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Overview of how downloads work

There are two ways of downloading files in Mozilla. One way is to encounter a file with an unknown content type, the other is to choose "Save link target as" from the context menu of a link. Things like File|Save Page as, Save Image As, etc. are all part of the second codepath.

This document describes both codepaths (See below for the second one). Click on the images to display them "stand-alone" in the browser, which may resize them to fit the browser window.

Downloads via the helper app service

Downloads via the helper app service

This diagram is an UML sequence diagram, and was created using dia. Get the .dia file here: mozilla_downloads.dia

Downloads via

This diagram is an UML sequence diagram, and was created using dia. Get the .dia file here: mozilla_downloads_path2.dia

Original Document Information

  • Author: Christian Biesinger

Document Tags and Contributors

 Contributors to this page: kohei.yoshino, Spanglerco
 Last updated by: kohei.yoshino,