AnInsomniacy / motrix-next

Motrix Next A full-featured download manager — rebuilt from the ground up. --- Light Mode Dark Mode Why Motrix Next? Motrix by agalwood was one of the best open-source download managers available — clean UI, aria2-powered, cross-platform. It inspired thousands of users and developers alike. However, the original project has been largely inactive since 2023. The Electron + Vue 2 + Vuex + Element UI stack accumulated technical debt, making it increasingly difficult to maintain, extend, or package for modern platforms. What we rebuilt Motrix Next is a ground-up rewrite — same download manager spirit, entirely new codebase. | Layer | Motrix (Legacy) | Motrix Next | |-------|----------------|-------------| | **Runtime** | Electron | **Tauri 2** (Rust) | | **Frontend** | Vue 2 + Vuex | **Vue 3 Composition API + Pinia** | | **UI Framework** | Element UI | **Naive UI** | | **Language** | JavaScript | **TypeScript + Rust** | | **Styling** | SCSS + Element theme | **Vanilla CSS + custom properties** | | **Engine Mgmt** | Node.js | **Tauri sidecar** | | **Build System** | electron-builder | **Vite + Cargo** | | **Bundle Size** | ~80 MB | **~20 MB** | | **Auto-Update** | electron-updater | **Tauri updater plugin** | > [!NOTE] > **6-platform aria2 engine** — the official aria2 release only ships Windows 32/64-bit and Android ARM64 pre-built binaries. We compile aria2 from source as fully static binaries for all 6 targets: macOS (Apple Silicon / Intel), Windows (x64 / ARM64), and Linux (x64 / ARM64). Design & Motion The overall UI layout stays true to Motrix's original design — the sidebar navigation, task list, and preference panels all follow the familiar structure that made Motrix intuitive from day one. What changed is everything underneath. Every transition and micro-interaction has been carefully tuned to follow Material Design 3 motion guidelines: • **Asymmetric timing** — enter animations are slightly longer than exits, giving new content time to land while dismissed content leaves quickly • **Emphasized easing curves** — decelerate on enter ( ), accelerate on exit ( ), replacing generic curves throughout the codebase • **Spring-based modals** — dialogs use physically-modeled spring animations for a natural, responsive feel • **Consistent motion tokens** — all durations and curves are defined as CSS custom properties, ensuring a unified rhythm across 12+ components Features • **Multi-protocol downloads** — HTTP, FTP, BitTorrent, Magnet links • **BitTorrent** — Selective file download, DHT, peer exchange, encryption • **Tracker management** — Auto-sync from community tracker lists • **Concurrent downloads** — Up to 10 tasks with configurable thread count • **Speed control** — Global and per-task upload/download limits • **System tray** — Real-time speed display in the menu bar (macOS) • **Dark mode** — Native dark theme with system preference detection • **i18n** — Auto-detects system language on first launch • **Task management** — Pause, resume, delete with file cleanup, batch operations • **Download protocols** — Register as default handler for magnet and thunder links • **Notifications** — System notifications on task completion • **Lightweight** — Tauri-powered, minimal resource footprint Installation Download the latest release from GitHub Releases. macOS Users This app is not code-signed — Apple charges $99/year and I'm a PhD student surviving on instant noodles 🍜 > If macOS says the app is **"damaged and can't be opened"**, open Terminal and run: > > > > This removes the quarantine flag that macOS Gatekeeper applies to unsigned apps. Why No Portable Version? Motrix Next relies on aria2 as a sidecar process — a separate executable that Tauri launches at runtime. The aria2 binaries are compiled from source as fully static builds covering all 6 supported platforms. This architecture means: • The **aria2 binary must exist alongside the main executable** — it cannot be embedded into a single . • **Deep links** ( , ) and **file associations** ( ) require Windows registry entries that only an installer can configure. • The **auto-updater** needs a known installation path to replace files in place. These are fundamental constraints of the Tauri sidecar model and the Windows operating system, not limitations we can work around. Notable Tauri projects like Clash Verge Rev (80k+ stars) previously shipped portable builds but discontinued them due to the same set of issues. We provide **NSIS installers** for Windows — lightweight (~20 MB), fast to install, and fully featured. Development Prerequisites • Rust (latest stable) • Node.js >= 18 • pnpm Setup Project Structure Acknowledgements • Motrix by agalwood and all its contributors • Aria2 — the powerful download engine at the core • Community translators who contributed 25+ locale files for worldwide accessibility Sponsor My supervisor doesn't know about this side project — see what I'm supposed to be doing. Buy me a coffee ☕ and maybe I'll finally afford that Apple certificate! Contributing PRs and issues are welcome! Please read the Contributing Guide and Code of Conduct before getting started. Star History License MIT — Copyright (c) 2025-present AnInsomniacy