Type: Enhancement
Priority: P2
Current state: Several features carry DesktopOnlyMiddleware: file downloads. The mobile web experience is incomplete for file-oriented communities.
Proposed improvement: Enable file downloads on mobile. The file viewer can be simplified for small screens without removing the capability entirely.
Patrick Bass
@mobieus
Shipped (2026-05-29, commit 9da45d3a).
Mobile file downloads now work. Two route registrations had DesktopOnlyMiddleware dropped:
Patrick Bass GET /files/free-download/{id} (routes.php:292)POST /files/download/{id} (routes.php:1060)The middleware itself was also narrowed: DesktopOnlyMiddleware::inferSurface no longer returns the downloads surface for /files/(free-)download/… paths, only for /files/launch-emulator (the emulator runtime actually needs keyboard input that mobile cannot provide).
Net effect: tapping a download link on a phone now hits the file controller and streams the file the same way desktop does. The /mobile/gate explainer page no longer appears for downloads.
Patrick Bass
@mobieus
Glad you're here. Reading, posting, and browsing all work on mobile. A few power-user tools — the image editor and the bulk file uploader — are easier on a larger screen, so feel free to jump over to a desktop for those.