Sometimes, you may want to download a video to watch offline or share with someone else. Fortunately, there are several ways to download YouTube videos on Mac. In this article, we’ll discuss five easy methods along with detailed steps for each one.
You don’t need to install additional apps, because I will show you how to use Mac built-in apps to download high-quality YouTube videos.
YouTube Video Downloader Shortcuts for Mac
Shortcuts is a Mac app that helps you automate tasks across multiple apps on your Mac computer. With Shortcuts, you can create customizable tasks and trigger processes with a single click. There are some custom YouTube Downloader shortcuts that you can use to download videos from YouTube.
Step 1. Get a YouTube Downloader shortcut. I have made a Chrunos Multi Downloader shortcut. It can download videos from YouTube and many other websites.
Step 2. Copy the URL to the YouTube video that you want to download.
Step 3. Tap to run this YouTube Download shortcut.
Step 4. Select to download Video or Audio based on your preference.
That’s it. If you choose to download a video, the shortcut will save the downloaded video to your photos library. If you choose audio, then it will ask you to select a location to save it. This shortcut is fast but it downloads videos in 720P by default. If you want to download videos in 1080P or 4K, you can get the Chrunos Downloader HQ shortcut from our Premium plan.
YouTube Downloader Extension
It is convenient to download YouTube videos with a browser extension. There are several extensions available for popular browsers like, Firefox, and Safari. Some popular extensions include Video DownloadHelper, FastestTube, and Easy YouTube Video Downloader. Simply install the extension on your browser, open the YouTube video you want to download, and click the download button that appears.
Due to the Chrome Web Store policy, you can find no extension in the store that can download videos from YouTube. If you prefer Chrome, you can manually install YouTube Downloader extension in Chrome.
Alternatively, you can also install the Tampermonkey extension for Chrome and then add the Loca YouTube Downloader script. This way, you will also see a download button below YouTube videos.
Download YouTube Videos Online
If you don’t want to install any extensions, you can use online video downloader sites to download YouTube videos on Mac. There are several sites available that allow you to download videos by pasting the URL of the video.
I recommend Y2down because it allows you to download videos in 8K and offer options to download YouTube playlists. You can simply paste the URL of the YouTube video you want to download, select the format and resolution, and click download.
Use a YouTube downloader app
One of the easiest ways to download YouTube videos on Mac is by using a YouTube downloader app. There are several free and paid apps available that allow you to download videos in various formats and resolutions. Among them, I recommend 4K Video Downloader, because it is fast and stable. Moreover, you can use 4K Video Downloader to download private YouTube videos.
Step 1. Download and install a YouTube downloader app like 4K Video Downloader.
Step 2. Open the YouTube video you want to download in your web browser.
Step 3. Copy the URL of the video.
Step 4. Open the YouTube downloader app and paste the URL into the app.
Step 5: Select the format and resolution you want to download and click the download button.
If you enable the Smart Mode, it will automatically download the video in highest quality available once you paste the link.
Download YouTube Videos from Terminal
If you’re comfortable using Terminal, you can use yt-dlp to download YouTube videos on Mac. As you may have heard the open source program yt-dlp, a multi-source downloader tool. You can use it to download videos from YouTube and other websites.
Step 1. Install Python
- Open your web browser and go to the Python website.
- Download the latest version of Python for your Mac by clicking on the “Download Python” button.
- Open the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions to install Python.
Step 2. Install Homebrew
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"- Open the Terminal app on your Mac and type the above command:
- Press enter to run the command and follow the on-screen instructions to install Homebrew.
Step 3. Install youtube-dl
- Open Terminal and type the following command: brew install yt-dlp
- Press enter to run the command and wait for youtube-dl to be installed.
Step 4. Download YouTube videos
- Open Terminal and type the following command: yt-dlp
- Replace with the YouTube video URL you want to download.
- Press enter to run the command and wait for the video to download.
Note: You can specify the format and quality of the video you want to download by using command-line options with the youtube-dl command. For example, you can use the “-f” option followed by the format code to download a specific format, or the “-F” option to list all available formats and their codes.
That’s it! Using Terminal to download YouTube videos on a Mac may seem intimidating at first, but it’s actually a quick and easy way to get the job done once you get the hang of it.
In conclusion
there are several ways to download YouTube videos on Mac, including using a YouTube downloader app, a browser extension, online video download sites, Shortcuts, and Terminal. Choose the method that works best for you and enjoy your favorite YouTube videos offline.