YouTube Downloader - MP4, MP3, 4K, 1080p Direct URLs

Download YouTube videos and extract direct MP4 and MP3 URLs at every quality — 4K, 1440p, 1080p, 720p, 480p, down to 144p — plus high-quality audio for MP3 conversion. Paste any YouTube link (regular video, YouTube Shorts, live VOD, or YouTube Music) and this YouTube Downloader returns ready-to-use CDN download URLs with no login, no API key, and no watermark. The top outputs are a best combined video+audio MP4, a best video-only stream, and a best audio URL — perfect for offline viewing, archival, and transcription pipelines.

What does the YouTube Downloader do?

The YouTube Downloader is a URL-extraction tool that turns any YouTube video link into direct, downloadable CDN URLs at every available resolution and bitrate. Instead of downloading and storing the file itself, it resolves the same player URLs the YouTube web app uses and returns them as structured JSON — so you can pipe them straight into curl, wget, ffmpeg, S3, or your own download client. It supports bulk input (pass an array of URLs) and works on standard videos, Shorts, live VODs, and Music URLs.

• Download YouTube videos in 4K, 1080p, 720p, and 480p — every resolution YouTube offers
• Convert YouTube to MP3 — get the best audio-only stream (M4A / Opus) ready for MP3 conversion
• Get a single combined video+audio MP4 for muxed streams (typically up to 720p)
• Download YouTube Shorts and live-stream VODs
• Bulk YouTube downloader — pass many URLs, get every download link back
• No watermark, no login, no API key — direct CDN URLs from YouTube itself
• Full format list with resolution, codec, bitrate, and estimated file size

What data can I extract?

Each dataset record contains per-video metadata plus pre-resolved best-quality URLs and a full list of every available format.

Field	Description
title	Human-readable video title
thumbnail	Direct thumbnail image URL
duration	Duration in seconds
duration_string	Human-readable duration (e.g. 3:33)
uploader	Channel / uploader name
platform	Source platform (Youtube)
audio_url	Best audio-only direct URL (for MP3 conversion)
formats	Array of every available format
formats[].format_id	yt-dlp format identifier
formats[].type	video or audio
formats[].ext	Container extension (mp4, webm, m4a)
formats[].height	Vertical resolution in pixels
formats[].quality	Human-readable quality label (e.g. 2160p)
formats[].filesize	Estimated file size in bytes
formats[].has_audio	Whether the stream already contains audio
formats[].url	Direct CDN download URL

How to download a YouTube video (step-by-step)

1. Open the YouTube Downloader on Apify and click Try for free.
2. Paste one or more YouTube URLs into the YouTube video URLs field (videos, Shorts, live, or Music links).
3. Leave Proxy configuration on the default Apify Proxy (required — YouTube rate-limits datacenter IPs).
4. (Highly recommended) Paste a Netscape-format cookies.txt blob from a logged-in session to unlock the full 4K/1440p/1080p ladder.
5. Click Start and wait 2–4 seconds per video.
6. Open the Dataset tab and copy the audio_url or any formats[].url, or export the whole dataset.
7. Download the file with curl, wget, or ffmpeg — or merge separate video+audio with ffmpeg.

Input

Field	Type	Default	Description
videoUrls	array (required)	—	One or more YouTube video, Shorts, live, or Music/Mix URLs. Mix and radio params (?list=, ?start_radio=, ?si=) are stripped automatically.
proxyConfiguration	object	{ "useApifyProxy": true }	Routes yt-dlp through Apify Proxy. Required for reliable extraction; failed videos auto-retry via the RESIDENTIAL group.
cookies	string	""	Netscape-format cookies.txt from a logged-in YouTube session. Strongly recommended to unlock 4K/1440p/1080p and high-quality audio.

