Set up your browser
Ladle catches downloads from your browser, so you never have to copy a link by hand. Switching it on takes a minute, once per browser.
- 4 min read
- Updated October 2026
Turn on the extension
Section titled “Turn on the extension”-
Open Ladle once. Its Safari extension comes with the app, so there’s nothing else to install.
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In Safari, choose Safari › Settings, then click Extensions.
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Select the checkbox next to Ladle. When Safari asks which websites Ladle can use, choose Always Allow on Every Website so it can catch downloads on any site.
Safari asks for permission once, and you can change it later in the same place. Ladle › Settings › Browsers shows whether the Safari extension is on, with a Manage button next to it.
The Ladle extension for Chrome, Arc, Edge and Brave is on its way to the Chrome Web Store. As soon as it’s listed, the link to add it will be right here, and Get extension in Ladle’s settings will bring you to it.
Until then, Ladle still works with these browsers. Instead of clicking the download:
- Copy the link. Right-click the download link and copy its address. When you switch to Ladle or open its menu bar menu, it offers to download it.
- Drag the link onto Ladle’s window or its Dock icon.
- Paste the link into the bar at the top of Ladle’s window. Press ⌘K to jump there.
The Ladle add-on for Firefox is on its way to Firefox Add-ons. As soon as it’s listed, the link to add it will be right here, and Get extension in Ladle’s settings will bring you to it.
Until then, Ladle still works with Firefox. Instead of clicking the download:
- Copy the link. Right-click the download link and copy its address. When you switch to Ladle or open its menu bar menu, it offers to download it.
- Drag the link onto Ladle’s window or its Dock icon.
- Paste the link into the bar at the top of Ladle’s window. Press ⌘K to jump there.
Check that it works
Section titled “Check that it works”Click a download link for a file type Ladle catches, like a .dmg or .zip. Ladle shows its catch panel with the file’s name, size and where it will be saved.
- Download starts it right away.
- Later adds it to your list in Ladle without starting it.
- Let the browser handle it hands the file back to your browser, just this once.
- Always download .dmg files without asking (it names the file’s type) skips the panel for that type from now on.
Rather never see the panel? Turn off Ask before downloading in Ladle › Settings › Browsers, and Ladle starts every download it catches straight away.
If downloads still open in the browser
Section titled “If downloads still open in the browser”- Check that the extension is turned on, then quit and reopen the browser.
- Ladle only catches the file types listed under Catch these file types in Ladle › Settings › Browsers. Out of the box that’s dmg, pkg, zip, iso, mp4, mov, mkv, mp3, flac and pdf. Click Edit… to add the type you need.
- Some sites start downloads from a script instead of a link. Copy the link, and Ladle offers to grab it.
Still stuck? Read The browser isn’t handing off downloads.
Using another browser
Section titled “Using another browser”Ladle doesn’t need an extension to download a link. In any browser, copy a download link and Ladle offers to grab it the next time you switch to it or open its menu bar menu. You can always paste the link into Ladle’s window too. You’ll see this listed as Everything else in Ladle › Settings › Browsers.