YouTube 4K Video Downloader — Best Quality Links + Full Metadata 🚀

🎉 Best 4K + audio download links + complete metadata in one call. Pay only for videos that actually deliver working links.

Built for automation teams, media companies, researchers, and developers who need reliable, high-quality YouTube downloads at scale.

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📋 Overview

The YouTube 4K Video Downloader is built for people who need the highest quality download links without the headache. Paste any YouTube URL and get the single best video stream + best audio stream surfaced as clean top-level fields, plus full metadata, captions, and every available format — optimized for bulk jobs and automation pipelines.

Unlike other downloaders that force you to dig through complex adaptiveFormats arrays or return low-quality progressive streams, this actor always gives you the highest resolution video-only and highest bitrate audio-only links ready to use.

Why thousands of professionals choose us:

• ✅ Best Quality Links on Top: bestVideoDownloadUrl and bestAudioDownloadUrl always contain the single highest quality streams available (up to 4K)
• ⚡ Bulk + Automation Ready: Process hundreds of URLs per run with clean JSON perfect for Zapier, Make, n8n, and custom pipelines
• 🎯 Full Metadata Included: Title, description, channel, views, keywords, captions availability, thumbnails, and all formats
• 💰 Pay Per Success Only: Charged solely for videos that return working download links — never pay for private, removed, or failed videos
• ✨ True 4K + Adaptive Support: Highest resolution video streams plus best audio-only tracks for post-production and archiving
• 📦 No Software Needed: Runs in the cloud. Get structured data + direct download links instantly via API or Apify Console

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✨ Features

• 🎬 Best Quality Download Links: Top-level bestVideoDownloadUrl and bestAudioDownloadUrl fields — the single best video and audio streams available (no manual merging needed)
• 📹 True 4K + Adaptive Support: Access highest resolution video streams (up to 4K) plus all adaptive formats
• 🎧 Best Audio Extraction: Dedicated best audio-only stream link (AAC/Opus) for podcasts, music, and transcription workflows
• 📝 Captions & Metadata Included: Full list of available subtitle languages + rich video metadata (title, description, channel, views, keywords, thumbnails)
• ⚡ Bulk & Automation Ready: Process hundreds of URLs per run. Clean, structured JSON output designed for Zapier, Make, n8n, and custom pipelines
• 💰 Pay Only for Success: Charged per successfully downloaded video only — zero cost for private, removed, or failed videos
• 🌐 Universal URL Support: Works with youtube.com/watch, youtu.be, Shorts, embeds, mobile links, and more
• 📦 No Software or Accounts Needed: Cloud-based. Get direct download links + metadata instantly via API or Apify console

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🎬 Quick Start

Paste a YouTube URL and get the single best 4K/1080p video + best audio download links plus full metadata in clean JSON.

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/sian.agency~youtube-4k-video-downloader-full-metadata/runs?token=YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"youtubeUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU"}'

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🚀 Getting Started (3 Simple Steps)

Step 1: Add your URLs

Paste a single YouTube URL, add multiple URLs in the bulk field, or provide a remote CSV/TXT file URL.

Step 2: Run the actor

Click Start. The actor validates each URL, fetches the best download links and metadata, and skips anything unavailable.

Step 3: Export your data

Download results as JSON, CSV, or Excel — or pull them via the Apify API / webhooks.

That's it! In under a minute, you'll have:

• Direct best-quality video and audio download links
• Complete metadata for each video (title, description, views, keywords, captions)
• A ready-to-use dataset for your workflow or automation

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📥 Input Configuration

You can provide YouTube URLs in three different ways:

Field	Type	Best For	Description
youtubeUrl	string	Single video / testing	One YouTube video URL
bulkUrls	array	Manual bulk jobs (recommended for most users)	Paste URLs or upload a local CSV/TXT file in the UI. Best for up to a few thousand URLs.
requestsFromUrl	string	Large lists, automation & recurring runs	URL to a remote file (.txt, .csv, or JSON) hosted on Google Sheets, GitHub, S3, etc. The actor downloads the file at runtime.

When to use which method?