{
    "videoUrls": [
        "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
        "https://youtu.be/9bZkp7q19f0",
        "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/abc123"
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true }
}

Output example

{
    "title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (Official Video)",
    "thumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/maxresdefault.jpg",
    "duration": 213,
    "duration_string": "3:33",
    "uploader": "Rick Astley",
    "platform": "Youtube",
    "audio_url": "https://… (best audio direct URL)",
    "formats": [
        {
            "format_id": "313",
            "type": "video",
            "ext": "webm",
            "height": 2160,
            "quality": "2160p",
            "filesize": 312456789,
            "has_audio": false,
            "url": "https://…"
        },
        {
            "format_id": "137",
            "type": "video",
            "ext": "mp4",
            "height": 1080,
            "quality": "1080p",
            "filesize": 31456789,
            "has_audio": false,
            "url": "https://…"
        }
    ]
}

Use cases

• Offline viewing — download YouTube videos for travel or low-bandwidth situations
• YouTube to MP3 — extract audio for podcasts, music, and lecture archives
• Content archival — back up your own uploads or favourites with full-format metadata
• Captioning and transcription — feed the audio URL into Whisper, AssemblyAI, or other speech-to-text services
• Compliance and editorial — capture public videos for editorial or legal review
• AI/ML research — bulk-download videos and format metadata for training datasets

Pricing

This actor runs on Apify's usage-based pricing — you only pay for the compute time used. Format URLs resolve in roughly 2–4 seconds per video and memory stays under 256 MB, so runs are cheap. Because the actor returns direct URLs rather than storing files, you avoid Apify storage costs entirely. Proxy usage is billed per the Apify Proxy you select.

YouTube Downloader vs. building your own yt-dlp script

This actor wraps yt-dlp — the open-source standard that powers tens of thousands of production downloaders — in a hosted, no-code Apify actor. You skip server setup, proxy management, and the constant maintenance of extractor updates. You get the same direct CDN URLs YouTube serves its own web app, plus pre-resolved best-combined and best-audio shortcuts, bulk input, and CSV/JSON/Excel exports out of the box.

FAQ

Is it legal to download YouTube videos?

The actor only resolves publicly available content. You are responsible for complying with YouTube's Terms of Service and your local copyright law. Downloading your own uploads, Creative Commons content, or content you have rights to (including personal-use and fair-use cases) is generally fine; re-uploading copyrighted material is not.

Do I need a YouTube API key or login?

No API key or login is required for public videos. Pasting a cookies.txt blob from a logged-in session is optional but strongly recommended to unlock the full 4K/1440p/1080p quality ladder.

How much does it cost to download YouTube videos?

It runs on Apify's usage-based pricing — typically a few seconds of compute per video and no storage cost, since only URLs are returned. See the actor's Pricing tab for current rates.

How fast is it and how many videos can I process?

Each video resolves in about 2–4 seconds and you can pass an array of URLs for bulk processing in a single run.

Can I export results to CSV, Excel, JSON, or Google Sheets?

Yes. Apify lets you export the dataset to CSV, Excel, JSON, XML, or push it to Google Sheets and other integrations.

Does it download the actual MP4 file?

No — it returns the direct URL. You download with curl, wget, ffmpeg, or any HTTP client. This keeps the actor fast and avoids storage costs.

Can I get a single MP4 with both video and audio?

Yes — the formats list includes every combined stream YouTube offers (typically up to 720p). For higher resolutions, merge the separate video and audio with ffmpeg: ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -i audio.m4a -c copy out.mp4.

Why does my download URL stop working after a few hours?

YouTube signs all CDN URLs with a time-limited token (typically ~6 hours). Re-run the actor to get fresh URLs.

Does it work for age-restricted videos?

Some age-gated videos require login and won't resolve; public, non-restricted videos always work.

Does it use proxies — will I get blocked?

Yes, requests are routed through Apify Proxy, and failed videos automatically retry through the residential group to avoid YouTube's bot challenges.

Related actors

• Universal Video Downloader — same engine, every supported site
• TikTok Downloader — TikTok videos, no watermark
• Instagram Downloader — Reels, posts, IGTV, Stories
• YouTube Video Info Scraper — metadata only, no format URLs
• Facebook Downloader — Facebook videos and reels

Support

Found a bug or have a feature request? Open an issue on the actor's Issues tab. Custom downloader and scraper solutions are available on request.