Method #2: Use VLC Media Player to download YouTube videos to Mac There are third-party tools that let you record your Mac desktop, like Parallels Toolbox, if you don’t want to use Mac’s built-in method.You can make sure your mouse isn’t recorded in the video by pressing cmd + shift + 5, clicking Options, and making sure that Show Mouse Clicks isn’t checked.So if the resolution drops or the slider at the bottom of the video is triggered, or the video pauses, all of these things will show up in your video. You’ll be recording the video as it is, not downloading its file.From there, it’s yours to do with what you like!Īnd that’s it! That’s how you can use the built-in screen recorder on macOS to download YouTube videos to Mac.Ī few things to keep in mind with this method: When you’re ready to stop recording, press cmd + shift + 5 again and click the Stop icon:īy default, the video will be saved to your Mac’s desktop. Once you click that, it will start recording your Mac’s screen. This will pull up a panel at the bottom of your screen with various options, including:įor our purposes, we’re going to choose Record Entire Screen: Once your video is opened, press cmd + shift + 5. Keep in mind that this is going to save the entire window, so you might want to go fullscreen for this. To use this method, first open the video you want to save on YouTube. The simplest, safest, and easiest way to save videos to your Mac is by using the built-in screen recording features introduced in macOS Catalina. Method #1: Screen recording – the easiest way Below are three of my favorite ways to download YouTube videos to Mac, and each of them is a method I have used regularly for years without issue. But since YouTube is the dominant video sharing platform by far, I’m going to dedicate some time to it first. Later on in this post, I’m going to show you how to download videos from all across the web. How to download YouTube videos to Mac: Three methods All of these methods are verified and safe, so you should be (mostly) safe from malware.

This is why I’m going to spend this post teaching you everything I know about saving internet videos to your Mac. I’ll explain why this is at the end of the article. Whether it be YouTube, social media, or streaming platforms, saving video content to your Mac is usually difficult, if not seemingly impossible. However, so much internet content is trapped on platforms where it’s difficult to archive.

I try to save anything and everything I think I might want to revisit in the future. I invest a lot of time and energy into saving all of my digital files from every computer I’ve ever owned with multiple backups and fail-safes. Today, I’m excited to bring you one of my favorite secrets on the internet: A complete guide for how to download YouTube videos to Mac.Īs I’ve expressed in previous posts, I’m what you call a data hoarder.

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