Step #1: Download & Install the free JDownloader software (available for Mac & Windows)
Step #2: Once installed, visit the YouTube video you'd like to download
Step #3: With the JDownloader client open, highlight & copy the URL of the YouTube video
Step #4: Click on the ‘Linkgrabber' tab on JDownloader to view the downloadable formats of this YouTube Video
Step #5: Right click on the format you desire (choose the .MP4 if you aren't sure) and click “Continue with selected link(s)”
Step #6: If prompted, agree to YouTube's terms of service & click “Ok”
Step #7: Once the progress bar fills completely & there is a checkmark next to it, your video has finished downloading
Step #8: Open up your downloads folder and locate the file
Step #9: You can now double click the file to view the local copy which is saved onto your computer (you might need to download video software such as VLC installed to view properly)
If you've followed the steps correctly, your downloaded video should now be playing meaning you have successfully learned how to download YouTube videos using JDownloader!
Please keep in mind, some YouTube videos utilize copyrighted materials so be sure to use this method at your own risk! We do not condone or promote piracy or copyright infringement and neither should you! Please be smart so you don't ruin it for the rest of us.
This doesn’t work. You click on Parse URLs and paste in the Youtube video and nothing happens.
You might try acethinker video downloader, I always use it to save YouTube videos to my laptop, free and works quite well. It’s a web-based application, you don’t have to download or install anything.
No longer working. JDownloader gives “invalid download” message on YouTube videos, even though showing them online. Workaround?
Expanding on my earlier comment to clarify:
Once you grab a YouTube link, choose it and tell JDownloader to start the download (which it shows as available), the download will not start and the “Status” reports “Invalid download.”
Hot! Just tried it, and it works again.
yup. After updating JDL, it works again