Start here · Complete walkthrough

What is Hongguo Downloader? A complete walkthrough of version 2.0

Hongguo Downloader does one job: it saves 红果 dramas to your computer as ordinary video files. There's no phone emulator and nothing to sign into, and Setup brings everything the app needs. It's made by FireCode LLC and isn't affiliated with 红果 / Hongguo, hongguoduanju or ByteDance. Use it for personal, offline viewing, and please respect creators' rights.

First, the important part: what's free

The free plan gives you:

• 2 new series a day, every episode of both. A series counts once, however many episodes you take.
• Episodes 1 to 5 of every series, free to watch in the built-in player. That's watching, not downloading, so it isn't counted.
• A series you started stays free to finish, even on a later day.
• No card and no account.

Download a lot? A paid plan removes the daily limit: see the plans. The app is in English, while drama titles and descriptions show in Chinese, as on Hongguo.

The window: one panel, one search box

The app first opens on Browse. Three things stay in place on every page:

• The left panel: Browse, Ranking, New and Link to find a drama, then Downloads and Library. A small number next to Downloads shows how many series are downloading or waiting.
• The search box at the top, "Search dramas, or paste a link" (Ctrl+F). Type a title and the results show in Browse. Paste a share link or a series ID, and an Open in Link button appears.
• The bottom of the panel: the storage panel (the free space on the drive you save to, how many dramas you have and the space they take), then your plan with today's free count, such as "1 of 2 today". Click it to open Account. Last come Settings and a sun and moon switch for light and dark.

Browse: the whole catalogue, with filters

Browse shows the 红果 catalogue as a grid of covers, each with its episode count, its rating and a tag. Seven filters sit above it:

• Genre: Live action, Comic drama or AI drama (AI 短剧).
• Theme, setting and background, such as Suspense, Rebirth or Campus.
• Sort: Recommended, Newest, Hottest or Most saved.
• Audience (Everyone, Male or Female) and release time (the last 7, 14, 30 or 90 days).

The choices come from Hongguo, so they can change. Dramas you already have carry a Downloaded mark. Point at a cover and a download button appears in its corner: it takes every episode without opening the series.

Ranking: Hongguo's own charts

Pick a chart, such as Trending, Top rated or Hot search, and a board, such as All, Female or Male. The covers are numbered by place, with their ratings, and each chart says how it's ranked. Which charts appear depends on Hongguo.

New: the latest releases

New lists the dramas released in the last 7, 14, 30 or 90 days, newest first. Pick the time span at the top right, and the app remembers it.

Link: paste a share link

Got a share link? Open Link, paste it in and press Find series. As the page says: "Paste share messages, links or series IDs. One or many, in any order." A whole share message works, and so do hongguoduanju.com and novelquickapp.com links and series IDs. You get every series they name, each once. Open one to choose episodes, or press Download all to take every series found, all episodes.

The series window: seasons, sizes and episodes

Click any cover and the series window opens over the page, with everything about that series:

• The basics: the episode count, completed or ongoing, tags and the story.
• Seasons: when a series has more than one season, every season, with one button for all of them, such as "Download all 3 seasons". A season that's announced but not out yet shows "Soon".
• Sizes: the qualities this series really comes in, from 1080p down to 360p, each with about how much space it takes. A size that doesn't play is greyed out, and the app remembers your pick.
• Episodes: every episode starts selected, so one click downloads them all. Want fewer? Press Clear, then click the ones you want.
• The save folder, with Change, and Play to watch.

Then press the Download button, which says what it will do, such as "Download 71 episodes". On the free plan, when a series has several seasons, the window reminds you that each season uses one of today's free series. For a step-by-step first download, see the download guide.

Downloads: several series at once

The series then appears in Downloads. Several series download at once, each in its own row with its progress, speed and time left, with the total speed and the number active at the top.

• The original 1080p is the default. A few episodes have no 1080p copy: those come in 720p, and Downloads says how many.
• Tabs for All, Active, Done and Failed, with Retry on a series that failed and Open folder on one that's done.
• Stop all stops every download at once (it asks first); episodes already downloaded stay in their folders. Clear finished tidies the list and leaves the files.

Downloads in 2.0 are much faster, and they keep going when a connection stalls.

Library: everything you've saved

Everything you download lands in the Library, each cover with its episode count and the space it takes.

