Cannot download files with the flatpak version of Zen

[abstractionmage]

Captchas

• I have read the instructions.
• I have searched existing issues and avoided creating duplicates.
• I am not filing an enhancement request.

What happened?

Simply put, I cannot download any files with the flatpak version of the Zen browser. Here's what I did:

1. In Zen's settings, I set the default Downloads directory to my user's Downloads folder (~/Downloads) and tickked the "Always ask where to save files" checkbox.
2. I tried to download different files from different websites in the Zen browser.
3. When Zen asked me "What should Zen do with this file?", I selected "Save File" and clicked on the "Ok" button.
4. I did not change the default download location as ~/Downloads was already selected by default,
5. I clicked on the "Save" button

What should have happened:

• The files should have been saved to my Downloads folder, specifically ~/Downloads
• I should be able to click on the files in Zen's download manager and open them in one of my installed applications or click on the folder icon next to them to show them in my default file manager.

What actually happened:

• Zen shows the files as being downloaded, but they are not in my Downloads folder (~/Downloads).
• In fact, the files are not located anywhere on my computer as indicated by the console command cd / && sudo find -depth -name <name_of_downloaded_file> 2>/dev/null not printing any output at all.
• If I open Zen's download manager and click on the supposedly downloaded files or the folder icons next to them, nothing happens.

I would attach a video showing the bug in action to this issue, but it appears that file uploads don't work either with the flatpak version of Zen.

Edit: Here's the video, uploaded using a different web browser:

Video_2025-03-06_21-38-27.mp4

Reproducible?

• I have checked that this issue cannot be reproduced on the flatpak version of Mozilla Firefox.

Version

1.8.2b (Firefox 135.0.1) (64-bit)

What platform are you seeing the problem on?

Linux (Flatpak)

Host OS

Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

[ed-karate]

It seems that the problem is with the application's access to the file system. Try using Flatseal to grant additional permissions in the Filesystem section.

[matezoltanfarkas]

Yes, granting access to the FS seems to be part of the solution.
It also helped me to select ~/Downloads manually as a download folder path in the settings.

[abstractionmage]

That worked for me, too, but note that you need to restart Zen after granting it filesystem access with Flatseal.

I'll leave this ticket open, though, because I don't think we can expect all Zen users to figure this out on their own.

[zen-browser-auto]

Closing this issue as part of a repo cleanup

Due to technical-debt we had in the past, we are currently clearing out old, duplicate, stale, and non-actionable issues to improve issue tracking and make it easier to focus on fixing real bugs.

If this issue is still relevant, please open a new issue using our updated issue template, which will help us categorize and address it more efficiently.

Thanks for your understanding and for helping us improve the project! 🚀

This issue can be reopened at: https://github.com/zen-browser/desktop/issues/new?template=bug_report.yml&title=Cannot%20download%20files%20with%20the%20flatpak%20version%20of%20Zen%0A

[darkin1]

I fixed it by run sudo flatpak override app.zen_browser.zen --filesystem="~/Downloads"