The browser isn’t handing off downloads
If clicking a download still saves it with the browser instead of Ladle, work through these checks. Most of the time it’s one switch.
- 3 min read
- Updated October 2026
Check the extension
Section titled “Check the extension”Ladle’s Safari extension can’t run for now, because Safari only loads extensions from apps signed by a registered Apple developer. Set up your browser explains why. Until that changes, copy the download link instead: when you switch to Ladle or open its menu bar menu, it offers to download the link. You can also drag the link onto Ladle’s window or Dock icon.
Until Ladle is in the Chrome Web Store, these browsers run its early-access copy in developer mode. If you haven’t added it yet, see Set up your browser.
- Open your browser’s extensions page, for example
chrome://extensions, and make sure Developer mode is on and Ladle is turned on. - If Ladle’s card shows an error, or you moved or deleted the Ladle-Chrome-Extension folder, remove Ladle there and add it again from a fresh download.
- Downloads in Incognito and other private windows stay with the browser on purpose, so they never appear in Ladle’s list. To use Ladle for one, copy its link instead.
- Keep Ladle in your Applications folder and open it once, so the extension can reach it.
- Quit the browser and open it again.
The Ladle add-on for Firefox isn’t on Firefox Add-ons yet, so Firefox can’t hand downloads to Ladle for now. Until it is, copy the download link instead: when you switch to Ladle or open its menu bar menu, it offers to download the link. You can also drag the link onto Ladle’s window or Dock icon.
Check Ladle’s settings
Section titled “Check Ladle’s settings”Open Ladle › Settings › Browsers:
- Catch these file types lists the types Ladle takes over. Out of the box: dmg, pkg, zip, iso, mp4, mov, mkv, mp3, flac and pdf. If yours isn’t there, click Edit… and add it.
- Ask before downloading shows the catch panel for each download. If it’s on and you clicked Let the browser handle it, that download went to the browser on purpose; the next one will come to Ladle again.
Check how you clicked
Section titled “Check how you clicked”- Holding ⌥ Option while you click a link tells Ladle to let the browser download it, just that once. Make sure you’re not holding it by accident.
- Some downloads aren’t links. Sites sometimes start a download from a script or a form, so there’s no link for the extension to catch. Right-click the button or link and copy its address, or choose Download with Ladle if it’s there. If there’s nothing to copy, let the browser download it this time.
Still not working?
Section titled “Still not working?”Ask on GitHub Issues. Tell us your browser and its version, your Ladle version (from Ladle › About Ladle) and the site you were downloading from, if it’s public.