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Mod sites

DDMM doesn't privilege any one mod site. A mod's origin is just a Provider string (see The Sources field) — well-known ones get a nice display name and an automatic page-URL template, anything else still works with an explicit link.

Paste anything into Add URL (tip: "Add a mod from a direct download link.") — its popup description reads:

Paste a mod page or download link from AyakaMods, Nexus Mods, ModWorkshop, GameBanana, GitHub, or any direct download link.

What happens next depends on the link:

  • AyakaMods or Nexus Mods mod-page links always go straight to the browser handoff below — DDMM never even attempts to download these itself, since both sites gate the actual file behind being logged in.
  • Any other link (a direct file link, a ModWorkshop/GameBanana/GitHub page, a personal file host, ...) — DDMM tries downloading it directly first. If what comes back is HTML instead of an archive (a login wall, a page with a JavaScript download button), DDMM asks:

Open in Browser Instead? — That link didn't serve a downloadable archive directly. Open it on <site> in your browser and let DDMM install it automatically once it downloads?

Confirming starts the same browser handoff.

DDMM never asks for your login on any mod site — every handoff downloads through your own, already-logged-in browser session.

How the browser handoff works

  1. DDMM opens the mod's page in your default browser.
  2. A "Browser Handoff" popup appears: "Download the mod in the browser tab that just opened for <site>. DDMM installs it automatically as soon as it lands in <your Downloads folder>." with a spinner reading "Waiting for the download...".
  3. You click download on the site as normal, logged in as yourself.
  4. DDMM polls your Downloads folder once a second for a new archive: it ignores files that already existed before the handoff started, ignores browser in-progress names (.crdownload, .part, .tmp, .download, .partial), and ignores anything that isn't a .zip/.7z/.rar file (or is a symlink). Once a candidate appears, DDMM waits for its file size to stop changing for two consecutive checks before treating the download as finished, then installs it — the popup switches to "Installing...".
  5. If nothing matching shows up within 15 minutes, the handoff gives up and tells you so.
  6. At any point you can press Cancel, or "I already downloaded it -- choose file" to pick a file yourself instead of waiting for the watch to find one.

Only one handoff can run at a time. Whichever source the link resolves to (see The Sources field) is recorded the same way a direct-URL install is, so the mod still gets an "Open on <site>" menu entry afterward.

AyakaMods

Made with love for the AyakaMods community ❤️ — one of the best homes for Helldivers 2 modding, and DDMM's home turf. Go say hi: ayakamods.com/games/helldivers-2.

AyakaMods is a first-class, built-in Provider in DDMM: its page-URL shape (https://ayakamods.com/mods/<slug>.<id>/ or https://ayakamods.com/mods/<id>/) is recognized directly, mod pages always use the browser handoff above, and update checks read the same page's published version automatically. At install time, DDMM also fetches the mod page once to record its current version for future update checks — see Updating mods.

Nexus Mods

Nexus Mods gates its downloads behind a login too, so a Nexus Mods mod-page link always uses the browser handoff. A direct Nexus file link (not the mod page) can still install immediately, if you have one.

Update checks for Nexus Mods need you to sign in to Nexus Mods or add your own personal API key in Settings. Both are optional; without either, Nexus mods show "Optional: sign in or add a key to check" and everything else works the same. DDMM never downloads from Nexus through the API: updating a Nexus mod always goes through your browser. See Updating mods.

ModWorkshop, GameBanana

Both are supported Provider values with an automatic page-URL template (see The Sources field), so a mod declaring one gets an "Open on ModWorkshop" / "Open on GameBanana" menu entry. Pasting a link from either isn't hardcoded to the browser handoff the way AyakaMods and Nexus Mods are: DDMM tries a direct download first, and only offers the browser handoff if that comes back as an HTML page rather than an archive.

Update checks use each site's public API (no key), and because both serve files publicly, an update can be installed with one click.

GitHub

GitHub is a supported Provider too, and its release-asset links are ordinarily plain https:// links that don't require a login, so they install immediately through Add URL. Update checks read a repository's latest release, and updates install with one click from the release's archive asset.

Other / unrecognized sites

Any other link is still handled sensibly: DDMM tries a direct download, and if the response turns out to be HTML instead of an archive, it offers the same "Open in Browser Instead?" handoff rather than just failing.

A mod's manifest can also declare any custom Provider string it wants (see The Sources field); DDMM shows it as-is in the "Open on <site>" menu using whatever page URL the manifest gives it, though only the sites listed above get handoff/update-check integration.