Download and install

System requirements, the Windows installer, and how RuForge handles updates.

System requirements

RuForge is a desktop app built on Tauri and WebView2. It runs on any modern Windows machine without needing you to install extra runtimes or dependencies.

Windows 10 (version 1803 or later) or Windows 11.
WebView2 runtime. Most Windows machines already have this installed through Edge updates. If yours does not, the RuForge installer will prompt you to grab it.
Around 300 MB of free disk space for the app itself, plus however much room you need for your downloads.
An internet connection for downloading videos. The app itself works offline once installed (your library, player, and settings all work without a connection).

Install on Windows

The installer is a standard Windows NSIS setup wizard. It installs per-user (no admin rights needed) and takes about a minute.

Open the latest release page on GitHub.
Download the file named RuForge_<version>_x64-setup.exe. This is the Windows installer.
Run the installer. Windows may show a SmartScreen warning because the app is new. Click More info, then Run anyway.
Follow the setup wizard. The defaults are fine for most people.
Open RuForge from the Start menu or the desktop shortcut the installer created.

First launch

The first time you open RuForge, a few things happen behind the scenes:

Your default download folder is set to your Windows Downloads directory (for example, C:\Users\You\Downloads). You can change this later in Settings.
The bundled copies of yt-dlp and ffmpeg are ready to go. You do not need to install them separately.
The app checks for updates automatically (more on that below).

You should see the Downloader tab right away. That is the main screen. Paste a YouTube URL into the input at the top and you are ready to go.

Auto-updates

RuForge checks for new versions every time you open the app. If a newer version is available, a small card appears in the top-right corner showing what changed.

The update card shows a short summary of additions and fixes.
Click Download & Install to grab the update. Progress is shown inline.
Once downloaded, the app asks you to restart. Your downloads, library, and settings carry over automatically.

After installing an update, a "What's New" screen pops up with the full list of changes. You can scroll through it or dismiss it.

{"job":"A single download task. Paste a URL and click download to create one.","queue":"The list of all active and pending download jobs, visible in the floating drawer.","hero":"The large progress area at the top of the downloader showing the focused job.","stall watchdog":"Background timer that kills stuck downloads when no data arrives for too long.","processing":"Post-download phase where ffmpeg merges video and audio streams or extracts audio.","entry":"A single item in your media library (standalone file or playlist collection).","playlist collection":"A group of files downloaded together as a playlist, shown as a stack card.","gallery":"Another name for the media library grid.","scan root":"A folder the library watches for media files. Always two: internal vault and download path.","card":"The visual tile in the library grid showing thumbnail, title, duration, and progress.","sidecar":"A companion file that stores metadata about a downloaded video.",".info.json":"Created by yt-dlp during download. Contains title, uploader, chapters, and source URL.",".sponsorblock.json":"Stores SponsorBlock segments and chapters so they are not re-fetched every play.","sprite sheet":"Grid of thumbnail frames from ffmpeg, used for hover previews on the scrub bar.","poster":"Single-frame thumbnail from ffmpeg, used as cover art when no yt-dlp thumbnail exists.","player":"The built-in video/audio player with chapters, subtitles, and SponsorBlock overlays.","mini player":"Separate borderless window that floats on top of other apps, resizable from large to tiny.","control dock":"Frosted bar at the bottom of the player with play/pause, volume, and loop.","chapter scrubber":"Segmented progress bar dividing the video into chapters from yt-dlp metadata.","auto-advance":"When a video ends, automatically plays the next file in the folder or library.","scrub preview":"Thumbnail images that appear on hover over the progress bar (from sprite sheets).","internal vault":"Folder RuForge manages inside its app data directory for storing downloads.","download path":"The custom folder you pick for new downloads (alternative to internal vault)."}