A download won’t resume
Ladle resumes downloads after a pause, a quit, sleep or a network change, as long as the server allows it and the file hasn’t changed. Here’s what to do when it can’t.
- 2 min read
- Updated October 2026
How resuming works
Section titled “How resuming works”Ladle saves each connection’s place at least every 2 seconds, and again whenever you pause, quit Ladle or your Mac goes to sleep. When the download carries on, each connection picks up from its saved place.
That works when two things are true:
- The server lets Ladle ask for part of a file. Most big download sites do.
- The file on the server hasn’t changed. Ladle checks the file’s tag from the server, or its date and size when there’s no tag, before it carries on.
If either isn’t true, Ladle can’t safely join the new data to what you already have, so it asks you before starting the download over.
Why a download starts over
Section titled “Why a download starts over”The server doesn’t support resuming
Section titled “The server doesn’t support resuming”Some servers only send whole files. Ladle downloads those over a single connection, and if the download stops, the only way to finish it is to start over. Nothing in Ladle can change that, but it only affects those servers.
The file changed on the server
Section titled “The file changed on the server”If the site published a new version under the same link, the old part and the new file don’t fit together. Starting over gets you the new version in one piece.
The link expired
Section titled “The link expired”Temporary links, like ones from file-sharing services or links signed for your account, stop working after a while. Go back to the page you got it from, start the download again, and Ladle fetches it with the new link.
If a download stays paused
Section titled “If a download stays paused”- Resume it. Select it and press Space, or press ⌥⌘P to resume everything.
- Is it in the Tonight queue? Tonight downloads only run between 1:00 AM and 7:00 AM. Select one and click Start now to run it immediately. See The Tonight queue.
- Is your Mac on battery, or on a Low Data network? That only holds downloads in the Tonight queue. With Pause when running on battery or Pause on Low Data networks on (both are, out of the box), the queue carries on by itself once you plug in or join a regular network. Both settings are in Ladle › Settings › Schedule. Downloads you start yourself always run.
Keep the part file where it is
Section titled “Keep the part file where it is”While a download is in progress, its folder holds a .ladle-part file with everything downloaded so far. Moving, renaming or deleting it loses that progress, so leave it until Ladle renames it when the download is complete.