JDownloader Bridge

An Ableton Live extension that downloads audio from a URL straight into a clip slot, using JDownloader 2 as the download engine.

Right-click a clip slot → Download audio from URL… → paste a link → the audio lands in your set.

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Requirements

1. Ableton Live with Extensions support.
2. JDownloader 2 installed and running.
3. JDownloader's local API enabled (one-time setup, see below).
4. (Optional) ffmpeg — only needed to convert downloads to WAV. Without it, files that Live already supports (.m4a, .mp3, .flac, .aiff, .wav) still import fine.
   • macOS: brew install ffmpeg

One-time JDownloader setup

The extension talks to JDownloader's local API on port 3128. Enable it once:

1. In JDownloader: Settings (wrench icon) → Advanced Settings.
2. In the search box, type deprecated.
3. Set deprecatedapienabled to true.
4. Restart JDownloader.

"Deprecated" just means it's the older local API — it works perfectly and is what we use. No MyJDownloader account needed; it stays on your machine (localhost only).

Install

Double-click JDownloader-Bridge-<version>.ablx and confirm the install in Live.

Usage

1. Make sure JDownloader 2 is open.
2. In Live, right-click any Session-view clip slot → Download audio from URL….
3. Paste the URL and click Download.
4. A progress dialog tracks the download; the audio clip appears when it's done.

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Notes & tips

• Format / quality: Downloads are converted to WAV when ffmpeg is present. The source audio quality (and whether YouTube links offer audio-only) is controlled in JDownloader's YouTube plugin settings — bump the audio bitrate there if you want higher quality.
• Clipboard pop-ups are fine: JDownloader auto-detects links you copy, so you may see it react the moment you paste. The extension finds the link either way — no need to do anything in JDownloader.
• One track at a time: designed for single audio links, not playlists.

Troubleshooting

Message	Fix
"JDownloader 2's API is not reachable on port 3128"	JD2 isn't running, or the API isn't enabled. Do the one-time setup above and restart JD2.
"Could not find the link in JDownloader after 90s"	The URL isn't supported by JDownloader, or the crawl failed. Try the link directly in JD2 to confirm it works.
"ffmpeg is required to convert …"	The download isn't a format Live reads natively (e.g. .opus/.webm). Install ffmpeg (brew install ffmpeg) to auto-convert to WAV.

Building from source

npm install
npm run package   # produces the .ablx
npm start         # build + run in Live's extension host (dev)