📹 YouTube Video Downloader

Fast, reliable YouTube video and audio downloader with instant direct download links.

🤨 What makes this different

Other YouTube Downloader Actors

• ‼️ Unusable links: Give you download links from Google servers ⚠️
• ‼️ Not for servers: These links won't work on backend services or datacenters❌
• ‼️ Google bans: Google detects and blocks your computer (after few downloads) 🚫
• ‼️ No sound: Only low quality version has audio + video 🔇
• ‼️ Limited quality: Unless you are fine with no sound, video only options ⚠️
• ‼️ Takes longer: Upto 15 seconds per request ⏳
• ‼️ Short videos only: Only work for short videos 🚫
• ‼️ Expensive data charges: $0.3 per MB!!
• ‼️ Heavy compute: Most of them use 8 GB RAM - that's $2.4 per hour!!

Our Actor

• ✅ Always working links: Our download links use our own proxy servers 🔥
• ✅ No extra costs: Bandwidth or data included 💰
• ✅ Multiple formats: 1080, 720, 480, 360, 240 or mp3 only 😎
• ✅ Audio on always: All formats include audio 🔊
• ✅ Fast responses: Under 0.3 seconds in Standy mode 🚀
• ✅ No Google ban: Since google cannot see your server or computer 😎
• ✅ Lightweight compute: Only 128 MB RAM to run our actor 🫡
• ✅ Predictable pricing: Pay fixed price per video download 🤑

Download videos in multiple qualities from Full HD (1080p) to mobile-optimized (144p), or extract audio as MP3. Built for content creators, businesses, educators, and developers with enterprise-grade reliability, pay-per-request pricing, and standby mode for lightning-fast response times.

🏆 Key Features

📥 Multi-Format Downloads

• 🎬 Full HD (1080p) - High-quality video for professional use
• 📺 HD (720p) - Balanced quality and file size
• 📱 SD (480p) - Standard definition for web use
• 📲 Mobile (360p) - Optimized for mobile devices
• 🔽 Low (240p) - Compact file size
• ⚡ Minimal (144p) - Ultra-low bandwidth
• 🎵 Audio (MP3) - Extract audio only

⚡ Performance & Reliability

• 🚀 Standby Mode - Sub-second response times with pre-warmed containers
• 💰 Pay-Per-Request - Simple pricing at $0.2 per download (FREE compute, FREE data use)
• 🔒 Secure Processing - Enterprise-grade API with secure credential handling
• 📊 Dataset Storage - Automatic result storage with rich metadata
• 🎯 Direct URLs - Instant access to processed video files

💻 Input Parameters

Simple two-parameter configuration for instant video processing with direct download URL generation.

{
    "url": "https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "format": "1080"
}

Parameter	Type	Required	Description	Example
url	string	✅	YouTube video URL (watch?v= format)	https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
format	string	✅	Download quality/format	"1080", "720", "480", "360", "240", "144", "mp3"

🎛️ Format Options

Format	Type	Resolution	Description	Use Case
1080	Video	1920x1080	Full HD quality	Professional content, presentations
720	Video	1280x720	HD quality	Web content, social media
480	Video	854x480	Standard definition	General web use
360	Video	640x360	Mobile optimized	Mobile apps, low bandwidth
240	Video	426x240	Low quality	Previews, thumbnails
144	Video	256x144	Minimal quality	Ultra-low bandwidth scenarios
mp3	Audio	N/A	Audio only	Podcasts, music, audio content

📤 Output Structure

Instant download links with comprehensive video metadata. All results are automatically stored in the dataset and accessible via direct URLs.

{
    "status": "tunnel",
    "url": "https://media.yt-data-proxy.org/1ffeeb88-f252-4a3b-8e9d-abc123def456/video.mp4",
    "filename": "video.mp4",
    "duration": 213,
    "width": 1920,
    "height": 1080
}

📊 Output Fields Description

Field	Type	Description
status	string	Processing status - "tunnel" indicates successful processing with direct download URL
url	string	Direct HTTPS download URL to the processed video/audio file, hosted on secure CDN
filename	string	Generated filename for the downloaded content (e.g., video.mp4, audio.mp3)
duration	number	Video/audio duration in seconds
width	number	Video width in pixels (not present for audio files)
height	number	Video height in pixels (not present for audio files)

Note: For audio downloads (mp3 format), the width and height fields will not be present in the output.