• Play and Open folder appear when you point at a cover. Play works with no internet; only episodes that aren't on your PC stream.
• New seasons has its own tab. When a series you have gets a new season, it shows up there, with Download all new seasons.
• Select picks several series to delete at once. They go to the Recycle Bin, so you can bring them back. A network drive has no Recycle Bin, so there the app warns you that the delete is for good.

The built-in player

Play opens the player right over the app window, with the app blurred behind it and the episode as big as the window allows. At the top are Back (or Esc), the title and episode number, and Episodes to jump to any episode. At the bottom: the time bar, Previous, Play, Next, volume, speed, quality and full screen (or press F). The controls fade 3 seconds after the mouse stops and come back when you move it.

Without a key, episodes 1 to 5 of every series are free to watch, for any number of series, and nothing is counted. From episode 6 the player shows "Free preview ends here", with Watch with a free series (one of today's 2, unless you've watched or downloaded that series before), See plans and Enter key. With a key, every episode plays. Episodes you've downloaded always play from your PC.

Settings

Settings sits at the bottom of the left panel. The parts most people use:

• Save to: Videos\Hongguo by default, with a folder for each series. Change picks another. A network drive (NAS) works too, and the storage panel then shows that drive's own free space.
• File names: every episode is an MP4 file, named like S01E001.mp4, or 第001集 or Episode 001 if you prefer.
• At once: how many series, and how many episodes of each, download together.
• Theme: Light, Dark or Use system (the default), which follows Windows.
• Updates, and Help > Report a bug: one click saves a report (your key and Windows user name stay hidden), copies a short summary and opens our Telegram, ready to send.

Account, plans and keys

Click your plan at the bottom of the left panel to open Account. Paid plans use a key, not an account.

• Today: on the free plan, today's count, such as "1 of 2 free series today", and when it resets, in your own time.
• Activate a key: paste your key and press Activate. The key locks to this PC.
• Buy a key: Monthly at $9.99 a month; Yearly at $29.99 a year, the most popular (about $2.50 a month, saving 75% against Monthly); or Lifetime at $59.99 once, for the life of the product. Every paid plan has no daily limit, and every episode plays in the player.

Buy opens a secure checkout in your browser, where you pay by card, PayPal, Google Pay or crypto; the app never sees your card. Once the payment goes through, the app activates by itself, and the key is emailed to you too. Monthly and Yearly renew until you cancel: Manage subscription emails you a secure link to update your card, see invoices or cancel, or you can cancel by email. Your plan runs to the end of the period you paid for. All sales are final, with no refunds except where the law requires one (see the refund policy).

New PC? One key works on one PC at a time. Enter it in Account on the new PC and choose Move to this PC; the old PC stops using it at its next check. Or start on the old PC: in Account, choose Move to another computer…, then Move key. A key can move once every 7 days, and from a new PC up to 4 times a year; after that, email support.

It updates itself

The app looks for a new version shortly after it starts, then once a day. When there is one, you see what's new, with Update now, while it downloads quietly. Update now restarts the app into the new version, after any running downloads finish. Otherwise it installs when you close the app. Updates come from the official GitHub releases. Settings > Updates has Check now and Check automatically.

Coming from version 1?

Version 2.0 is a new app, and your key comes with you:

1. Close version 1.
2. Install 2.0 on the same PC and open it, signed in to the same Windows account, with the internet on.
3. Your plan is active. After 2.0 opens, you can uninstall the old version.

The key is copied once, on 2.0's first start. If version 1 was still open, close it and open 2.0 again. Everything new is on the What's new page.

Is it safe and legal?

Setup installs for your Windows user only, so it needs no administrator rights, and uninstalling 2.0 keeps its data and every download. Windows may show a "Windows protected your PC" screen. That's SmartScreen, Windows' reputation check for files few people have run yet, not a virus warning. If you downloaded Setup from this site, click More info, then Run anyway (step by step here).

On the legal side, keep what you download for your own personal, offline viewing, don't share it, and please respect creators' rights. More in Is Hongguo Downloader safe?

The whole app, in order

1. Search box: a title or a link (Ctrl+F).
2. Browse, Ranking and New: filters, Hongguo's charts and the latest releases.
3. Link: share messages, links or series IDs, one or many.
4. Series window: seasons, size, episodes and folder, then Download or Play.
5. Downloads: several series at once, with Retry and Stop all.
6. Library: Play, Open folder, New seasons and Select.
7. Player: right in the app window, even offline.
8. Settings: folder, file names, At once, theme, updates and Report a bug.
9. Account: today's free count, your key and the plans.

Frequently asked questions