diff --git a/apps/desktop/eslint.config.mjs b/apps/desktop/eslint.config.mjs
index 4f9f86d77d..3690c9dfda 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/eslint.config.mjs
+++ b/apps/desktop/eslint.config.mjs
@@ -10,10 +10,11 @@ export default [
       globals: { ...globals.node },
     },
   },
-  // Security: every renderer-controlled URL that reaches the OS shell must
-  // flow through openExternalSafely in src/main/external-url.ts (scheme
-  // allowlist). Enforce it statically so a direct shell.openExternal call
-  // cannot silently regress the protection.
+  // Security: every renderer-controlled URL that reaches the OS shell or the
+  // native download system must flow through the safe wrappers in
+  // src/main/external-url.ts (scheme allowlist). Enforce it statically so
+  // direct shell.openExternal / webContents.downloadURL calls cannot silently
+  // regress the protection.
   {
     files: ["src/main/**/*.ts"],
     rules: {
@@ -25,6 +26,12 @@ export default [
           message:
             "Do not call shell.openExternal directly. Use openExternalSafely from './external-url' so the http/https allowlist stays enforced.",
         },
+        {
+          selector:
+            "CallExpression[callee.object.property.name='webContents'][callee.property.name='downloadURL']",
+          message:
+            "Do not call webContents.downloadURL directly. Use downloadURLSafely from './external-url' so the http/https allowlist stays enforced.",
+        },
       ],
     },
   },
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/main/external-url.ts b/apps/desktop/src/main/external-url.ts
index e528d1db97..58b2c80404 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/main/external-url.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/main/external-url.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { shell } from "electron";
+import { shell, type BrowserWindow } from "electron";
 
 // True when the URL parses and uses http/https — the only schemes we let
 // reach `shell.openExternal`. Scheme comparison is safe because the WHATWG
@@ -19,6 +19,19 @@ export function openExternalSafely(url: string): Promise<void> | void {
   return shell.openExternal(url);
 }
 
+// Canonical wrapper around webContents.downloadURL. All renderer-controlled
+// URLs that trigger a native download MUST flow through here; direct calls
+// to `webContents.downloadURL` elsewhere in the main process are banned by
+// the no-restricted-syntax rule in apps/desktop/eslint.config.mjs.
+// Reuses the same http/https allowlist as openExternalSafely.
+export function downloadURLSafely(win: BrowserWindow, url: string): void {
+  if (getHttpProtocol(url) === null) {
+    console.warn(`[security] blocked downloadURL: ${describeScheme(url)}`);
+    return;
+  }
+  win.webContents.downloadURL(url);
+}
+
 function getHttpProtocol(url: string): "http:" | "https:" | null {
   try {
     const { protocol } = new URL(url);
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/main/index.ts b/apps/desktop/src/main/index.ts
index 660559a322..8c278b49bc 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/main/index.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/main/index.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import { electronApp, optimizer, is } from "@electron-toolkit/utils";
 import fixPath from "fix-path";
 import { setupAutoUpdater } from "./updater";
 import { setupDaemonManager } from "./daemon-manager";
-import { openExternalSafely } from "./external-url";
+import { openExternalSafely, downloadURLSafely } from "./external-url";
 import { installContextMenu } from "./context-menu";
 import { getAppVersion } from "./app-version";
 import { loadRuntimeConfig } from "./runtime-config-loader";
@@ -288,6 +288,14 @@ if (!gotTheLock) {
       return openExternalSafely(url);
     });
 
+    ipcMain.handle("file:download-url", (_event, url: string) => {
+      if (!mainWindow) {
+        console.warn("[download] ignored file:download-url — mainWindow torn down");
+        return;
+      }
+      downloadURLSafely(mainWindow, url);
+    });
+
     // Sync IPC: app version + normalized OS for preload. Sync (not invoke) so
     // preload can attach the values to `desktopAPI.appInfo` before any renderer
     // code reads them, ensuring the very first HTTP request from the renderer
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/preload/index.d.ts b/apps/desktop/src/preload/index.d.ts
index 8e54ced451..0fb1ee46d0 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/preload/index.d.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/preload/index.d.ts
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@ interface DesktopAPI {
   onInviteOpen: (callback: (invitationId: string) => void) => () => void;
   /** Open a URL in the default browser. */
   openExternal: (url: string) => Promise<void>;
+  /** Download a file by URL through Electron's native download system.
+   *  Shows a native save dialog. On non-desktop platforms this is undefined. */
+  downloadURL: (url: string) => Promise<void>;
   /** Hide macOS traffic lights for full-screen modals; restore when false. */
   setImmersiveMode: (immersive: boolean) => Promise<void>;
   /** Show a native OS notification for a new inbox item. */
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/preload/index.ts b/apps/desktop/src/preload/index.ts
index c67d32b58e..e8015e9920 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/preload/index.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/preload/index.ts
@@ -89,6 +89,11 @@ const desktopAPI = {
   },
   /** Open a URL in the default browser */
   openExternal: (url: string) => ipcRenderer.invoke("shell:openExternal", url),
+  /** Download a file by URL through Electron's native download system.
+   *  Shows a save dialog and saves to disk. Unlike openExternal, this
+   *  avoids browser rendering of HTML files on Linux.
+   *  On non-desktop platforms this property is undefined. */
+  downloadURL: (url: string) => ipcRenderer.invoke("file:download-url", url),
   /** Toggle immersive mode — hide macOS traffic lights for full-screen modals */
   setImmersiveMode: (immersive: boolean) =>
     ipcRenderer.invoke("window:setImmersive", immersive),
diff --git a/packages/views/editor/use-download-attachment.test.tsx b/packages/views/editor/use-download-attachment.test.tsx
index ac22594fe9..4ac5e828f9 100644
--- a/packages/views/editor/use-download-attachment.test.tsx
+++ b/packages/views/editor/use-download-attachment.test.tsx
@@ -9,10 +9,6 @@ vi.mock("@multica/core/api", () => ({
   api: { getAttachment: getAttachmentMock },
 }));
 
