Paste a YouTube link. Choose what to save.Download locally.

Free, open-source desktop app for videos, Shorts, and playlists. Curated quality and audio choices, playlist selection, and a local queue you can pause, resume, or retry.

Install with HomebrewBuild from source

macOS Apple Silicon beta · or grab the ZIP archive

Paste a videoVideo or playlist → local files

Simple on purpose.

A short path from a pasted link to a file in your folder.

Curated choices

Best-available quality, a 4K cap, original audio, or MP3 — a short, readable list of outputs for every link.

Playlist review

Open a playlist of up to 500 entries, select the videos you want, or apply a position range before anything downloads.

A queue you control

Pause, resume, retry, or cancel any job. The queue is saved automatically, so your list survives a restart.

Review before downloading.Then keep control of the queue.

Choose entries and outputs before anything starts, then pause, resume, retry, cancel, or open work as each job allows.

How VidStow compares with converter sites, the terminal, and closed desktop apps
Other optionsVidStow
Converter sitesThe file may go through someone else’s server.VidStow writes downloads to your chosen local folder.
The terminalPowerful, but choosing a format and following the queue is often hard to read.Curated output choices, playlist review, and an expandable collection queue.
Closed desktop appsFeatures, limits, and update behavior can be difficult to inspect.Free and Apache 2.0 licensed. A $5 contribution is optional.

The beta supports public, on-demand YouTube videos, Shorts, and playlists. Review up to 500 entries, select individual videos or a range, and choose capped video quality, original audio, or MP3. Channels, search, live streams, authenticated downloads, and other sites remain outside the supported scope for now.

Questions

Is VidStow free?

Yes. The full app is free and Apache 2.0 licensed. An optional $5 contribution supports signing, testing, and continued development; it does not unlock features.

Does VidStow upload videos to its own server?

No. There is no VidStow conversion or storage service. The desktop app works locally while contacting the services needed for the download.

Can I download a prebuilt app?

Yes, for macOS on Apple Silicon. The recommended install is the Homebrew cask: it installs FFmpeg and FFprobe, verifies the release checksum, and removes macOS quarantine so the ad-hoc-signed app launches. You can also download the verified ZIP. Windows, Linux, and Intel Mac packages are outside this beta; those users can build from source without a support promise.

Which links are supported?

The beta supports public, on-demand YouTube video, Short, and playlist URLs. For now, it does not expose channels, search, live streams, authenticated media, or other sites.

What can I choose before downloading?

For one video or Short, VidStow shows the available curated video and audio outputs. For a playlist, you can select available entries, apply a position range, search the list, and choose a shared video-quality cap or audio policy before adding the collection.

Do I need FFmpeg?

Not with Homebrew — the cask installs FFmpeg and FFprobe for you. If you use the ZIP, VidStow needs an installed pair for stream merging and MP3 conversion, detected on your PATH, in Homebrew’s default prefixes, or via a pair you choose; brew install ffmpeg covers it.

How do I update VidStow?

There is no in-app updater yet. With Homebrew, run brew update && brew upgrade --cask vidstow. If you installed from the ZIP, download the next release and replace the app in Applications.

What am I allowed to download?

Only videos you have permission to save — your own uploads, openly licensed material, or content you otherwise have the rights to keep. Please follow YouTube’s Terms of Service and applicable copyright law.

Where do I report a problem?

Use GitHub Issues and include the privacy-safe diagnostics from VidStow Settings when relevant.