Frequently Asked Questions

No. MAX works directly in Chrome by default. The desktop app is there for native FFmpeg processing, custom folders, higher same-site concurrency and long downloads.

The desktop app (CoApp) is an open-source project, published on GitHub. It is not restricted by browser permissions and is installed on your device directly, which allows to support 20 simultaneous downloads, ask for downloads folder in "Save as..." flow before the download starts, and it's generally faster and more crash resistant than downloading via browser. It will not work on some machines and it's quite a pain for me to support it, so if you are happy with browser-only experience, don't install it.

Make sure you have downloaded correct installer for your OS from installation page, and followed instruction exactly. If the issue persists, text me your browser version and OS via email or Telegram group.

Chrome: Chrome, Edge, Opera, Brave, Arc, Vivaldi, Yandex Browser, Comet, Atlas, Chromium, etc.

Firefox support: Coming soon!

The desktop app works on Windows, macOS, and Linux (x64 and ARM builds available).

If the extension icon stays gray:

• Make sure video is playing on the page. Although it is not necessary, if it is not playing - most likely your browser did not load the video yet, so there is nothing to download.
• Clear cache and refresh the page. Video might be invalidated due to network issues, just try again.
• Check if it is a supported site - DRM-protected platforms and YouTube are not supported
• Wait a few seconds - the video might not be loaded by your browser yet, especially on slow connections

This usually points to a desktop app connection issue:

• Check desktop app status in the extension popup
• Restart the desktop app and try again
• Check your antivirus/firewall - they might be blocking the connection
• Try a different browser to isolate the issue

We support virtually all streaming formats:

• HLS streams (.m3u8) - used by most streaming sites
• DASH streams (.mpd) - modern adaptive streaming
• Direct video files - MP4, WebM, AVI, MKV, etc.
• Live streams - record from Twitch, Twitter Spaces, etc.

Not supported: Microsoft Smooth Streaming (MSS) - used by less than 0.1% of websites.

MAX provides maximum flexibility:

• Original quality - no re-encoding, pixel-perfect copies from chosen streams
• Multiple qualities - from 120p to 8K+ when available
• Size estimates - see approximate file sizes before downloading
• Smart container selection - automatic .mkv for custom stream combinations
• Audio extraction - get just the audio track if you prefer with best available quality

There are 2 main reasons:

1. Slow internet connection.
   Your VPN/Proxy might be limiting speed, or this specific website is physically too far from you, so it takes more time for signals to get to and from it. There are other reasons related to connection speed, try to use a different network.
2. Complex streaming manifest.
   It is a frequent case for MPEG DASH streaming, but HLS can also have complex manifests, which requires MAX to process a lot of information and fetch each segment in order before the download can even start. The more streams you select for muxing - the more segments MAX has to fetch and process - the more time it takes. All of it is multiplied by your connection speed.

MAX uses maximum available resources, so if the download started, but speed is slow, there is no way to make it faster. Relax and do something else - MAX will finish regardless of the tab being active.

Each video has icons next to the title, according to detected video streams. Some videos just do not have audio to begin with - make sure the speaker icon is present before you start download.

Another reason is incompatible codecs in the source media - HLS/DASH can contain incompatible codecs, which are played in parallel by web browsers, but when you want to create a single playable file, they have to be muxed together, and sometimes it is not possible without transcoding. MAX has an intelligent system to output downloads to .mkv container for such cases, but it cannot guarantee the original manifest had correct information about codecs.

If audio cannot be muxed with video, try extracting it as a standalone file and use it as an external audio track for your soundless video.

Before deep diving, try these quick fixes that solve most issues:

1. Update the desktop app and extension to the latest versions
2. Check desktop app connection status - open the Settings tab in MAX and verify it is working
3. Validate default save folder - the chosen path has to exist and preferably be under 260 symbols
4. Make sure your drive has enough free space - or change download destination
5. Try Force Detection if the video is not detected
6. Restart your browser and device to eliminate runtime issues

If you have enabled history, you can see error logs with potentially useful info.

Here are a few common cases:

• HTTP 403 - server denied access, usually it means you have waited too long after detection and content expired, just click Force Refresh and try again. If the problem persists - click Report so I can investigate the case.
• Non-supported media (DRM, encryption without a key, complex SIDX nesting for DASH, etc.) - it cannot be bypassed
• Not enough space on your drive - try another folder or drive
• Error opening output files: No such file or directory - make sure not to move or rename the chosen save directory before download completes
• Intentionally broken manifest - sometimes websites stream with broken manifests, which FFmpeg cannot figure out

For persistent problems:

• Check our installation guide for detailed setup instructions
• Try the extension on a different website to isolate the issue
• Disable other extensions temporarily - conflicts can cause problems
• Check antivirus/firewall settings - they might be blocking the desktop app

If you think the issue is on MAX's side, feel free to report it. I investigate each submitted case thoroughly.