Installation

Complete guide to installing the FlowPick browser extension, including store installation, manual loading, and online tool usage.

FlowPick provides two usage methods: Browser Extension (recommended) and Online Tool (no installation required). This document covers extension installation methods and how to access the online tools.

Choose Your Method

	Browser Extension	Online Tool
Installation Requirements	Requires extension installation	No installation, open webpage and use
Media Detection	Auto-monitor network requests	Manually paste stream URL
CORS Restrictions	Unrestricted	Subject to same-origin policy
Best For	Daily high-frequency use	Temporary use, unable to install extension
Access Point	Browser toolbar icon	`/m3u8-downloader` `/dash-downloader`

If you don't want to install an extension right now, you can directly use M3U8 Downloader or DASH Downloader. See Online Tool Guide for details.

Store Installation (Recommended)

Chrome

Open the Chrome Web Store
Search for FlowPick, or visit the extension page link directly
Click Add to Chrome
Click Add Extension in the confirmation dialog that appears
After installation completes, the FlowPick icon will appear on the right side of the browser toolbar

If the icon doesn't appear in the toolbar, click the puzzle icon (Extensions) on the right side of the toolbar, find FlowPick, and click the pin icon to pin it.

Edge

Open the Microsoft Edge Add-ons store
Search for FlowPick, or visit the extension page link directly
Click Get
Click Add Extension in the confirmation dialog that appears
After installation completes, the FlowPick icon will appear on the right side of the browser toolbar

Other Chromium-based Browsers

The following browsers are all based on Chromium and install similarly to Chrome:

Browser	Extension Store	Notes
Brave	Chrome Web Store	Fully compatible with Chrome
Opera	Chrome Web Store / Opera Addons	Both methods work
360 Speed Browser	Chrome Web Store / 360 Extension Center	Recommend using Chrome store version
QQ Browser	Chrome Web Store / QQ App Market	Recommend using Chrome store version
Sogou High-Speed Browser	Chrome Web Store	Requires enabling "Developer Mode"
Yandex Browser	Chrome Web Store / Yandex Addons	Both methods work

Firefox

Open the Firefox Add-ons store
Click Add to Firefox
Click Add in the permission confirmation dialog that appears
After installation completes, the FlowPick icon will appear on the browser toolbar

Firefox 109+ is required. If the icon doesn't appear in the toolbar, go to Firefox Menu → Extensions and Themes, find FlowPick, and pin it to the toolbar.

Large file downloads on Firefox behave slightly differently than Chrome — output files are first streamed to the browser's OPFS temporary storage (to avoid memory overflow), and you need to click "Save to Disk" to export the file after merging completes. For automatic saving to a specified directory, Chrome or Edge is recommended.

Manual Installation

If you cannot access the extension stores or need to use a development version, you can install via manual loading.

Use Cases

Corporate network restrictions prevent accessing Chrome store or Firefox Add-ons
Need to test development or pre-release versions
Using a Chromium browser without built-in store support

Installation Steps

Download Extension Files

Download the FlowPick extension ZIP package from GitHub Releases or the official website.

Extract to Local Folder

Extract the ZIP package to a fixed folder. Note: Do not move or delete this folder after installation, otherwise the extension will stop working.

Open Extensions Management Page

Enter the corresponding extensions management address in the browser address bar:

Browser	Address
Google Chrome	`chrome://extensions`
Microsoft Edge	`edge://extensions`
Brave	`brave://extensions`
Opera	`opera://extensions`
360 Speed Browser	`chrome://extensions`
QQ Browser	`chrome://extensions`
Sogou High-Speed Browser	`chrome://extensions`
Yandex Browser	`yandex://extensions`
Firefox	`about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox`

Enable Developer Mode

On the extensions management page, toggle the Developer Mode switch in the upper right corner.

Firefox users don't need to enable Developer Mode. Go directly to the next step on the about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox page.

