diff --git a/src/main/downloadFile.ts b/src/main/downloadFile.ts
index 1fa9ab5c..02aa968d 100644
--- a/src/main/downloadFile.ts
+++ b/src/main/downloadFile.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,12 @@
 import * as fs from 'fs-extra';
-import https from 'https';
-import http from 'http';
-import { URL } from 'url';
+import { net } from 'electron';
+import { Readable, Transform } from 'stream';
+import { pipeline } from 'stream/promises';
 /**
- * Promise based download file method
- * Uses native Node.js http/https modules to preserve S3 pre-signed URLs exactly as-is
- * See: https://ourcodeworld.com/articles/read/228/how-to-download-a-webfile-with-electron-save-it-and-show-download-progress
+ * Promise based download file method.
+ * Uses Electron net.fetch (Chromium TLS/proxy) so corporate SSL inspection
+ * and OS trust stores work — Node https hits UNABLE_TO_VERIFY_LEAF_SIGNATURE.
+ * Pass the original URL string so S3 pre-signed query strings stay exact.
  */
 
 const downloadMap = new Map();
@@ -16,121 +17,73 @@ export const downloadClose = (token: string) => {
   if (downloadMap.has(token)) downloadMap.delete(token);
 };
 
-export const downloadFile = (
+export const downloadFile = async (
   url: string,
   localPath: string,
   token?: string
-) => {
-  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
-    let key: string | undefined = undefined;
-    let received_bytes = 0;
-    let total_bytes = 0;
-    let error: Error | null = null;
+): Promise<void> => {
+  new URL(url); // validate early
 
-    try {
-      // Parse URL to get components, but use the original URL string for the request
-      // to preserve the exact path and query string (important for S3 signatures)
-      const urlObj = new URL(url);
-      const isHttps = urlObj.protocol === 'https:';
-      const client = isHttps ? https : http;
-
-      // Use the original URL string to preserve exact path encoding
-      // This is critical for S3 pre-signed URLs where the signature depends on the exact URL
-      const options = {
-        hostname: urlObj.hostname,
-        port: urlObj.port || (isHttps ? 443 : 80),
-        path: urlObj.pathname + urlObj.search, // Preserve path and query exactly
-        method: 'GET',
-        headers: {
-          'User-Agent': 'Audio-Project-Manager',
-        },
-      };
-
-      const out = fs.createWriteStream(localPath);
-      const req = client.request(options, (res) => {
-        if (res.statusCode && res.statusCode >= 400) {
-          error = new Error(
-            `HTTP ${res.statusCode}: ${res.statusMessage}`
-          ) as any;
-          res.resume(); // Consume response to free up memory
-          out.destroy();
-          if (key) {
-            const status = downloadMap.get(key);
-            downloadMap.set(key, status ? { ...status, error } : { error });
-          }
-          reject(error);
-          return;
-        }
-
-        total_bytes = parseInt(res.headers['content-length'] || '0', 10);
-        if (token) {
-          downloadMap.set(token, {
-            received: 0,
-            total: total_bytes,
-            error: error,
-          });
-          key = token;
-        }
-
-        res.on('data', (chunk: Buffer) => {
-          received_bytes += chunk.length;
-          if (key) {
-            const status = downloadMap.get(key);
-            downloadMap.set(
-              key,
-              status
-                ? { ...status, received: received_bytes }
-                : { received: received_bytes }
-            );
-          }
-        });
-
-        res.on('end', () => {
-          out.end();
-        });
-
-        res.pipe(out);
-      });
+  const response = await net.fetch(url, {
+    method: 'GET',
+    headers: { 'User-Agent': 'Audio-Project-Manager' },
+  });
 
-      req.on('error', (err: Error) => {
-        error = err;
-        out.destroy();
-        if (key) {
-          const status = downloadMap.get(key);
-          downloadMap.set(key, status ? { ...status, error } : { error });
-        }
-        reject(error);
-      });
+  if (!response.ok) {
+    throw new Error(`HTTP ${response.status}: ${response.statusText}`);
+  }
+  if (!response.body) {
+    throw new Error('HTTP response has no body');
+  }
 
-      out.on('finish', () => {
-        let err = error;
-        if (key) {
-          err = downloadMap.get(key)?.error;
-        }
-        if (err) {
-          fs.unlink(localPath).catch(() => {
-            // Ignore unlink errors
-          });
-          reject(err);
-        } else {
-          resolve(void 0);
-        }
-      });
+  const total_bytes = parseInt(
+    response.headers.get('content-length') || '0',
+    10
+  );
+  if (token) {
+    downloadMap.set(token, {
+      received: 0,
+      total: total_bytes,
+      error: null,
+    });
+  }
 
