Offline mode and downloads

Orchard can save songs on your computer so you can keep listening when the internet is gone. Downloaded songs play from your disk, so they also use no bandwidth when you are online.

Download songs

A song: open its menu (right-click it or select the three dots) and select Download. The same menu shows Cancel download while it is in progress and Remove download once it is saved.
A playlist or album: open its page and select the download button next to Shuffle. The button is available once every song on the page has loaded. Selecting it saves every song and remembers the playlist or album, so it appears in your offline library.
Remove them again: on the playlist or album page, select the same button and choose Remove downloads. You can also use Remove download on a single song.

A small arrow icon next to a song’s title in a playlist, album, or library list shows that it is downloaded.

Local files do not need downloading, because they already live on your computer. Downloading needs an internet connection and a signed-in YouTube Music account.

Download settings

Open Settings and select Downloads.

Download quality: Saver saves the smallest files, Normal saves up to 128 kbps audio, and High saves the best available audio. The setting applies to future downloads. Songs already saved keep their quality.
Download animated artwork: when a song has a looping cover video, Orchard saves it too, so the loop plays offline. These videos are large, often several megabytes for each album, so this uses a lot more bandwidth and storage than audio alone. Orchard asks you to confirm before turning it on. It also needs Animated artwork to be on in Appearance.
Clear all downloads: deletes every downloaded song, cover, and saved playlist and stops downloads in progress. The page also shows how many songs are saved and how much space they use.

When the connection drops

Orchard checks the connection in the background. When a check fails, a Retrying pill with a countdown appears at the top of the window and Orchard tries once more after 10 seconds. If that second attempt also fails, Orchard switches to offline mode and does not retry on its own.

To leave offline mode, reconnect to the internet and select the Offline pill at the top of the window, or Try again on the home page, or Refresh in the library. If you restart Orchard, it checks again from the start.

When Orchard gets back online it tells you and reloads your home page.

What you see offline

Home shows your recently downloaded songs, your playlists, and your local files.
Your library lists downloaded and local songs in one table, and downloaded and local playlists as cards.
Search looks only through those downloaded and local songs and playlists. The Videos, Albums, and Artists filters are hidden.
Playlists in the sidebar are your local playlists and downloaded playlists and albums. A downloaded playlist lists only the songs that are still downloaded.
The queue keeps only songs that can play offline. Autoplay and recommendations are paused, and songs that are not downloaded cannot start.

Album pages, artist pages, music videos, lyrics, likes, and edits to your YouTube Music playlists need a connection. Menu entries that would open or change them are disabled until you are back online.

Troubleshooting

A download fails: Orchard keeps failed downloads in the list on the Downloads settings page. Select Retry there, or wait: Orchard retries them when the connection comes back.
A song will not play offline: it is not downloaded, or its file was moved or deleted. Download it again while online.