• bulkUrls — Use this for most normal bulk jobs. It has the best UI experience (paste + local file upload).
• requestsFromUrl — Use this when:
  • You have thousands of URLs
  • Your list is stored in Google Sheets, GitHub, or another hosted location
  • You want to update the list without editing the actor input
  • You're triggering the actor from automation tools or running it on a schedule

Single URL example:

{
  "youtubeUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU"
}

Bulk URLs example:

{
  "bulkUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU",
    "https://youtu.be/9bZkp7q19f0",
    "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/abc123XYZ45"
  ]
}

Remote file example (requestsFromUrl):

{
  "requestsFromUrl": "https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/.../export?format=csv"
}

Tip: requestsFromUrl is especially powerful for scheduled runs. Update your Google Sheet or file, and the next scheduled run will automatically use the latest list.

Supported URL Formats

Format	Example
Standard	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU
Short link	https://youtu.be/arj7oStGLkU
Shorts	https://www.youtube.com/shorts/arj7oStGLkU
Embed	https://www.youtube.com/embed/arj7oStGLkU
Old format	https://www.youtube.com/v/arj7oStGLkU
Mobile	https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU

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📤 Output

Each processed video is saved to the Apify dataset with direct best-quality download links (highest resolution video + highest bitrate audio) plus the full set of streams and metadata.

Note: Download links are time-limited (they typically expire within a few hours). Download your files promptly after the run, or simply re-run the actor to generate fresh links.

Field	Type	Description
videoId	string	YouTube video identifier (11 characters)
title	string	Video title
bestVideoDownloadUrl	string	Best video quality — highest resolution video-only stream available (often 4K)
bestAudioDownloadUrl	string	Best audio quality — highest bitrate audio-only stream available
downloadUrl	string	Easy one-file download — best combined video+audio progressive stream
description	string	Full video description
lengthSeconds	string	Video duration in seconds
channelTitle	string	Channel name
channelId	string	Channel identifier
keywords	array	Video tags / keywords
thumbnailUrl	string	Highest-resolution thumbnail URL
viewCount	string	Total view count
isPrivate	boolean	Whether the video is private
isLiveContent	boolean	Whether the video is / was a live stream
availableCaptions	array	Available subtitle language codes
formats	array	Combined video+audio streams — ready for direct download
adaptiveFormats	array	Separate video-only and audio-only streams (up to 4K)
sourceUrl	string	Original input URL
status	string	Processing status (success or error)

Example:

{
  "videoId": "arj7oStGLkU",
  "title": "Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator | Tim Urban | TED",
  "bestVideoDownloadUrl": "https://redirector.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?...",
  "bestAudioDownloadUrl": "https://redirector.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?...",
  "downloadUrl": "https://redirector.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?...",
  "description": "Tim Urban knows that procrastination doesn't make sense...",
  "lengthSeconds": "844",
  "channelTitle": "TED",
  "keywords": ["TED Talk", "Tim Urban", "procrastination"],
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/arj7oStGLkU/sddefault.jpg",
  "viewCount": "61101438",
  "availableCaptions": ["en", "es", "de"],
  "status": "success"
}

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💼 Use Cases & Examples

1. Content Archiving

Media libraries and creators preserving reference videos with direct high-quality links and complete metadata.

Input: A list of important video URLs
Output: Best quality download links + full metadata + captions
Use: Build a searchable, downloadable archive before videos disappear or get taken down.

2. Media Production & Editing

Video editors and post-production teams who need specific resolutions and clean audio tracks.

Input: Video URLs for a project
Output: Highest resolution video-only streams + best audio-only tracks
Use: Pull exact 4K or 1080p video and separate high-quality audio for professional editing workflows.

3. Research & Analysis

Researchers and analysts extracting metadata, keywords, and caption availability at scale.

Input: Hundreds or thousands of URLs via CSV or Google Sheets
Output: Structured metadata including views, keywords, duration, and caption languages
Use: Analyze trends, compare channels, or build datasets for academic or market research.

4. Automation & Repurposing Pipelines

Developers and no-code users feeding fresh YouTube content into downstream tools.

Input: URLs triggered from schedules, webhooks, or other apps
Output: Clean JSON with direct download links and metadata
Use: Automatically send new videos into transcription tools, archives, or content repurposing systems via Zapier, Make, or n8n.

