How to Open DOWNLOAD File on Mac & Windows (Safari .download, Firefox .part)

What is a DOWNLOAD file?

A DOWNLOAD file is Safari's placeholder for a download that is still running, paused or interrupted. Safari on the Mac adds .download to the real name — report.pdf becomes report.pdf.download — and removes it automatically the moment the download completes. It isn't a file format with its own structure, so no program "opens" it: to open a DOWNLOAD file you finish the download, or take out the data and check whether it's usable.

Two details make Safari's version different from other browsers:

• It's a package, not a single file. A package is a folder that Finder shows as one item. Inside the .download package sits the partially downloaded file under its real name, plus an Info.plist file where Safari keeps its own record of the download. Finder also draws a progress bar on the item's icon.
• Other browsers use other names for the same thing. Firefox writes file.ext.part (covered below), and Chrome, Edge, Brave and Opera use their own suffix, explained in our guide to Chrome's unfinished downloads.

If you see the temporary name, one of three things is true: the download is still running, it was paused or interrupted, or the file was copied somewhere (another folder, a USB drive, a Windows PC) before it finished.

Safari .download files on Mac: what's inside the package

The quickest way to open a DOWNLOAD file on a Mac is to let Safari finish it. Safari creates the .download package in your download folder (Downloads, unless you changed it) as soon as a download starts. Because it's really a folder, renaming it doesn't turn it into the finished file — you either let Safari finish it or take the data out of it.

Resume a stopped Safari download

1. In Safari, click the Show Downloads button near the top-right corner of the window.
2. Find the stopped item and click its Resume button. (While a download runs, the Stop button in the same place pauses it.)
3. If the item is gone from the list, double-click the .download item in Finder or drag it onto Safari, so Safari can try to pick it up again.
4. If Safari starts from zero or reports an error, the server doesn't support resuming or the link has expired: delete the package and start the download again from its web page.

Open the partial file with Show Package Contents

Control-click (or right-click) the .download item in Finder and choose Show Package Contents. Copy the file inside to another folder — don't move it while Safari might still be downloading — then drop the copy into the checker above to see whether it's complete. A partial ZIP, DMG or PDF usually won't open, because their index or trailer is written at the end; a partial video may play up to the point that downloaded.

Why the download vanished from Safari's list

By default Safari removes items from the downloads list after one day. To keep them longer, choose Safari > Settings > General and change Remove download list items. In the same pane, File download location sets where Safari saves files. If you moved a file after downloading it, Safari's magnifying-glass button can no longer find it.

A leftover .download package is safe to move to the Trash once Safari isn't downloading it any more; if Finder says the item is in use, quit Safari with Command+Q first. Mac apps usually arrive as disk images — see how to open a DMG file once the download completes.

Got a .download file on Windows?

A .download item on a Windows PC almost always came from a Mac. Safari for Windows was discontinued in 2012 (its last version was 5.1.7), so Windows itself doesn't create these. It usually arrives when someone copies a Downloads folder from a Mac to a USB drive, shared folder or cloud drive before the download finished. To open a DOWNLOAD file on Windows:

1. Open it like a folder. Windows doesn't know about Mac packages, so video.mp4.download appears as an ordinary folder. Double-click it.
2. Copy out the file with the real name (for example video.mp4). Ignore Info.plist — it's Safari's record, not your file.
3. Check it with the checker above. If it's complete, use it; if not, download the file again on the PC from its original page.

If instead you have a single file (not a folder) whose name ends in .download, it isn't a Safari package: a website, app or person named it that way. Drop it into the checker to find its real type, and turn on View > Show > File name extensions in File Explorer so you can see and fix the extension.

Firefox .part files: resume or recover them

A .part file is Firefox's unfinished download. Firefox writes the incoming data to filename.ext.part and, at the same time, creates an empty, 0-byte file with the final name (filename.ext) next to it. When the download completes, the .part data becomes the real file. That's why an interrupted Firefox download often leaves two files: a 0-byte file that won't open, and a .part file holding the actual data.

Resume a .part download

1. Open the downloads list: press Ctrl+J on Windows (Ctrl+Shift+Y on Linux, Command+J on Mac), or click the menu button and choose Downloads. You can also type about:downloads in the address bar.
2. Right-click a paused item and choose Resume, or click the refresh-style Retry button on a failed one.
3. When it finishes, Firefox replaces the 0-byte placeholder with the complete file.

Resume after a crash, power cut or restart

If the item is gone from the list, Firefox won't continue the old .part file on its own. A workaround suggested by a Mozilla Support volunteer moderator (it only works if the server supports resuming):

1. Move the old .part file and the 0-byte file with the final name to another folder.
2. Start the same download again in Firefox and pause it straight away. Don't close Firefox.
3. Copy the two files you moved back into the download folder, replacing the new ones Firefox just created.
4. Resume the download in Firefox. If it starts from zero, the server doesn't allow resuming — let it download in full.

You can also check a .part file with the checker: if the data turns out to be complete, delete the 0-byte placeholder and remove .part from the name.

Why downloads get stuck (and how to fix them)

A download stays as .download or .part when the transfer stops before the last byte arrives and nothing resumes it. Find your cause below:

Resuming only works when the website's server accepts "range requests", which let the browser ask for just the missing bytes. Servers that support them send an Accept-Ranges header; when they don't, every browser has to start over. For Chrome and Edge, our guide to Chrome's unfinished downloads explains each "Failed - …" message.

