A download manager is a type of software that manages the downloading of files from the Internet. The best download managers help make the process easier and quicker.
If you often download multiple files, particularly large files such as ISOs and backups, a download manager can help streamline the process. Downloading files – such as music, video, programs, drivers, and more through a browser – is never the fastest. Besides maximising your bandwidth, a download manager also offers the ability to resume a download after a connection fails.
Varia is billed as a quick and efficient download manager. It’s a GNOME-based utility written in Python and published under an open source license. The name “Varia” comes from the aria2 software it is based on.
Installation
Varia was tested using Manjaro and Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.
Under Manjaro we installed Varia using Pamac, a GUI tool that lets us install packages from Manjaro’s Official Repositories, Arch User Repository, and Flatpak. We chose the AUR package but the developer also produces a Flatpak.
Varia is a frontend for aria2, a wonderful multi-protocol and multi-source command-line download utility. Our test system didn’t have this software installed, but Pamac handles dependencies for us.
Besides Linux, Varia runs under Windows. We restricted our testing to Varia under Linux for obvious reasons.
Next page: Page 2 – In Operation and Summary
Pages in this article:
Page 1 – Introduction and Installation
Page 2 – In Operation and Summary