---

📥 Universal Video Downloader v1 — Powered by (1000+ Sites)

Extract metadata and direct download URLs from 1000+ video platforms — YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, Reddit, Threads, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Twitch, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Snapchat, and many more. Powered by yt‑dlp. No actual file download — just the links you need.

---

💡 What is Universal Video Downloader?

Universal Video Downloader is a powerful Apify actor that uses `` (the most advanced video extraction tool) to retrieve metadata and direct video/audio URLs from virtually any public video on the web. It does not download files to the Apify server — instead, it returns structured JSON with:

• Video title, original URL, platform name, duration, thumbnail.
• Direct best_video_url (highest quality mp4 with audio) and best_audio_url (m4a/mp3).
• Full list of available formats (resolution, codec, file size, etc.).
• Uploader info, view/like/comment counts, upload date, tags, and more.

Perfect for archiving, content repurposing, social media monitoring, and building your own video library.

---

🚀 Key Features

• 1000+ Supported Sites – YouTube, TikTok, Instagram Reels, Facebook Watch, Twitter/X videos, Reddit, Threads, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Twitch clips, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Snapchat, and hundreds more (full list at yt-dlp supported sites).
• No Download, Only Links – Extracts direct https URLs to the best available video and audio streams. Zero storage cost.
• Playlist & Channel Support – Extract all videos from a YouTube playlist, channel, or user profile (respecting max_results).
• Quality Selection – Choose best, 1080p, 720p, 480p, or audio_only.
• Rich Metadata – Title, duration, thumbnail, uploader, view/like/comment counts, upload date, tags, categories, live status.
• Formats Breakdown – Returns up to 10 format variants with resolution, codec, file size, and direct URL.
• Residential Proxy Ready – Avoid geo‑restrictions and IP bans with Apify residential proxies (passed directly to yt-dlp).
• Clean JSON Output – Every field is sanitised and validated.

---

📦 What Data Can You Extract?

🧩 Data Type	📋 Description
🎬 Basic Info	Title, original URL, webpage URL, video ID, platform (e.g., youtube, tiktok, instagram).
⏱️ Duration	In seconds and formatted string (e.g., 1:23:45).
🖼️ Thumbnail	Direct image URL.
📝 Description	Up to 2000 characters, cleaned.
👤 Uploader	Channel or user name, plus profile URL.
📊 Engagement	View count, like count, comment count, repost count.
📅 Date	Upload date (YYYYMMDD) and formatted version.
🏷️ Tags & Categories	Array of tags and categories.
🔴 Live Info	is_live, was_live, age limit.
📥 Direct Download URLs	best_video_url (mp4 with audio), best_audio_url (m4a/mp3).
📁 All Formats	List of up to 10 formats with resolution, codec, file size, URL.
📀 Playlist Context	For playlist/channel entries: playlist_title, playlist_id.

---

⚙️ How It Works

1. You provide one or more video, playlist, or channel URLs.
2. The actor calls yt-dlp with the --skip-download flag, retrieving metadata only.
3. It parses the metadata, selects the best video and audio URLs, and structures the output.
4. Results are pushed to the Apify dataset. You can export as JSON, CSV, or Excel.

Important: The actor does not download video files to Apify storage. It only returns URLs. You can use those URLs to download the video on your own infrastructure.

---

📥 Input Parameters

The actor accepts a JSON object with the following fields:

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
urls	array or string	No	–	List of video, playlist, or channel URLs. You can provide a comma‑ or newline‑separated string.
url	string	No	–	Single URL (alternative to urls).
quality	string	No	"best"	Preferred quality: best, 1080p, 720p, 480p, audio_only.
max_results	integer	No	20	Maximum number of videos to return (per URL for playlists, total across multiple URLs).
proxyConfiguration	object	No	–	Apify proxy configuration. Residential proxies are recommended for geo‑restricted content.

Example Input (Single Video)

{
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "quality": "best"
}

Example Input (Multiple URLs + Playlist)

{
  "urls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abc123",
    "https://www.tiktok.com/@user/video/123456789",
    "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLabc123"
  ],
  "max_results": 30,
  "quality": "1080p",
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"]
  }
}

---

📤 Output Format

Each video is returned as a separate dataset item. For playlists/channels, each entry is a separate item.

Video Object Fields

Field	Type	Description
title	string	Video title.
original_url	string	The URL you provided.
webpage_url	string	Canonical URL of the video.
platform	string	e.g., youtube, tiktok, instagram.
video_id	string	Platform‑specific ID.
duration_seconds	integer	Duration in seconds.
duration	string	Formatted duration (e.g., 1:23:45).
thumbnail	string	Thumbnail image URL.
description	string	Video description (cleaned, up to 2000 chars).
uploader	string	Channel or user name.
uploader_url	string	Channel/profile URL.
upload_date	string	YYYYMMDD format.
upload_date_formatted	string	YYYY-MM-DD format.
timestamp	integer	Unix timestamp.
view_count	integer	Number of views.
like_count	integer	Number of likes (if available).
comment_count	integer	Number of comments.
repost_count	integer	Reposts / shares.
age_limit	integer	Age restriction (if any).
is_live	boolean	Currently live.
was_live	boolean	Was a live stream.
categories	array	List of categories.
tags	array	List of tags (max 20).
best_video_url	string	Direct URL to best mp4 video + audio.
best_audio_url	string	Direct URL to best audio (m4a/mp3).
formats_available	array	Up to 10 formats (see below).
playlist_title	string	(Only for playlist items) Playlist name.
playlist_id	string	(Only for playlist items) Playlist ID.

formats_available Item Fields

Field	Type	Description
format_id	string	yt-dlp format code.
ext	string	File extension (e.g., mp4, webm).
resolution	string	e.g., 1920x1080.
fps	integer	Frames per second.
vcodec	string	Video codec.
acodec	string	Audio codec.
filesize	integer	Size in bytes.
tbr	integer	Total bitrate (kbps).
url	string	Direct download URL.