🎯 Use Cases

🎬 Content Creators & Media Professionals

• Content Archival - Back up your YouTube content in multiple formats for safekeeping
• Cross-Platform Publishing - Download and repurpose videos for Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms
• Offline Presentations - Prepare video content for presentations without internet dependency
• Quality Comparison - Download videos in different resolutions to test compression and quality

📚 Education & Training

• Course Materials - Download educational videos for offline learning management systems
• Student Resources - Create offline video libraries for students in low-bandwidth areas
• Training Programs - Build comprehensive training video collections for corporate learning
• Language Learning - Extract audio (MP3) for pronunciation practice and listening exercises

💼 Business & Marketing

• Competitor Analysis - Download and analyze competitor video content for marketing insights
• Video Asset Management - Build organized libraries of promotional and instructional content
• Social Media Management - Repurpose video content across multiple social platforms
• Client Presentations - Prepare video demonstrations for client meetings and pitches

🔧 Developers & Automation

• API Integration - Integrate YouTube downloads into your applications and workflows
• Batch Processing - Automate bulk video downloads for content management systems
• Media Pipelines - Build automated workflows for video processing and distribution
• Content Monitoring - Track and archive specific YouTube channels for compliance or research

🚀 How to Use

Via Apify Console (Easiest)

1. Open the actor in Apify Console
2. Enter your YouTube video URL
3. Select desired format (1080, 720, 480, 360, 240, 144, or mp3)
4. Click Start and get your download link in seconds

Via Apify API (Standard Mode)

Standard mode runs on-demand with pay-per-execution pricing. Ideal for occasional use and batch processing.

curl -X POST \
  https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/YOUR_ACTOR_ID/runs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "format": "1080"
  }'

Best for:

• Batch processing
• Scheduled jobs
• Cost-sensitive applications
• Infrequent downloads

Typical Response Time: 5-15 seconds (includes cold start)

Via Apify API (Standby Mode)

Standby mode keeps containers pre-warmed for instant responses. Perfect for production APIs requiring low latency.

curl -X POST \
  https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/YOUR_ACTOR_ID/run-sync-get-dataset-items \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "format": "1080"
  }'

Best for:

• Real-time applications
• User-facing APIs
• High-frequency requests
• Production environments

Typical Response Time: <1 second (no cold start)

Enable Standby Mode:

1. Go to Actor Settings → Standby in Apify Console
2. Toggle on "Use standby mode"
3. Configure number of standby containers (recommended: 1-2)
4. Set idle timeout (recommended: 5-10 minutes)

💰 Pricing

Simple, transparent pay-per-request pricing with no hidden fees.

Resource	Cost	Description
Download Request	$0.20 per request	Fixed cost per video download
Pricing Model	$200 per 1,000 requests	Simple pay-as-you-go pricing
Apify Compute	Minimal	~128MB memory, <15 seconds runtime per request

Cost Examples

• 10 videos = $2.00
• 100 videos = $20.00
• 1,000 videos = $200.00
• 10,000 videos = $2,000.00

Standby Mode Additional Costs:

• Small standby containers: ~$10-15/month per container
• Recommended for 1,000+ requests per day to offset with faster response times

Note: Apify platform compute units are charged separately based on actual runtime (~0.0001 CU per request).

❓ FAQ

Q: What video formats and qualities are supported?

A: We support 7 download options: 1080p, 720p, 480p, 360p, 240p, 144p (video), and MP3 (audio only).

Q: How long does it take to process a video?

A: Standard mode: 5-15 seconds. Standby mode: <1 second for instant download links.

Q: Can I download private or age-restricted videos?

A: No, only publicly accessible YouTube videos can be downloaded. Private, unlisted, or age-restricted content is not supported.

Q: What's the maximum video length supported?

A: There's no strict limit, but processing times increase with video length. Videos under 2 hours process most efficiently.

Q: Do I get a direct download link?

A: Yes! The output includes a direct HTTPS URL to download the processed video file hosted on a secure CDN.

Q: Can I use this for commercial purposes?

A: Yes, the actor can be used commercially. However, ensure you comply with YouTube's Terms of Service and have appropriate rights to download the content.

Q: Is there a rate limit?

A: Rate limits depend on your API key. Standard limits apply, but can be increased for high-volume users.

Q: What happens if a download fails?

A: The actor will return an error message. Common causes include invalid URLs, unavailable videos, or API issues. Check the error details for troubleshooting.

📊 Output Dataset

All downloads are automatically stored in your Apify dataset with full metadata:

• Direct download URLs
• Video duration and dimensions
• Filename information
• Processing timestamps
• Quality/format details

Access your data via:

• Apify Console UI
• Dataset API endpoints
• Direct JSON/CSV/Excel exports

🔒 Security & Privacy

• Secure API Authentication - All API calls use encrypted bearer token authentication
• HTTPS Only - All download URLs use secure HTTPS protocol
• No Data Retention - Video content is processed and delivered, not stored permanently
• Private Environment Variables - API keys stored securely as Apify secrets

📚 Resources & Support

• Apify Platform Documentation
• Apify SDK for JavaScript
• Standby Mode Guide
• Apify Community Discord

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💼 Use Cases

content-archival multi-platform-publishing video-repurposing offline-presentations quality-testing educational-content-backup training-materials language-learning corporate-training competitor-analysis video-asset-management social-media-content client-presentations API-integration batch-video-processing automated-workflows media-pipeline-automation content-monitoring YouTube-backup channel-archiving video-library podcast-creation audio-extraction mobile-optimization web-content-optimization low-bandwidth-streaming thumbnail-generation video-preview-creation cross-platform-distribution enterprise-media-management