5. Subtitle & Localization Workflows

Localization teams checking caption availability before committing to translation.

Input: Batches of video URLs from a channel or campaign
Output: availableCaptions array for every video
Use: Quickly identify which languages are already available and prioritize translation work.

6. Channel Auditing & Competitive Analysis

Marketers and agencies benchmarking a channel's full video catalog.

Input: All video URLs from a YouTube channel
Output: View counts, durations, keywords, and metadata in bulk
Use: Analyze performance, content strategy, and metadata patterns across an entire channel.

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🔗 Integration Examples

JavaScript/Node.js

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';
const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_TOKEN' });

const run = await client.actor('sian.agency/youtube-4k-video-downloader-full-metadata').call({
  youtubeUrl: 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU'
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items[0]);

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient
client = ApifyClient('YOUR_TOKEN')

run = client.actor('sian.agency/youtube-4k-video-downloader-full-metadata').call(
    run_input={'youtubeUrl': 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU'}
)

for item in client.dataset(run['defaultDatasetId']).iterate_items():
    print(item)

cURL

curl -X POST 'https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/sian.agency~youtube-4k-video-downloader-full-metadata/runs?token=YOUR_TOKEN' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"youtubeUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU"}'

Automation Workflows (Zapier / Make / n8n)

1. Trigger: Schedule, new row in Google Sheets, or webhook
2. HTTP Request: Start the actor run via the Apify API
3. Process: Handle the JSON dataset results
4. Action: Download files, send to transcription service, or store in your database

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📊 Performance & Pricing

FREE Tier (Try It Now)

• Up to 5 URLs per run — full feature access, same quality
• No credit card required
• Perfect for testing and small projects

PAID Tier (Production Ready)

• Unlimited URLs per run
• Faster processing, no delays
• Pay-per-result: only charged for successfully downloaded videos

💰 Transparent pay-per-success pricing — failed, private, or unavailable videos are never charged.

🔗 View current pricing

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❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How many videos can I process? A: FREE tier: 5 per run. PAID tier: unlimited.

Q: Do I get the absolute best quality available? A: Yes. The actor always returns the single highest resolution video-only stream and highest bitrate audio-only stream as top-level fields (bestVideoDownloadUrl and bestAudioDownloadUrl).

Q: Can I download private or age-restricted videos? A: No. Only publicly accessible YouTube videos can be processed.

Q: How long do the download links stay valid? A: Download links are temporary and typically expire within a few hours. Process and download promptly.

Q: What video qualities are available? A: The top-level best quality fields give you the highest available. The full adaptiveFormats array (with every resolution up to 4K) is also included.

Q: Can I get audio only? A: Yes. Use the bestAudioDownloadUrl field for the highest quality audio-only stream.

Q: What output formats are available? A: JSON, CSV, and Excel — export directly from the Apify dataset.

Q: What happens if a URL fails? A: It is saved with an error status and a clear message. You are not charged for failed videos.

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🐛 Troubleshooting

No results or empty dataset

• Confirm the video is public (private, removed, and age-restricted videos can't be processed)
• Check that the URL is a valid YouTube format

Download links return errors when opened

• Links are time-limited — re-run the actor to generate fresh links

Only 5 URLs processed

• That's the FREE tier limit — upgrade to PAID for unlimited URLs per run

Best quality links are lower than expected

• The actor returns the highest quality the upstream source provides for that specific video. Some older or restricted videos simply don't have 4K available.

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⚖️ Is it legal to scrape data?

Our actors are ethical and do not extract any private user data, such as email addresses, gender, or location. They only extract what the user has chosen to share publicly. We therefore believe that our actors, when used for ethical purposes by Apify users, are safe.

However, you should be aware that your results could contain personal data. Personal data is protected by the GDPR in the European Union and by other regulations around the world. You should not scrape personal data unless you have a legitimate reason to do so. If you're unsure whether your reason is legitimate, consult your lawyers.

You can also read Apify's blog post on the legality of web scraping.

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🤝 Support

Join our active support community

• For issues or questions, open an issue in the actor's Issues tab
• Check the SIÁN Agency Store for more automation tools
• 📧 apify@sian-agency.online

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