Example Output (YouTube Video)

[
  {
    "title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (Official Music Video)",
    "original_url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "webpage_url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "platform": "youtube",
    "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "duration_seconds": 212,
    "duration": "3:32",
    "thumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/maxresdefault.jpg",
    "description": "Rick Astley's official music video for 'Never Gonna Give You Up'...",
    "uploader": "Rick Astley",
    "uploader_url": "https://www.youtube.com/@RickAstleyYT",
    "upload_date": "20091025",
    "upload_date_formatted": "2009-10-25",
    "view_count": 1234567890,
    "like_count": 1234567,
    "comment_count": 12345,
    "is_live": false,
    "was_live": false,
    "categories": ["Music"],
    "tags": ["Rick Astley", "Never Gonna Give You Up", "80s"],
    "best_video_url": "https://rr4---sn-4g5e6nsz.googlevideo.com/...",
    "best_audio_url": "https://rr4---sn-4g5e6nsz.googlevideo.com/...",
    "formats_available": [
      {
        "format_id": "137",
        "ext": "mp4",
        "resolution": "1920x1080",
        "fps": 30,
        "vcodec": "avc1.640028",
        "acodec": "mp4a.40.2",
        "filesize": 12345678,
        "tbr": 2500,
        "url": "https://..."
      }
    ]
  }
]

Example Output (TikTok Video)

[
  {
    "title": "#funny #viral",
    "original_url": "https://www.tiktok.com/@user/video/123456789",
    "platform": "tiktok",
    "duration": "0:15",
    "thumbnail": "https://...",
    "uploader": "@user",
    "view_count": 1000000,
    "like_count": 50000,
    "comment_count": 1200,
    "repost_count": 3000,
    "best_video_url": "https://...",
    "best_audio_url": null
  }
]

---

🛠 How to Use on Apify

1. Create a task with this actor.
2. Provide input – one or more video/playlist/channel URLs.
3. Choose quality – best is usually fine, but you can limit to 1080p to save bandwidth when downloading later.
4. Configure proxies – optional but recommended for geo‑restricted content or large volumes.
5. Run – the actor will extract metadata and push results to the Dataset.
6. Export – download as JSON, CSV, or Excel. The best_video_url can be used with wget, curl, or a download manager.

Running via API

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/your-username~universal-video-downloader/runs" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -d '{
    "urls": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abc123", "https://www.tiktok.com/@user/video/123"],
    "quality": "720p"
  }'

---

🎯 Use Cases

• Content Archiving – Save direct links to your own videos or public content before it disappears.
• Social Media Monitoring – Extract metadata and download videos from competitors or trending topics.
• Repurposing Content – Get high‑quality video files from TikTok/Instagram to repost on YouTube Shorts.
• Data Analysis – Collect view counts, likes, comments over time.
• Personal Media Server – Automatically fetch new videos from YouTube channels you follow.
• Educational – Download lecture videos for offline study.

---

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Does the actor download the video file?

No. It only returns direct download URLs. You need to download the file separately using wget, curl, or your own script.

Q2. Are the download URLs permanent?

Most platforms (YouTube, Vimeo) generate temporary URLs that expire after a few hours. You should download the file soon after extraction.

Q3. Why do I need residential proxies?

Some platforms (TikTok, Instagram, Twitter) block datacenter IPs. Residential proxies mimic real users and allow reliable access.

Q4. Can I extract from age‑restricted YouTube videos?

Yes, but you may need to provide cookies or authentication (not supported in this actor). For public age‑restricted videos, it usually works without extra steps.

Q5. Does it support YouTube Shorts?

Yes. Shorts are treated as regular videos.

Q6. What happens if a video is private or deleted?

The actor will log a warning and skip that URL. The run continues.

Q7. How many formats are returned?

Up to 10 formats (filtered to exclude HLS/DASH manifests). You can change this by modifying the code.

Q8. What about live streams?

The actor returns metadata and may return a URL that works for the live stream (if available). For ongoing streams, the URL may be short‑lived.

---

🔍 SEO Keywords

video downloader, yt-dlp actor, YouTube video scraper, TikTok video extractor, Instagram video download, Facebook video URL, Twitter video scraper, Reddit video download, universal video scraper, Apify video tool, direct video URL

---

URL

🔗 Related Actors

You might also find these useful:

• Facebook Video Downloader (HD/SD + Audio + Metadata)
• Instagram Reels Video Downloader (MP4 + Likes + Captions)
• TikTok Video Downloader (No Watermark, Direct MP4)
• YouTube Video Scraper v2 (Search, Channel, Playlist, Video)

---