Download YouTube videos and audio in MP4, WebM, MKV or M4A, at any quality, right from the player.
Install · Features · Formats · Updates · Troubleshooting · Support
| Extension name | YT DOWNLOADER |
| Extension version | 1.1.1 |
| Manifest version | 3 (MV3) |
| Browsers | Google Chrome 111 or newer, and other Chromium-based browsers with MV3 support (Edge, Brave, Opera, Vivaldi). Only Chrome is tested. Firefox and Safari are not supported. |
| Permissions | storage, downloads, alarms |
| Runs on | https://www.youtube.com/* |
| Author | Archimetrix |
| License | Apache License 2.0 |
The extension is installed as an unpacked extension for all chromium browsers like(Chrome,brave,edge,opera,helium,vivaldi etc.).
- Download the latest zip from Releases and unzip it into a folder you will keep.
- Open
chrome://extensionsor just go to your browser extension settings and turn on Developer mode. - Click Load unpacked and select the folder (the one that contains
manifest.json). - Open any
youtube.com/watchpage. The download button appears in the player controls.
Firefox Browser- get from addon store.
- A download button is added to the YouTube player controls on every video page.
- Click it to choose format and quality from a menu, or set defaults and download with one click.
- Several downloads can run at once (1 to 4, your choice). Starting a new one never cancels a running one.
- A progress toast in the player has a cancel button, and a counter on the button shows how many downloads are running.
- Video: MP4 (H.264), WebM (VP9 / AV1) or MKV.
- Audio only: M4A (AAC) or WebM (Opus).
- The in-player menu has an MP4 / WebM / MKV switch and remembers your last choice.
- Every quality row shows the real codec and the file size before you download.
- Shows only active downloads, each with thumbnail, title, live progress and a cancel button.
- Cancel all with one click.
- When a download finishes it leaves the queue and goes to History. Failed downloads stay with the reason until you dismiss them.
- Finished downloads, grouped by day (Today, Yesterday, then dates).
- Each entry shows thumbnail, title, quality, format, file size, time and date.
- Search by title or channel, and filter by All / Video / Audio.
- Stays smooth with thousands of entries. Only the rows on screen are drawn, so scrolling never stutters. Keeps up to 5,000 entries.
- Click an entry to reopen the video, remove single entries, clear everything (with a confirm step), or open your downloads folder.
- Ask every time, or download straight with your defaults.
- Default type (video or audio), video format, quality (144p up to 4K), and audio format.
- Save into a sub-folder of Downloads (for example
Music/YouTube). - Number of simultaneous downloads.
- Daily update check on or off.
- Modern card-based popup with light and dark themes that follow your browser.
- Footer with Buy me a coffee and UPI Support buttons.
| Option | Container | Codecs | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| MP4 | .mp4 |
H.264 + AAC (AV1 for resolutions where H.264 isn't offered) | Maximum compatibility: phones, TVs, editors |
| WebM | .webm |
VP9 / AV1 + Opus | Smaller files, 1440p and 4K |
| MKV | .mkv |
Any codec above | Keeping the best quality, VLC and most players |
| M4A | .m4a |
AAC | Audio only, most compatible |
| WebM (Opus) | .webm |
Opus | Audio only, best quality |
Notes:
- Available qualities depend on the video. If your chosen quality isn't offered, the closest lower one is used.
- At high resolutions YouTube often doesn't offer H.264, so MP4 may show AV1, or those resolutions may only appear in WebM and MKV. The menu tells you when that happens.
- No conversion is done. Streams are downloaded and joined as they are, so MP3, WAV and re-encoding are not supported.
The extension is installed as an unpacked extension.
- Download the latest zip from Releases and unzip it into a folder you will keep.
- Open
chrome://extensionsand turn on Developer mode. - Click Load unpacked and select the folder (the one that contains
manifest.json). - Open any
youtube.com/watchpage. The download button appears in the player controls.
- Open a YouTube video and click the download button in the player.
- Pick MP4 / WebM / MKV, then a quality. For audio only, choose M4A or Opus.
