General, file policy, preview
Path: AdminCP > Setup > Options > [MC] Downloads Manager.
The first three tabs — General, File policy, and File preview — control listing defaults, upload constraints, and which file types preview in-browser.
General tab
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Remove branding | Off | Removes the "Powered by [MC] Downloads Manager" footer text. |
| Downloads per page | 20 | Page size for category and overview listings. Range 1 to 200. |
| Default listing sort order | Last update | Default sort. Options: Last update, Created date, Download count, Title. Each visitor's own choice (made on the listing) overrides this for the rest of their session. |
| More from author count | 3 | How many other downloads by the same author to show on the download view page. Range 0 to 20. |
| Maximum changelog length | 50000 | Maximum characters in a version changelog. Use 0 for no limit. |
| Default category icon | folder | Font Awesome icon used when a category has no icon set. Accepts fa-folder, fab fa-discord, fad fa-rocket, or a bare name (treated as solid). |
| Allow download icons | On | Whether download owners may upload a per-download icon. |
| Allow GIF icons | On | Whether the per-download icon may be an animated GIF. |
File policy tab
These settings are global defaults. Categories can override them on the File policy section of the category edit page. See per-category settings.
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Default allowed file extensions | empty | One per line, or comma-separated. Categories may override. Empty allows any extension subject to the dangerous blocklist below. |
| Dangerous file extensions | exe, bat, cmd, com, scr, ps1, sh, app, dmg, vbs, js, wsf, jar | Always blocked, regardless of per-category allow lists. The safety net. |
| Maximum individual file size | 0 | Per-file size cap, in kilobytes. Use 0 for no limit. Categories may override. |
| Maximum total size per version | 0 | Combined size cap of all files in a single version, in kilobytes. Use 0 for no limit. |
| Maximum total upload size | 0 | Combined cap across every version of one download, in kilobytes. Use 0 for no limit. |
| Maximum file name length | 100 | Includes the extension. Files with longer names are rejected. Use 0 for no limit. |
| Normalise uploaded file names | On | When on, special characters in uploaded names are replaced with underscores to avoid URL and filesystem issues. |
| Deduplicate uploads by SHA256 hash | On | When on, an upload whose hash matches an existing stored file reuses the existing file instead of writing a new copy. Reduces disk usage when many users upload identical files. |
| External URL uploads | Disabled | Whether authors may submit external URLs as the source of a file. Options: Disabled, Cache only, Link only, Cache, Link. Categories may override (set "Inherit" to use this default). Setting this to "Disabled" overrides any per-category value. |
| External URL allowed sources | https=on, http=off, magnet=off | URL schemes accepted when external URL uploads are enabled. Categories set to "Inherit" use this list. |
External URL modes
| Mode | What it does |
|---|---|
| Disabled | External URL uploads are off. Authors can only upload local files. |
| Cache only | The author submits a URL; the add-on fetches and stores the file. The URL is not retained. |
| Link only | The author submits a URL; the link is stored as-is. No fetch happens. Viewers are redirected to the URL when they click "Download". |
| Cache | Both modes are available; the upload form defaults to "Cache". |
| Link | Both modes are available; the upload form defaults to "Link". |
File preview tab
These settings cap in-browser file previews. Previews are off in every category by default. To turn previews on, edit the category and tick the relevant Preview boxes; the size caps below apply globally to whichever previews are enabled.
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| File preview | (heading) | Reminder that the values below are caps, not on/off switches. |
| Preview rate limit window | 0 sec | Cooldown before the same visitor can preview the same file again. Use 0 to disable. Range 0 to 300. |
| Maximum text preview size | 256 KB | Max bytes streamed for text, JSON, or config previews. Larger files are truncated with a notice. Use 0 for full streaming. |
| Maximum image preview size | 5120 KB | Larger images cannot be previewed. Use 0 for any size. |
| Maximum audio preview size | 25600 KB | Use 0 for any size. |
| Maximum video preview size | 51200 KB | Use 0 for any size. |
| Maximum PDF preview size | 25600 KB | Use 0 for any size. |
| Maximum archive entries to list | 5000 | Max number of files listed in a ZIP or TAR preview. Archives with more entries show a truncated tree. Range 100 to 50000. |
Categories control whether a preview happens
The size caps above only matter once a category enables previews. Per category, the toggles are:
- Text previews
- Image previews
- Audio previews
- Video previews
- PDF previews
- Archive previews
All default to off. See per-category settings to turn them on.