SaveMate’s core feature is universal stream detection. As you browse the web, SaveMate monitors network activity for video streams and notifies you when one is found.
How it works
- Passive monitoring — SaveMate listens for HTTP responses that match known video stream patterns via the browser’s network APIs
- Stream identification — When a match is found, SaveMate parses the stream metadata (title, quality, duration, file size)
- Visual notification — The extension icon lights up with a blue indicator
- User action — Click the icon to view stream details and choose what to do (download, cast, save)
All detection happens locally in your browser. No data is sent to external servers.
Supported stream types
Adaptive streaming
| Type | Format | Description |
|---|
| HLS | .m3u8 | HTTP Live Streaming — the most common adaptive streaming format. SaveMate parses master manifests, extracts all quality variants, and detects separate audio tracks. |
| DASH | .mpd | Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP — used by many modern video platforms. SaveMate parses MPD manifests to extract available qualities and bandwidth information. |
Progressive video
SaveMate detects direct video files served over HTTP in 16 formats:
| Format | Extensions |
|---|
| MP4 | .mp4, .m4v |
| WebM | .webm |
| MKV | .mkv |
| MOV | .mov |
| Transport Stream | .ts, .m2ts, .mts |
| AVI | .avi |
| OGG | .ogg |
| MPEG | .mpg |
| WMV | .wmv |
| Flash Video | .flv |
| 3GP | .3gp |
.mp3, .aac, .m4a, .flac, .wav
SaveMate includes enhanced detection for specific platforms:
- Vimeo — Intercepts player config API to extract both progressive MP4 files and HLS playlists with accurate file sizes
Detection indicator
The SaveMate extension icon provides real-time feedback:
- Default state — No streams detected on the current page
- Active (blue) — One or more video streams have been detected
Click the icon when it’s active to see all detected streams, grouped by quality variant.
When a stream is detected, SaveMate extracts and displays:
- Title — The video title from the page or stream metadata
- Thumbnail — A preview image extracted from the page
- Quality — Available quality levels (480p, 720p, 1080p, 4K, 8K, etc.)
- File size — Estimated or exact file size (from
Content-Length headers or bandwidth calculations)
- Duration — Video length when available (sampled from manifest variants)
- Source URL — The originating page
File sizes for progressive videos are extracted from HTTP headers. For HLS and DASH streams, SaveMate calculates estimated sizes from the stream’s bandwidth and duration.
Quality tiers
| Quality | Resolution | Availability |
|---|
| SD | 480p and below | Free |
| HD | 720p | Free |
| Full HD | 1080p | Free (3/day limit) |
| QHD | 1440p | Professional |
| 2K | 2048p | Professional |
| 4K | 2160p | Professional |
| 5K | 5120p | Professional |
| 6K | 6144p | Professional |
| 8K | 7680p | Professional |
| 60fps | Any resolution | Professional |
Free users can download unlimited 720p and below. HD downloads (1080p+) are limited to 3 per day. Upgrade to Professional for unlimited high-quality downloads. Detection settings
You can customize stream detection from the extension’s options page:
- Format filtering — Enable or disable detection for specific video and audio formats
- Minimum file size — Filter out small files (presets: 10KB, 100KB, 1MB, 2MB, or custom)
- Blocked sites — Exclude specific domains from detection using domain patterns
To access settings, right-click the SaveMate icon and select Options, or click the gear icon in the popup.
Supported sites
SaveMate works with any website that delivers video using HLS, DASH, MP4, WebM, or any of the other supported formats. This covers the vast majority of video hosting and streaming platforms on the web.
SaveMate is designed for personal archiving and fair use. Always respect content creators’ rights and the terms of service of the websites you visit.
