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When I reviewed the video player IINA (see “Prepare for Apple Dropping Old Media Formats with the IINA Video Player,” 6 May 2019), quite a few TidBITS readers took it as an opportunity to vent their frustrations about downloading videos from YouTube. Recent changes in Firefox have broken extensions like DownThemAll, which used to be a handy way to download videos.
There are several reasons you might want to download videos from YouTube. Like most cloud-based things, YouTube videos are ephemeral—they vanish all the time for all kinds of reasons. The uploader might pull a video down, YouTube may remove a video in response to a copyright complaint (sometimes legitimate, sometimes not), and a video might disappear if it runs afoul of YouTube’s ever-changing and seemingly haphazard standards for acceptable content.
But preservation isn’t the only reason people download YouTube videos. For example, they may want to download short clips to use in their videos (honoring the doctrine of fair use, of course). A friend of mine accidentally deleted the “sizzle clip” he slaps on the front of every video in iMovie, and he solved the problem by downloading one of his own videos from YouTube and extracting that clip. Or, you may want to be able to play some YouTube videos in a situation where there’s no Internet access.
Whatever the reason, you don’t have to rely on Firefox to download videos from YouTube. There are several solutions on the Mac, and I review a few of them here.
Note that downloading YouTube videos with a utility other than YouTube’s apps (which require a YouTube Premium subscription) nominally violates YouTube’s terms of service:
You shall not download any Content unless you see a “download” or similar link displayed by YouTube on the Service for that Content. You shall not copy, reproduce, distribute, transmit, broadcast, display, sell, license, or otherwise exploit any Content for any other purposes without the prior written consent of YouTube or the respective licensors of the Content. YouTube and its licensors reserve all rights not expressly granted in and to the Service and the Content.
That said, I’ve never heard of YouTube punishing a user for downloading videos, although using copyrighted material in videos you upload to YouTube could get you in trouble.
The Command-Line Grand Poobah: youtube-dl
Arguably, the greatest of the YouTube downloaders is the public-domain youtube-dl, a command-line utility that powers many apps like the aforementioned IINA. It’s not the friendliest option, but it’s free and powerful.
The project offers instructions for installing youtube-dl. You can use the curl command or rely on Homebrew, a command-line package manager that I strongly recommend—refer to Homebrew’s home page for a one-line command to install it from Terminal. Then, in Terminal, you can enter brew install youtube-dl to install the download utility.
Once you install youtube-dl, type man youtube-dl in Terminal to see its extensive list of options. But all you really need to do to use it is to type youtube-dl URL in Terminal, where URL is the link to the desired YouTube video. That downloads the video in your current directory. Type cd ~/Downloads before running youtube-dl to download the video to your Downloads folder.
You can play the video after you download it with QuickTime or with a third-party player like IINA or VLC.
The developers of youtube-dl issue updates frequently, which is why I recommend installing it with Homebrew. The first time I tried to download a video for this article, I received an error because I hadn’t updated youtube-dl first. Homebrew makes updating easy with the brew update youtube-dl command, which updates both youtube-dl and Homebrew itself, along with all the packages youtube-dl needs to function.
A Free Graphical App: ClipGrab
ClipGrab is a simple, free utility for macOS that can download individual YouTube videos and even convert them to other formats, including MP3 if you’re only interested in the audio.
It’s easy to use: copy a YouTube URL and open ClipGrab. It will automatically extract the URL from the clipboard. Use the Format drop-down menu to choose a format (Original is usually fine if you want video), and click Grab This Clip to download the video. The default download location is your Desktop, but you can change it in the Settings tab.
ClipGrab offers a search tab where you can search for and download videos, but I find it easier to use YouTube’s search engine to find videos and then paste the URL into ClipGrab.
A Setapp Option: Downie
A subscription to Setapp includes several utilities that can download YouTube videos: the torrent client Folx, media players Movist Pro and Elmedia Player, and an app purpose-built for downloading YouTube videos: Downie. (If you’re not a Setapp subscriber, Downie costs $19.99.)
Downie, unlike ClipGrab, is tailor-made for the Mac. You can drag and drop YouTube URLs to Downie’s window or its Dock icon. Downie also comes bundled with a Safari extension, which you enable in Safari > Preferences > Extensions. Once you enable the extension, you can click the Downie icon in Safari’s toolbar to download a video.
In addition to Downie’s simplicity, I like that it downloads subtitles with the video (YouTube automatically generates subtitles for videos). Downie saves subtitles alongside the video as an SRT file. Unfortunately, QuickTime Player doesn’t understand those files, so you need to use a more capable video player like IINA to view them. As long as the SRT file is in the same directory as the video, it works automatically when you play the video in IINA.
Downie can also download an entire YouTube playlist at once. Just drag the playlist URL into Downie and click Playlist to see all the available videos to download. You can then click Add Selected to download the playlist videos.
Download an Entire Channel with 4K Video Downloader
Install Youtube App
Downie can download an entire playlist, but there’s only one Mac app that I know of that can download an entire YouTube channel: 4K Video Downloader. You can try the app for free (it costs $15 to unlock the entire app). To use it, copy the channel’s URL, open 4K Video Downloader, and click Paste Link to load every video in the channel.
Even better, when 4K Downloader is running, you can subscribe to a channel to download every new video published on the channel automatically.
Note that if a channel has a lot of videos, it can take a long time to download them all and it may use considerable system resources to do so. Nonetheless, I’ve successfully downloaded entire channels containing hundreds of videos with 4K Video Downloader, making it my favorite utility of the bunch.
4K Video Download can also download subtitles, and it can convert YouTube videos to MP3 audio files. Of course, it downloads individual videos as well.