- Watch it in the Queue tab. When it finishes, find it in History.
Keep the YouTube tab open while a download runs. You can switch to other tabs or apps, but closing or reloading that tab stops the download. If Chrome asks to allow multiple automatic downloads for youtube.com, choose Allow.
Very long or 4K videos are joined in memory, so for those use a lower quality or fewer parallel downloads.
Unpacked extensions can't update themselves, so YT DOWNLOADER checks this repository's GitHub Releases for you.
- Checks once a day in the background, when Chrome starts, and when you press Check now in Settings.
- When a newer version exists, the toolbar icon shows a NEW badge and the popup shows a banner with a Download button. You can Skip a version.
- The daily check can be turned off in Settings → Updates.
To update:
- Download the new zip from the banner.
- Replace the contents of your extension folder with the new files.
- Open
chrome://extensionsand press the reload icon on YT DOWNLOADER.
main.jsruns in the page. It learns the playback session from the player's own requests, pulls the chosen tracks with the open-sourcegooglevideoSABR client, and joins them withmediabunny.- The finished file is saved as a normal browser download.
content.jsadds the player button, menu and progress toast.background.jsapplies your save-folder choice and runs the update checker.popup/is the Queue, History and Settings interface.
manifest.json extension manifest (MV3)
background.js save folder + update checker
content.js / .css player button, menu, toast
main.js download engine (runs in the page)
popup/ popup UI (html, css, js)
icons/ logo in all required sizes
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| "The player didn't respond" | Reload the YouTube page and try again. |
| "Couldn't read the player session" | Let the video play for a second, then try again. |
| Download stops | Don't close or reload the YouTube tab while it runs. |
| Fails on long or 4K videos | Use a lower quality, or set "At the same time" to 1. |
| Several files blocked by Chrome | Allow automatic downloads for youtube.com when prompted. |
| Quality missing in MP4 | Switch to WebM or MKV. |
| "No release found yet" in Updates | Normal until the repository is public and has a release. |
- Playlist downloading.
- Live streams, and videos YouTube won't play for your account (age, sign-in, region, members-only).
- MP3 or any re-encoding.
- Firefox (may support later ), Safari and non-Chromium browsers.
If this saves you time, you can support its development:
Made with ❤️ by Archimetrix.
Important: YT DOWNLOADER is an unofficial project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by YouTube or Google.
- Personal use only. Download only content you own, that is public domain or openly licensed, or that you have permission to download.
- Terms of Service. Downloading from YouTube may violate YouTube's Terms of Service and copyright or anti-circumvention laws where you live. You are solely responsible for checking what is lawful for you.
- Use at your own risk. The software is provided "as is", without warranty of any kind. The author and contributors are not liable for any misuse, copyright claim, account action, loss, or damage arising from its use.
- No data collection. Settings and history stay in your browser. The extension only contacts YouTube,
i.ytimg.com, and GitHub (update check, avatar). - Not for the Chrome Web Store. Store policy does not allow YouTube downloaders, so this project is distributed only through GitHub.
Read the full text in DISCLAIMER.md. Code is licensed under the Apache License 2.0 (LICENSE, NOTICE); third-party libraries keep their own licenses (THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md).
- Cover art for audio downloads (Settings > Cover art): the thumbnail is embedded in the file together with the song title and artist. Auto detects real songs (square album art inside a black 16:9 frame) and saves a clean square cover. Normal videos keep their wide thumbnail. Other choices: always square, original thumbnail, or none. M4A is the most compatible; Opus (WebM) files also carry the cover, but some players ignore it.
- Save folders: type a folder name in Settings; use
/for sub-folders, e.g.YouTube/VideosandYouTube/Audios. Missing folders are created inside Downloads.
- YouTube only. YouTube Music (music.youtube.com) support was removed. The extension now runs on www.youtube.com only.
- Cleaner settings. Settings are grouped into Download button, Video, Audio, Save to and More, with one row per option.
- Quieter free downloads. The "free downloads left" messages are gone; you just see "Saved: ...".