A sleek desktop media downloader. Paste a link, pick a format, and Siphon saves it locally as MP4, MP3, or WAV.
Built with Tauri v2, Rust, and vanilla JavaScript.
Free & open source · local-first · no accounts · no telemetry
Disclaimer: Siphon is for lawful, personal use only — media you own, created, or have permission to download, and for testing against private platforms you control yourself. The author does not condone or promote unlawful use. See DISCLAIMER.md.
Siphon is a native rewrite of a small Node/Express downloader, rebuilt as a lightweight, local-first desktop app with a glassmorphic UI.
- Paste any media URL and export MP4, MP3, or WAV
- Preview metadata (title, thumbnail, duration, source) before downloading
- Direct media links (
.mp4,.mp3,.wav, …) are streamed and converted as needed - Page URLs are handled by
yt-dlp, with the final file written to your Siphon folder - URL guards reject unsupported search/channel pages — paste a direct media link
It also includes:
- A live download queue & history card grid (open, reveal, copy link, retry, remove)
- Event-driven progress (percent / speed / size / ETA) instead of polling
- Advanced Search — a stream finder that opens a page in a hidden helper window and
sniffs its network traffic for HLS/DASH manifests (
.m3u8/.mpd) that ordinary page downloads miss, then lets you download them through the normal pipeline - System tray with minimise-to-tray (closing hides to tray so downloads keep running)
- Start on login (optional) — launch Siphon hidden in the tray when you sign in
- A global quick-paste window (
Alt+S) to grab a link without opening the main window - A companion browser extension (see
siphon-extension) that finds streams in your browser and hands them to Siphon via thesiphon://deep link
On first launch Siphon bootstraps its engine automatically, downloading yt-dlp and a
static ffmpeg/ffprobe build from their official sources into its app-data folder. A
one-time "Preparing engine…" state is shown while this happens; if ffmpeg is already on
your PATH, it is used directly. Every download is checksum-verified against the
publisher's SHA-256 before it is written to disk.
yt-dlp ships breaking fixes roughly monthly, because the sites it targets keep changing.
Siphon checks for a new release at most once a day and swaps the binary in place, so
downloads don't quietly start failing with HTTP Error 403: Forbidden after a few weeks.
The check runs in the background — a working install is usable immediately, and if you're
offline the existing engine just keeps working. Settings → Engine shows the installed
versions, and Re-check / download engine forces an update straight away.
If a site needs you to be signed in (or blocks anonymous downloads with a bot check), pick your browser under Settings → Browser cookies. On Windows, Firefox is the most reliable — Chrome's app-bound encryption often prevents any app from reading its cookies.
| Framework | Tauri v2 |
| Backend | Rust (yt-dlp + ffmpeg via std::process, downloads via reqwest) |
| Frontend | HTML / CSS / JS (no framework) |
| Fonts | Geist + Geist Mono |
| Storage | Local JSON (settings + history) in the app-data folder |
The UI is intentionally locked to a dark theme with the Siphon green accent. Settings expose surface opacity, glass blur, download location, the quick-paste shortcut, the start-on-login toggle, and engine status.
siphon/
├── renderer/ # Frontend (HTML, CSS, JS)
│ ├── index.html # main window
│ ├── styles.css # design system
│ ├── app.js # UI logic + Tauri bridge
│ ├── quicksave.html # quick-paste popup
│ └── quicksave.js
├── src-tauri/ # Rust backend
│ ├── src/lib.rs # app setup, settings, tray, shortcut, window, commands
│ ├── src/engine.rs # yt-dlp + ffmpeg bootstrap and status
│ ├── src/downloader.rs # jobs, probe, download + convert, progress events
│ ├── src/sniffer.rs # Advanced Search stream finder
│ ├── src/main.rs # entry point
│ ├── tauri.conf.json
│ ├── capabilities/
│ └── Cargo.toml
└── package.json
Grab the latest installer for your OS from the Releases page:
| OS | Installer |
|---|---|
| Windows | .exe (NSIS) or .msi |
| macOS | .dmg (Apple Silicon & Intel) |
| Linux | .AppImage, .deb, or .rpm |
Builds are currently unsigned, so on first launch your OS may warn you: on Windows click More info → Run anyway; on macOS right-click the app → Open.
You need Rust and the Tauri CLI (cargo install tauri-cli).
On Windows, install the Visual Studio Build Tools with the "Desktop development with C++" workload.
git clone https://github.com/Ramonvdo/siphon.git
cd siphon
npm run dev # cargo tauri dev
npm run build # cargo tauri build → installer in src-tauri/target/release/bundle/Pushing a version tag builds installers for Windows, macOS (Intel + Apple Silicon), and Linux via GitHub Actions (.github/workflows/release.yml) and attaches them to a draft GitHub Release:
git tag v1.0.0
git push origin v1.0.0Review the draft release, then publish it. (Windows/macOS artifacts are unsigned unless you add signing secrets.)
Finished files are written to Downloads/Siphon (falling back to the app-data folder),
or to a custom folder you pick in settings. Use the Open folder button in the sidebar,
or Reveal in folder on any completed card.
- Some sources (notably large platforms) may require browser cookies or block automated access; a valid URL can still fail if the source refuses the request.
- Paste a direct video link rather than a search or channel page.
Downloading or redistributing copyrighted material without permission may be illegal and may violate a platform's terms of service. You are solely responsible for how you use Siphon. Any platform logos or sample content shown in screenshots or marketing material are for demonstration only and do not imply endorsement or affiliation. See DISCLAIMER.md for the full statement and SECURITY.md to report vulnerabilities.
MIT © 2026 Siphon