-      out.on('error', (err: Error) => {
-        error = err;
-        req.destroy();
-        if (key) {
-          const status = downloadMap.get(key);
-          downloadMap.set(key, status ? { ...status, error } : { error });
-        }
-        reject(error);
-      });
+  let received_bytes = 0;
+  const counter = new Transform({
+    transform(chunk, _enc, cb) {
+      received_bytes += chunk.length;
+      if (token) {
+        const status = downloadMap.get(token);
+        downloadMap.set(
+          token,
+          status
+            ? { ...status, received: received_bytes }
+            : {
+                received: received_bytes,
+                total: total_bytes,
+                error: null,
+              }
+        );
+      }
+      cb(null, chunk);
+    },
+  });
 
-      req.end();
-    } catch (err) {
-      const error = err as Error;
-      reject(error);
+  try {
+    const nodeReadable = Readable.fromWeb(
+      response.body as import('stream/web').ReadableStream
+    );
+    await pipeline(nodeReadable, counter, fs.createWriteStream(localPath));
+  } catch (err) {
+    if (token) {
+      const status = downloadMap.get(token);
+      downloadMap.set(
+        token,
+        status ? { ...status, error: err } : { error: err }
+      );
     }
-  });
+    // Unlink before rethrow so renderer exists() cannot race a leftover file.
+    await fs.unlink(localPath).catch(() => undefined);
+    throw err;
+  }
 };
diff --git a/src/main/ipcMethods.ts b/src/main/ipcMethods.ts
index e5d882ae..e5a59433 100644
--- a/src/main/ipcMethods.ts
+++ b/src/main/ipcMethods.ts
@@ -411,7 +411,11 @@ export function ipcMethods(): void {
       await downloadFile(url, localFile);
       return;
     } catch (err) {
-      return JSON.stringify(err);
+      const e = err as Error & { code?: string };
+      return JSON.stringify({
+        message: e?.message ?? String(err),
+        ...(e?.code ? { code: e.code } : {}),
+      });
     }
   });
 
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/burrito/useBurritoNavigation.ts b/src/renderer/src/burrito/useBurritoNavigation.ts
index 1d0d094c..fb76416d 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/burrito/useBurritoNavigation.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/burrito/useBurritoNavigation.ts
@@ -336,7 +336,8 @@ export const useBurritoNavigation = (teamId: string) => {
         await dataPath(content, PathType.MEDIA, local);
         const mediaName = local.localname;
         if (!(await ipc?.exists(mediaName))) {
-          await ipc?.downloadFile(content, mediaName);
+          const err = await ipc?.downloadFile(content, mediaName);
+          if (err || !(await ipc?.exists(mediaName))) return false;
         }
         await ipc?.copyFile(mediaName, destPath);
         return true;
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/HelpMenu.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/HelpMenu.tsx
index c9e8f304..f256ef54 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/HelpMenu.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/HelpMenu.tsx
@@ -88,7 +88,14 @@ export function HelpMenu(props: IProps) {
     const localPath = loc
       ? path.join(folder, 'help', name)
       : await dataPath(name, PathType.ZIP);
-    if (!loc) await ipc?.downloadFile(url, localPath);
+    if (!loc) {
+      const err = await ipc?.downloadFile(url, localPath);
+      if (err || !(await ipc?.exists(localPath))) {
+        showMessage(`Failed to download ${name}`);
+        setAnchorEl(null);
+        return;
+      }
+    }
     launch(localPath, false);
     setAnchorEl(null);
     if (action) action('Download');
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/utils/tryDownload.ts b/src/renderer/src/utils/tryDownload.ts
index eff577aa..ffa7e165 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/utils/tryDownload.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/utils/tryDownload.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,11 @@ export const tryDownload = async (url: string): Promise<TryDownloadResult> => {
     try {
       ipc?.createFolder(path.dirname(local.localname));
       console.log('downloading', local.localname, url);
-      await ipc?.downloadFile(url, local.localname);
+      const err = await ipc?.downloadFile(url, local.localname);
+      if (err) {
+        console.log('error', err);
+        return { ok: false, path: url };
+      }
       if (await ipc?.exists(local.localname)) {
         return { ok: true, path: local.localname };
       }