There you have it: four utilities that you can use to download YouTube videos in macOS. Do you have another favorite? Let us know in the comments.
2020-09-10 17:49:21 • Filed to: macOS 10.14 • Proven solutions
Apple has announced macOS 10.14 Mojave, along with its superb features, including Dark Mode, Stacks, Dynamic Desktop, Screen Capture, and lots more. Most Mac owners already are aware of this; what they may not know is the best solutions to save YouTube videos on macOS 10.14 for free. YouTube, a California-headquartered video-sharing website, is where you can download millions of songs, videos to make you enjoy your Mac to the fullest. In this write-up, we'll show you how to download YouTube videos to macOS 10.14 for free.
Best Free Youtube Downloaders for macOS 10.14
1. Free YouTube Downloader
This is a highly recommended tool to download YouTube videos on macOS 10.14. Free YouTube Video Downloader provides 3X faster speed and 3 easy ways to download any videos from YouTube on Mac for free. It also has a premium version named iTube HD Video Downloader which can download HD and 4K YouTube videos in bulk.
Key features:
- The program provides 3 easy ways to download YouTube videos, including copy and paste URL, directly drag and drop the video to the interface, and a 'Download' button on the browser.
- Free YouTube Downloader can automatically detect and download YouTube videos opened in Safari, Chrome, or Firefox in one click.
- 3X faster download speeds compared to other similar programs.
2. Airy
This app is one of the top free YouTube downloaders for Mojave. It helps you save your favorite videos from YouTube onto the Mac so you can play them anytime and anywhere you choose. With Airy, you don't need an internet connection to play music from YouTube. It allows for 2 free downloads.
Key features:
- Airy lets you download complete YouTube playlists in the video as well as audio formats.
- It is used for downloading an entire YouTube channel.
- It is great for downloading a private YouTube video.
Youtube Downloader For Mac Free
3. Any Video Converter
If one assumes that this software is only meant for converting videos into various formats, such a misconception is venial. This is the reason judging a book by its cover — or more precisely, judging an app by its name — is not wise. Though Any Video Converter is apparently capable of performing this operation, it is also a fantastic YouTube video downloader.
Key features:
- It allows you to download your favorite videos directly from YouTube and save them on your Mac in MP3 format.
- It is free to download videos from YouTube to your Mac for macOS 10.14
- The software is used for converting videos from one format to another.
4. MacX YouTube Video Downloader
This piece of software can download videos from YouTube and other websites like Dailymotion, Vimeo, Facebook, and Vevo. When you are downloading music and videos from YouTube with this software, it allows you to select several formats and resolutions, including 8K, 720p, 1080p, Ultra HD, 5K, and 4K resolutions.
Key features:
- The program has a professional-looking interface.
- It is perfect for downloading videos from YouTube and other sites such as Facebook, Vevo, Dailymotion, and Vimeo.
- MacX YouTube Video Downloader is a tad confusing to use
5. ClipGrab for Mac
This program is one of the best YouTube downloaders for macOS 10.14 because it is free, fast, and easy to use. The app downloads videos in HD from YouTube and other popular video hosting sites like Vimeo, Dailymotion, and so on. One of the unique offerings of the app is, it automatically detects whenever a user pastes a download link from a website onto the clipboard and begins the download of the video automatically.
Key features:
- ClipGrab allows you to download videos from top video hosting platforms such as YouTube, Dailymotion, Vimeo, and others.
- You can save download videos in formats like MPEG, WMV, OGG, Theora, and OGG.
6. WinX HD Video Converter for Mac
Looking for an extremely clean and safe YouTube Video Downloader to download YouTube videos on your Mac for macOS 10.14? WinX HD Video Converter for Mac should be your ultimate choice. It allows you to download videos in various formats, including MP4, FLV, and WebM. Also, it helps you download videos easily from YouTube and other websites in SD, HD, 4K, and UHD resolutions.
Key features:
- WinX HD Video Converter for Mac is 100% clean and safe
- It is used for downloading videos in MP4, FLV, and WebM
- The app is ideal for downloading videos from YouTube and other platforms in SD, HD, 4K and UHD resolutions
Save YouTube Video on macOS 10.14 Using Browsers
1. Save a Video from YouTube with Safari
Best Youtube Downloader for Safari is used to save YouTube videos on macOS 10.14. It is an add-on for the browser, providing the easiest solution for downloading YouTube videos in different formats — the likes of MP4, FLV, WebM with 1080p and 720p HD FullHD qualities directly from video pages on YouTube.
Download Link:
https://safariaddons.com/en-US/safari/downloads/file/656/best_youtube_downloader_for_mac_os-1.5.17-sf.zip
2. Save a YouTube Video with Firefox
If you're a Firefox user, we recommend that you visit the DownloadHelper extension and install this extension. After this, you'll see the DownloadHelper icon displayed in the address bar of your Firefox or in the status bar, which you can find at the bottom of the browser window. You can start playing a video and click on the icon for the extension. You will see one or more listings for that YouTube video with a few of them in Flash format, while others may be in MPEG-4 format. Simply select the one you prefer and begin the download onto your Mac.
3. Save Video from YouTube Using Chrome
For users of Chrome, save YouTube video on macOS 10.14 using a Chrome extension, Download YouTube Chrome. After downloading this add-on and unpacking the ZIP file on your hard drive, follow these steps:
1. Copy and paste 'chrome://extensions' to the address bar of your browser.
2. Tick the checkbox for 'Developer Mode.'
3. Choose the 'Load unpacked extension' option.
4. Go to the unpacked folder on the hard drive; then open it.
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