Cannot Download Files in Brave on Whonix 17 XFCE, Workaround Fails (Version 1.77.101)

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Description of the issue:
I’m unable to download any files in Brave by default. A workaround posted on the Brave Community suggests disabling the “Ask where to save each file before downloading” option, but this only allows one file to download before requiring a browser restart. Additionally, saving images or web pages always triggers the “Save As” dialog, even with the setting disabled, preventing direct downloads.

How can this issue be reproduced?

  1. Attempt to download any file (e.g., PDF, image, or ZIP) from any website:
  • With “Ask where to save each file before downloading” enabled, no download starts, and no save dialog appears.
  • With the setting disabled (workaround), the first file downloads to the default location successfully.
  1. Try downloading a second file with the setting disabled:
  • The download fails silently (no progress, no error message).
  1. Attempt to save an image or web page (e.g., right-click > “Save Image As” or “Save Page As”):
  • The “Save As” dialog always appears, even with the setting disabled, and saving via this dialog does not initiate a download.
  1. Restart Brave, and the next single file download works (with the setting disabled), but the cycle repeats.

Expected result:

  • Brave should allow downloading files without restrictions when “Ask where to save each file before downloading” is enabled or disabled.
  • Disabling the setting should allow multiple consecutive downloads to the default location without requiring a restart.
  • Saving images or web pages should respect the disabled setting and download directly without prompting the “Save As” dialog.

Brave Version: 1.77.101 (Chromium: 135.0.7049.115)
Operating System: Whonix Workstation 17 (XFCE desktop environment)

Additional Information:
On GitHub, developers suggested this could be a GNOME-related OS issue, but I’m using XFCE on Whonix Workstation 17, not GNOME. Moreover, if this were an OS issue, I’d expect similar problems in other applications or browsers, but only Brave is affected.

For a bit of irony, I asked Brave’s built-in Leo AI for a solution, and it suggested, “Use some other browser.” While funny, I’d prefer to resolve this and continue using Brave due to its privacy features.