The .crdownload file is a partial download file used by Google Chrome and Chromium based browsers such as Edge, Brave and Opera. These files are not typically openable. If you try to open one you may receive an error as it doesn’t recognise the file type. If you no longer need the file then simply delete it but if you do then download it again.
When you begin a download a temporary file will appear in your downloads folder. This will typically be named:
OriginalFileName.extension.crdownload
In Chrome 89+ your file name will vary. This is because the file name is dynamically created based off the download link and server response. You will receive a file like: Unconfirmed 12345.crdownload. This can vary considerably from the actual file name, to limit any naming conflicts.
There is no special format around a .crdownload file. They are typically just raw data. Once the download has finished Chrome will finish writing the data and change the file name at OS level removing the .crdownload extension. This is typically done in an atomic way meaning you won’t see the fully downloaded file until it has finished.
How to recover the file ?
Always remember when trying to open/edit this file not to interfere with Chrome writing to the file. If you leave it alone the download may complete and the file will be fully downloaded. If there is no network or disk activity then you may want to look into it, but there is no guarantee you can recover it. Below are some methods, from safest to riskiest.
Option 1 – Resume the download in Chrome (Recommended)
This is the safest option
Open chrome://downloads/
Look for the download that didn’t work/paused. This will often be at the top. If there is a Resume button click it. Chrome will try to resume the download. If the server has support for Accept-Ranges: bytes header then it should resume from where it left off. If not Chrome will start the download again. This will overwrite your existing .crdownload file. Once it has finished downloading you should have your file.
If there isn’t an option to resume then Chrome has likely lost connection to the temp download. Simply return to the page you downloaded from and download again.
Option 2 – Change the file extension (Be cautious)
This method is skipping Chrome’s download session. This may mean your file isn’t fully downloaded and Chrome may delete/overwrite the file completely. Due to security reasons and/or download links expiring you may not be able to resume.
Close Chrome. Open Task Manager and check the details tab to ensure there are no chrome.exe processes running.
Backup the file. Make a copy of the .crdownload file.
Change the file extension. Only do this if you know the file type. If you are certain it’s an MP4 video or PDF Document then remove the .crdownload from the backup file. For example MyFile.mp4.crdownload would become MyFile.mp4. You can rename the file but ensure the extension matches the file type. If the file name is something like Unconfirmed 1234567.crdownload then you can remove the temp part of the name.
Hex Editor
If you don’t know the file type you can open the file in a hex editor such as HxD or Hex Fiend. You can sometimes work out the file type by looking at the first few bytes. This can give you an indication but there is no guarantee the file is fully downloaded.
Below are common file types:
- PK (50 4B) – ZIP based files, ZIP, DOCX, XLSX, APK, JAR
- %PDF (25 50 44 46) – PDF
- RIFF (52 49 46 46) – RIFF based files, AVI/WAV
- ‰PNG (89 50 4E 47) – PNG Image
- ÿØÿà (FF D8 FF E0) – JPG Image
- ftyp (often at byte 4) (66 74 79 70) – MP4 container
- ID3 (49 44 33) – MP3 Audio
If you see one of these then use the correct extension. Changing the extension won’t fix any missing/incomplete data.
Error: You can’t rename this file
Chrome or another process may be keeping the file locked. Try closing Chrome first. If this doesn’t work you can use advanced tools such as Handle or lsof to find what is using the file. Do not use these if you aren’t confident with them. Restarting your computer may help. If needed you can use Safe Mode to help find if another application is causing an issue. Don’t disable your security software unless you know what you’re doing and have a safe reason to.
File is open but incomplete.
Archive files (ZIP, RAR, 7-Zip). If the central directory is missing then your archive tool may not be able to open it despite some data being there. WinRAR or 7-Zip may have repair tools to try and rebuild the archive. However there is no guarantee. If you are missing significant amounts of data then it may be unrecoverable. Your best bet is to re-download the file.
Media files (MP4, AVI). Some codec/index data may be at the beginning/end of the file. For example an MP4 file will have moov atom. If this data is missing then your media player may not be able to play it. Occasionally you can use tools such as FFmpeg to move the meta data around. For example using -movflags faststart. This won’t help with any missing download data. Generally you will need the full file. Rebuilding the raw video data is a specialist task and may not work.
Interference from Firewall/Antivirus
Your security software may be scanning the file whilst Chrome is trying to rename it. This could stop Chrome from finishing the rename. The download may show as having completed however it will still have the temporary extension. Check Chrome to see if it has finished downloading. Check your security software for any notifications/logs. Don’t disable real time protection. Don’t rename the file just because it shows as complete. If the file is confirmed as complete and your security software has released the lock then you can rename the backup file. However it may still be damaged/incomplete.
