Download files and videos at maximum speed from HTTP/HTTPS and SSH/SFTP servers using parallel connections. A download accelerator with resume, retries and configurable connection counts — right inside VS Code.
Installation
Launch VS Code Quick Open (Ctrl+P), paste the following command, and press enter.
A download accelerator for VS Code. Fix slow download speeds by splitting files
into chunks and downloading them over parallel connections — right inside your editor.
⚡ Why Fast Download?
A normal download uses one connection, so slow servers and network limits throttle
your speed. Fast Download splits the file into pieces and downloads them simultaneously
over multiple connections, then reassembles the file. The result: much faster downloads
for large files and videos.
🚀 Parallel downloads — split files into chunks and download them at the same time
📈 Adaptive — the number of connections grows automatically for big files (up to a cap)
🌐 HTTP/HTTPS — paste any direct file or video URL
🔐 SSH/SFTP — download files from remote servers over SSH
📁 Save to Local — right-click any file/folder in the Explorer (including remote
SSH workspaces) to copy it to your local disk
📊 Status bar progress — live speed and progress without leaving your code
⚙️ Fully configurable — connections, chunk size, timeouts, retries, and more
🚀 Usage
Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P) and type Fast Download:
Command
What it does
Fast Download: Download from URL
Downloads a file/video from an http:// or https:// URL
Fast Download: Download from SSH/SFTP Server
Downloads a file from a remote server over SSH/SFTP
Fast Download: Save to Local
Copies the selected file/folder from the Explorer to your local disk
Fast Download: Cancel All Downloads
Stops every active download
Fast Download: Open Downloads Folder
Reveals the last folder you saved to
You can also right-click a file or folder in the Explorer and choose
Fast Download: Save to Local.
Download from a URL
Run Fast Download: Download from URL.
Paste a direct file or video URL, for example https://example.com/video.mp4.
Pick a destination folder (Downloads, Documents, Desktop, or browse).
Watch the live progress in the status bar — done!
Download from an SSH/SFTP server
Run Fast Download: Download from SSH/SFTP Server.
Enter the host, port, username, and password (leave password empty for key-based auth).
Enter the full remote path of the file.
Pick a destination folder.
⚙️ Settings
Configure the extension from Settings → Extensions → Fast Download:
Setting
Default
Description
fastDownload.maxConnections
4
Initial number of parallel connections per download
fastDownload.maxConnectionsCap
16
Maximum connections a download may grow to
fastDownload.smallFileThresholdMB
10
Files smaller than this use a single connection
fastDownload.chunkSize
0
Chunk size in bytes (0 = automatic)
fastDownload.timeoutMs
30000
Request timeout in milliseconds
fastDownload.idleTimeoutMs
15000
Socket idle timeout in milliseconds
fastDownload.retryMax
3
Maximum retry attempts per chunk
fastDownload.backoffBaseMs
500
Base delay for exponential backoff
fastDownload.sftpHost
""
Default SSH/SFTP host to pre-fill the prompt
fastDownload.sftpPort
22
Default SSH/SFTP port
fastDownload.sftpUsername
""
Default SSH/SFTP username to pre-fill the prompt
📝 Requirements
VS Code 1.85.0 or newer
🛠️ Troubleshooting
Speed is slow — increase fastDownload.maxConnections and
fastDownload.maxConnectionsCap. Note that some servers ignore range requests,
in which case the download falls back to a single connection.
Download failed — the server may not support resumable downloads, or the URL
may require authentication/cookies. Try a direct download link.
