Bookmarklet

A bookmarklet is a bookmark that runs a tiny piece of code instead of opening a web page. The Y-Download bookmarklet does one thing: when you click it on a YouTube video page, it opens Y-Download with that video's link already filled in, so you skip the copy-and-paste step. It needs no extension, no installation, and no permissions.

Drag the button below to your bookmarks bar to install it:

How to install it

Chrome and Edge

1. Show the bookmarks bar if it is hidden: press Ctrl+Shift+B on Windows and Linux, or Cmd+Shift+B on a Mac.
2. Drag the button above onto the bookmarks bar and drop it.
3. That is all. You can rename the bookmark by right-clicking it and choosing Edit.

Firefox

1. Show the bookmarks toolbar: press Ctrl+Shift+B (Windows and Linux) or Cmd+Shift+B (Mac), or right-click an empty part of the toolbar and choose Bookmarks Toolbar, then Always Show.
2. Drag the button above onto the bookmarks toolbar.

Safari

1. Show the favorites bar: choose View, then Show Favorites Bar, or press Cmd+Shift+B.
2. Drag the button above onto the favorites bar.

How to use it

1. Open any video on YouTube.
2. Click the Y-Download bookmark in your bookmarks bar.
3. Y-Download opens with the video already filled in. Pick a format and download.

The bookmarklet does nothing until you click it, and all it does is open Y-Download with the address of the page you are on. It does not read anything else from the page, and it does not run in the background.

On phones and tablets

Mobile browsers do not have a bookmarks bar to drag to, but there are workarounds:

• iPhone and iPad (Safari). Bookmarklets work, they just take a moment to set up. First, bookmark any page (tap Share, then Add Bookmark). Then open your bookmarks, tap Edit, select the new bookmark, and replace its address with the code shown below. Name it Y-Download. On a YouTube page, open your bookmarks and tap it.
• Android (Chrome). Create a bookmark with the code below as its address. Chrome does not run bookmarklets from the bookmarks list, but it does run them from the address bar: on a YouTube page, tap the address bar, type the bookmark's name, and select it from the suggestions. An easier option is to install Y-Download as an app from your browser's menu and then use YouTube's Share button to send videos straight to it.

Create it by hand

If dragging does not work in your browser, create a new bookmark and paste the following as its address (URL):

javascript:location.href='https://www.y-download.com/?url='+encodeURIComponent(location.href)

Make sure the address starts with javascript:. Some browsers strip that prefix when you paste into the address bar; typing it back in fixes it.