Local helper

Your AI assistant uses the tools itself

With the local helper, Claude, Cursor or VS Code runs the Downloadlink tools itself: merging PDFs, making photos and videos smaller, converting to PDF. It happens on your own computer, in your own Chrome or Edge. Your files do not go to our server.

What you might ask

In your own words, to your assistant on your computer:

  • “Merge quote.pdf and attachment.pdf in this folder into one PDF.”
  • “Make the photos in this folder smaller so I can email them.”
  • “Convert contract.docx to PDF and make a download link for it.”
  • “Turn the photos in this folder into a video.”
  • “Put music.mp3 under this video.”

Your assistant can also use tools one after another: what one tool makes goes into the next.

  • “Convert quote.docx to PDF, add attachment.pdf after it, make it smaller and make a download link for it.”
  • “Make the photos in this folder smaller, turn them into a video with music.mp3 under it and give me the link.”
  • “Fill in the customer's name in invoice.xlsx and save the invoice as PDF.”
  • “Make a video of these three clips and this music, with the title Summer 2026.”
  • “Black out the invoice number in quote.pdf, add a line of text and save it.”

How it works

  1. 1You ask your assistantIt finds the right Downloadlink tool.
  2. 2The helper opens the toolInvisibly, in the Chrome or Edge on your computer. It is the same tool as on the website.
  3. 3Your file stays on your computerThe tool does its work in the browser; the file does not go to our server.
  4. 4The result is in your folderBy default in Downloads/Downloadlink. If you want to share it, the helper makes a download link for it.

Your files and your privacy

What the helper sends to Downloadlink

  • Your sign-in: a link you allow yourself in your browser.
  • What you search for in the tools, and which tool you use.
  • The count of a use, as on the website.
  • Only when you ask for it: the result you share as a download link, with its name.

What the helper never sends

  • The content of your files while a tool runs.
  • The names of your files.
  • A password: the helper never fills one in.

What you need

On your computer

Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor or VS Code, on Windows, macOS or Linux, with Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge. For Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code also Node.js 18 or newer.

Where it does not work

On claude.ai in the browser, on your phone and in ChatGPT on the web, your assistant runs on a server and cannot start anything on your computer. There it points you to the right tool, through the regular connection. How to connect it

Claude Code

  1. Paste this command into your terminal:
    claude mcp add downloadlink --scope user "--" npx -y https://downloadlink.nl/helper/downloadlink-helper-1.2.0.tgz
  2. Restart Claude Code and ask something, for example: merge these two PDFs. The first time, your browser opens Downloadlink: sign in and click Allow.

Let your assistant do it: tell Claude Code “Install the Downloadlink local helper with this command: claude mcp add downloadlink --scope user "--" npx -y https://downloadlink.nl/helper/downloadlink-helper-1.2.0.tgz”

Claude Desktop

  1. Download the helper for Claude Desktop:
    Download downloadlink-helper.mcpb
  2. Double-click the file. Claude Desktop asks whether you want to install the extension: click Install. Choose a folder for the results if you like.
  3. Ask Claude something with a file on your computer. The first time, your browser opens Downloadlink: sign in and click Allow.

An assistant cannot install an extension in Claude Desktop by itself: you do those two clicks. Claude Desktop already includes Node.js.

sha256 2586850df8c26eeb05096f27f1fcd2b456a82e4995b38b8e49a273f059c65a7e

Cursor

  1. Click the button: Cursor opens and asks whether you want to add Downloadlink.
    Open in Cursor
    Or put this in the file .cursor/mcp.json in your home folder:
    { "mcpServers": { "downloadlink": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "https://downloadlink.nl/helper/downloadlink-helper-1.2.0.tgz" ] } } }

Let your assistant do it: in agent mode Cursor can put this block in .cursor/mcp.json itself; ask it to.

VS Code with GitHub Copilot

  1. Click the button: VS Code opens and asks whether you want to add Downloadlink.
    Open in VS Code
    Or put this in the file .vscode/mcp.json of your project:
    { "servers": { "downloadlink": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "https://downloadlink.nl/helper/downloadlink-helper-1.2.0.tgz" ], "type": "stdio" } } }

Let your assistant do it: in agent mode Copilot can put this block in .vscode/mcp.json itself; ask it to.

Free and paid

The helper counts like the website: a free account has 10 free uses per kind of tool, with a subscription you use every tool without limits. When your free uses are used up, your assistant tells you and gives you the link to the prices. See the prices

Frequently asked questions

Does it work without internet?
No. The tool itself loads from our website; then it does its work on your computer. Your files do not go along.
How do I get a new version?
A new version is on this page. The helper tells your assistant when a newer one exists; it never updates itself silently. Install the new version like the first one. Current: version 1.2.0.
How do I remove the helper?
Remove Downloadlink in your assistant (in Claude Code with: claude mcp remove downloadlink). Revoke the link on your account page, under Connected assistants. To your account
Is it safe?
The helper only opens downloadlink.nl and refuses traffic to other sites. The package has a sha256, so you can check that it comes from us, and the code is readable in the package (MIT licence).

downloadlink-helper 1.2.0 · npm-pakket sha256 68a18a6a6a9af3fc5507ff67135add45836ca634ae1a4681ae701efeae54b28e

Without the helper your assistant can also use your account: view transfers, make download links and find the right tool. How to connect your assistant online