Can I delete or rename a .download or .part file?

Yes, you can delete them once no download is using them. They're only incomplete copies, nothing else depends on them, and old ones can take up gigabytes. Cancel the download in the browser first (or quit the browser) so the file isn't in use; you'll simply need to download that file again if you still want it.

Renaming is different. Removing .part from a Firefox file, or taking the data out of a Safari package, doesn't add the missing bytes. A document, archive or installer that's missing its end will fail to open or show as corrupted, so check it with the tool before you open a DOWNLOAD file you've recovered. And the usual safety rule still applies: only open or run the result if you trust where it came from — if the checker identifies an installer or executable, treat it like any other program from that source.

Found a leftover file with no active download

Sometimes a .download package or .part file sits in your Downloads folder long after the browser session that created it is gone — usually after a crash or a download that failed silently. To open DOWNLOAD files left behind like this, start with the checker: it reads the file's first bytes (its "magic number") to tell you the real format, then looks for that format's end marker to say whether it's complete, and offers a copy with the right extension.

Keep in mind that a partial download is, by definition, incomplete: even when the type is identified correctly, it may be missing an archive's index or a video's final minutes. If the renamed copy doesn't work, re-downloading the original is the only real fix — no recovery or repair program can create data that never reached your computer.

Common problems and how to fix them

Double-clicking the .download item does nothing useful

Safari couldn't restart it, usually because the link expired. Use Show Package Contents to check what downloaded, or start the download again from its page.

File shows 0 bytes or never grows

The transfer never really started. Cancel it and try again after reloading the source page; on Firefox, the 0-byte file is just the placeholder — the data is in the .part file.

The recovered file still won't open

It's truncated. Delete the partial copy and download the original again rather than trying to repair it.

Finder or Windows says the file is in use

The browser still has it open because the download is paused. Cancel it in the downloads list or quit the browser, then delete or move it.

A file saved as just "download" with no extension

A different, very common problem: the download finished, but the file is called download, download.htm or has no extension at all, so double-clicking it does nothing useful. This happens when the website doesn't tell the browser the file's name or type, so the browser falls back to a generic name.

1. Drop the file into the checker at the top of this page. It reads the file's first bytes and tells you what it really is — for example a PDF, a ZIP or a JPG.
2. Click Download with correct extension, or rename it yourself (on Windows, turn on View > Show > File name extensions in File Explorer first so you can see the extension).
3. If the checker reports an HTML web page, you saved a page (often a login or error page) instead of the file — go back to the site and download it again while signed in.

Where do downloaded files go?

If you're simply looking for something you downloaded, it's almost always in your Downloads folder:

Downloads on iPhone and iPad

You rarely need to open a DOWNLOAD file on iPhone or iPad, because you normally never see one there. Safari keeps unfinished downloads to itself and places the finished file in the Downloads folder of the Files app (Browse > iCloud Drive > Downloads by default).

• Check a download: tap the Downloads button next to Safari's search field, then tap Downloads to see the list and retry a stopped item.
• Large files fail repeatedly: keep Safari open and the phone unlocked; a dropped Wi-Fi connection while the screen is off can stop the download.
• It downloaded but won't open: some file types simply aren't usable on iOS — Windows installers, Android APKs and Mac DMGs, for example — so the download may be complete but meant for another device.

Other partial-download names you might find

Other browsers, torrent clients and download managers use their own markers for unfinished files. They all mean "not done yet" and should be finished from the program that created them rather than renamed by hand:

Related file extensions

Sources and technical references

.download and .part are internal conventions of Safari and Firefox, not public file formats, so the authoritative sources are Apple's and Mozilla's own documentation.

• Download items from the web in Safari on Mac — Apple Support — Show Downloads button, Stop and Resume, Remove download list items, File download location.
• Mac keyboard shortcuts — Apple Support — Option-Command-L opens the Downloads folder in Finder.
• Where to find downloads on your iPhone or iPad — Apple Support — Files app Downloads folder and Safari's Downloads button.
• Package (macOS) — Wikipedia — packages are folders shown as one file; Safari's partial downloads carry the .download extension; Show Package Contents.
• Safari 1.2 download packages — Michael Tsai's blog (2004) — when Safari introduced .download packages holding the data and an Info.plist, with a progress bar in the icon.
• Where to find and manage downloaded files in Firefox — Mozilla Support — downloads panel and Library, Pause/Resume, Retry, download folder setting.
• Firefox keyboard shortcuts — Mozilla Support — Ctrl+J, Ctrl+Shift+Y and Command+J for Downloads.
• Keeping .part files to resume downloads — Mozilla Support forum — the moderator's .part + 0-byte file resume workaround.
• Can't download or save files — Mozilla Support — security software and download-folder causes of failed downloads.
• HTTP range requests — MDN Web Docs — Accept-Ranges and 206 Partial Content, which make resuming possible.
• Safari (web browser) — Wikipedia — Safari for Windows ended with version 5.1.7 in 2012.
• Find your downloads in Windows — Microsoft Support — File Explorer (Windows logo key + E) > Downloads.

Frequently asked questions