent file support
• Torrent preview: inspect the file list and choose what to download before you start
• Batch add: paste many links, choose one folder, and queue them together
• Traffic profiles for Unlimited, Balanced, Quiet, and Custom download behavior
• Global and per-download speed controls
• Quick Look previews for completed downloads
• Torrent watch folders, seeding controls, and share-ratio limits
• Queue persistence across launches
• Pause, resume, retry, cancel, and history flows
• Finder reveal and open-file actions
• Sidebar navigation, unified toolbar, and detail inspector
• Sparkle-based in-app updates for installed builds

Install with Homebrew:

brew tap thsnkhn/harbor
brew install --cask harbor

Or download the latest DMG:

• Download the latest DMG
• Drag Harbor.app into Applications

Once installed, Harbor can check for new versions from the app menu and update through its built-in Sparkle updater.

Browser extensions, command-line tools, and automations can open Harbor with an HTTP or HTTPS download URL:

harbor://download?url=https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2Ffile.zip

Percent-encode the download URL as the url query value. On macOS, you can test the handoff with open:

open 'harbor://download?url=https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2Ffile.zip'

Harbor opens its Add Download sheet with the link filled in. The user can confirm the destination and start the download.

Harbor is opinionated about being a real macOS app:

• native look and feel over web-style chrome
• clear separation between UI, app state, persistence, and download engines
• pragmatic backend delegation where it makes sense
• no unnecessary cloud dependency for a local utility

Feature requests and pull requests are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md for how to propose features, pick up open issues, and contribute implementation work.

Harbor is licensed under GPL-3.0.