idm-downloader

Download large files using IDM (Internet Download Manager) on Windows. Use when user wants to download files via URL and prefers IDM, or explicitly requests...

Security Scan

The skill is internally consistent with its stated purpose (driving a locally installed IDM on Windows) and the included script performs only local filesystem, registry and process operations needed to invoke IDM — nothing appears to exfiltrate data or perform unrelated actions.

Purpose & Capability

Name and description match the code and instructions: the skill drives Internet Download Manager (IDM) via COM or command line. The script searches common IDM install locations, registry keys, and Start Menu shortcuts to locate IDMan.exe — all reasonable for this purpose. Minor note: registry metadata lists no OS restriction while the SKILL.md and script target Windows only.

Instruction Scope

SKILL.md instructs the agent to run the included Python script and to use pywin32 optionally; the script's operations (COM automation, registry read, resolving .lnk files, creating output directories, and launching IDM via subprocess) are directly related to finding and invoking IDM and do not reference unrelated files, network endpoints, or secret-bearing env vars.

Install Mechanism

No install spec — instruction-only with an included script. This minimizes install-time risk. The only external dependency mentioned is pywin32 (a standard package for Windows COM), and the script falls back to command-line invocation if pywin32 is absent.

Credentials

The skill requests no environment variables or credentials. It reads the Windows registry and Start Menu to find an installed IDM binary — appropriate and proportionate to locating the local IDM installation. No unrelated credentials or secrets are requested.

Persistence & Privilege

The skill is not always-enabled and does not request elevated or persistent platform privileges. It does spawn a local process (IDMan.exe) and may write to the specified output directory, which is expected behavior for a downloader.

Assessment

This skill appears to do what it says: it runs a local Python script that locates IDM on a Windows machine and asks IDM to download a URL. Before installing: (1) ensure you will run this only on Windows systems where you already trust IDM, (2) understand the script will read the registry and Start Menu and will launch the local IDMan.exe process (it does not phone home or send data externally), (3) if you don't have pywin32 installed the script will use command-line invocation, (4) be cautious about running on shared machines because the script will create directories and launch a local executable. Also note the registry metadata doesn't declare an OS restriction even though the skill only works on Windows — only enable it where appropriate.

Use IDM (Internet Download Manager) to download large files via COM interface or command line on Windows. Recommended for large files such as datasets, videos, disk images, and archives where download resumption and acceleration are beneficial.

Quick Usage

# Download a file to specified directory
python scripts/download_idm.py <url> [output_directory] [filename]

# Download to current directory
python scripts/download_idm.py <url>

# Download with custom filename
python scripts/download_idm.py <url> <output_directory> <custom_filename>

Features

1. COM Interface (Primary): Uses IDM's COM automation (IDMan.CIDWMControl.1) for reliable downloads
2. Command Line Fallback: Uses IDMan.exe with /n flag for immediate download
3. Registry Search: Finds IDM installation from Windows Registry if not at default paths
4. Auto Filename: Extracts filename from URL if not specified

IDM Command Line

IDMan.exe parameters:

• /d <URL> - URL to download
• /p <path> - Local directory to save file
• /f <filename> - Filename to save as
• /n - Start download immediately (no prompt)

Requirements

System Requirements

• OS: Windows (IDM is a Windows-only application)
• IDM: Internet Download Manager installed on the system

Python Dependencies

Dependency	Purpose	Install Command
Python 3.x	Runtime	-
pywin32	COM interface & registry access	pip install pywin32
win32com.client	IDM COM automation	(included in pywin32)
pythoncom	COM initialization	(included in pywin32)
winreg	Windows Registry access	(built-in, Windows only)

Note: pywin32 is optional but recommended for better compatibility and COM interface support. The script will fall back to command-line mode if not installed.

Notes

• IDM must be installed on the system
• If COM fails, automatically falls back to command line
• Downloads start immediately with /n flag