-vi.mock("../platform", () => ({
-  openExternal: vi.fn(),
-}));
-
 vi.mock("sonner", () => ({
   toast: { error: vi.fn(), success: vi.fn() },
 }));
@@ -22,7 +18,6 @@ vi.mock("../i18n", () => ({
 }));
 
 import { useDownloadAttachment } from "./use-download-attachment";
-import { openExternal } from "../platform";
 import { toast } from "sonner";
 
 const SIGNED_URL =
@@ -82,9 +77,10 @@ describe("useDownloadAttachment (web)", () => {
 });
 
 describe("useDownloadAttachment (desktop)", () => {
-  it("skips the placeholder tab and hands the signed URL to openExternal", async () => {
-    (window as unknown as { desktopAPI: { openExternal: () => void } }).desktopAPI = {
-      openExternal: vi.fn(),
+  it("skips the placeholder tab and hands the signed URL to the desktop download bridge", async () => {
+    const downloadURL = vi.fn();
+    (window as unknown as { desktopAPI: { downloadURL: typeof downloadURL } }).desktopAPI = {
+      downloadURL,
     };
     getAttachmentMock.mockResolvedValueOnce({
       id: "att-1",
@@ -103,6 +99,23 @@ describe("useDownloadAttachment (desktop)", () => {
     // No placeholder — Electron's setWindowOpenHandler would reject
     // about:blank, so we go straight to the platform's IPC bridge.
     expect(openSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
-    expect(openExternal).toHaveBeenCalledWith(SIGNED_URL);
+    expect(downloadURL).toHaveBeenCalledWith(SIGNED_URL);
+  });
+
+  it("shows a toast when the API rejects on desktop", async () => {
+    const downloadURL = vi.fn();
+    (window as unknown as { desktopAPI: { downloadURL: typeof downloadURL } }).desktopAPI = {
+      downloadURL,
+    };
+    getAttachmentMock.mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error("network failure"));
+
+    const { result } = renderHook(() => useDownloadAttachment());
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      await result.current("att-1");
+    });
+
+    expect(downloadURL).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    await waitFor(() => expect(toast.error).toHaveBeenCalled());
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/views/editor/use-download-attachment.ts b/packages/views/editor/use-download-attachment.ts
index 559400bef6..c2dea633f0 100644
--- a/packages/views/editor/use-download-attachment.ts
+++ b/packages/views/editor/use-download-attachment.ts
@@ -3,20 +3,19 @@
 import { useCallback } from "react";
 import { toast } from "sonner";
 import { api } from "@multica/core/api";
-import { openExternal } from "../platform";
 import { useT } from "../i18n";
 
 interface DesktopBridge {
-  openExternal?: (u: string) => Promise<void> | void;
+  downloadURL?: (u: string) => Promise<void> | void;
 }
 
 // Detected at call time, not module load — the bridge is injected by the
 // Electron preload after `window` exists, and reading it lazily lets the
 // same hook work in both renderers without a build-time fork.
-function hasDesktopBridge(): boolean {
+function hasDesktopDownloadBridge(): boolean {
   if (typeof window === "undefined") return false;
   const bridge = (window as unknown as { desktopAPI?: DesktopBridge }).desktopAPI;
-  return Boolean(bridge?.openExternal);
+  return Boolean(bridge?.downloadURL);
 }
 
 /**
@@ -35,11 +34,11 @@ function hasDesktopBridge(): boolean {
  *   spec (`dom-open` step 17) makes that return `null`, which would leave
  *   us nothing to navigate. We disown the opener manually after the fetch.
  *
- * - **Desktop**: `window.open` is intercepted by Electron's
- *   `setWindowOpenHandler` and routed through `openExternalSafely`, which
- *   rejects `about:blank`. So on desktop we fetch first, then hand the URL
- *   to `openExternal()` which IPCs into `shell.openExternal` and opens the
- *   system browser.
+ * - **Desktop**: uses `desktopAPI.downloadURL()` which invokes Electron's
+ *   native `webContents.downloadURL()`, showing a save dialog and saving
+ *   the file directly. This avoids the system browser entirely and fixes
+ *   the Linux/Ubuntu issue where HTML files are rendered inline instead
+ *   of being downloaded.
  */
 export function useDownloadAttachment(): (attachmentId: string) => Promise<void> {
   const { t } = useT("editor");
@@ -47,14 +46,17 @@ export function useDownloadAttachment(): (attachmentId: string) => Promise<void>
     async (attachmentId: string) => {
       const failed = () => toast.error(t(($) => $.attachment.download_failed));
 
-      if (hasDesktopBridge()) {
+      if (hasDesktopDownloadBridge()) {
         try {
           const fresh = await api.getAttachment(attachmentId);
           if (!fresh.download_url) {
             failed();
             return;
           }
-          openExternal(fresh.download_url);
+          const bridge = (
+            window as unknown as { desktopAPI?: DesktopBridge }
+          ).desktopAPI;
+          await bridge!.downloadURL!(fresh.download_url);
         } catch {
           failed();
         }