Load Extension

Chrome / Edge / other Chromium browsers: Click Load unpacked, then select the folder extracted in step 2.
Firefox: Click Load Temporary Add-on, then select the manifest.json file inside the folder extracted in step 2.

Confirm Installation

After successful installation, the FlowPick icon will appear in the browser toolbar. If it doesn't appear, find FlowPick in the extension list and click the pin icon to pin it.

Manual Installation Notes

Manually installed extensions do not auto-update; you need to manually download new versions and replace files
You may see a prompt to "Disable developer mode extensions" each time the browser starts—this is normal, just click Cancel
If the extension folder is moved or deleted, the extension will show as "Corrupted" and needs to be reloaded
Firefox only: Temporarily loaded extensions are only valid for the current browser session and need to be reloaded after restarting Firefox. For permanent installation, please use the Firefox Add-ons store

Verify Installation

After installation completes, confirm the extension is working properly through the following steps:

Open any webpage containing video (e.g., Bilibili)
Play the video for a few seconds
Click the FlowPick icon in the toolbar
The popup should display detected media resources

If the popup shows "No media resources detected", please refer to Common Issues Troubleshooting.

Permission Description

During installation, the browser will prompt that FlowPick requires the following permissions. Each permission has a specific purpose:

Permission	Purpose	Required
`activeTab`	Access the current tab when you click the extension icon, used to detect media resources on the page	Required
`downloads`	Save downloaded files to your computer	Required
`storage`	Save your preferences (such as concurrent thread count, output format, etc.)	Required
`webRequest`	Monitor network requests from the browser to identify video, audio, and image URLs	Required
`host_permissions`	Allow the extension to run on all websites to detect media resources from any webpage	Required

FlowPick only accesses your data at these times: (1) when you actively click the extension icon; (2) when you actively click the download button. The extension does not run continuously in the background or collect any browsing data. See Privacy & Security for details.

Updating Extensions

Store Version

Store-installed extensions update automatically. The browser periodically checks for and installs new versions without manual intervention.

To check for updates immediately:

Open the extensions management page (chrome://extensions or Firefox's about:addons)
Chrome / Edge: Enable Developer Mode in the upper right corner, then click the Update button
Firefox: Click the gear icon next to FlowPick → Check for Updates

Manually Installed Version

Manually installed extensions do not auto-update. Update steps:

Download the latest version from GitHub Releases
Extract and overwrite the original extension folder
Open the extensions management page
Find FlowPick and click the refresh icon
Or remove and reload

Uninstallation

Chrome / Edge

Right-click the FlowPick icon in the toolbar
Select Remove from Chrome (Edge: Remove from Microsoft Edge)
Alternatively, open the extensions management page, find FlowPick, and click Remove

Firefox

Right-click the FlowPick icon in the toolbar
Select Remove from Firefox
Alternatively, open the about:addons page, find FlowPick, click ... → Remove

Manually Installed Version

Open the extensions management page
Find FlowPick and click Remove (Firefox temporary load: click Remove next to Reload)
Manually delete the extracted extension folder (optional)

Troubleshooting

Extension Icon Not Showing

Click the puzzle icon (Extensions) on the right side of the toolbar
Find FlowPick in the list
Click the pin icon to pin it to the toolbar

Firefox users: Go to Firefox Menu → Extensions and Themes, find FlowPick in the extensions list, click the gear icon → Pin to Toolbar.

Cannot Detect Media After Installation

Refresh the target webpage and try again
Ensure media has started playing (not paused)
Check for conflicts with other extensions (such as ad blockers)

Downloads Not Working

Check browser download settings (whether "Ask where to save each file before downloading" is enabled)
Ensure sufficient disk space
Check for conflicts with other download manager extensions

If the above methods don't resolve the issue, please check Common Issues Troubleshooting for more detailed diagnostic steps.

Introduction

FlowPick is a browser-based media stream sniffer and downloader supporting HLS/DASH streaming protocols, available as both a browser extension and online tool.

Usage Guide

Complete usage guide for FlowPick, covering both extension and online tool methods, from basic detection to advanced download strategies.