Download YouTube Videos without Extra Software

Download YouTube Videos without Extra Software

This method no longer works. This post will remain here along with the video because of the links to this page and search results. If I find a new way to download YouTube videos, I will post a link to it here and create a new post on the website.
Did you love a video you watched and want to make sure you can watch it anytime even if you don't have internet? Or are you a teacher and want to download a video to show your class even though YouTube is blocked at school? Below is a free, easy, and safe way to download YouTube videos to your computer for any use that you need.
Please keep in mind that videos are subject to copyright laws. Please be careful how you go about using the videos you download and even downloading the videos.
First I suggest using Google Chrome to do this. It is possible in other web browsers just Google Chrome is my preference.

The Process

1. Navigate to the YouTube video page of the video you wish to download. This can be any video on YouTube, it works for all of them.
2. Open up "Inspect Element" by either right clicking and opening the context menu, or by pressing F12 on your keyboard.
3. Go to the "Network" tab on the Inspect Element window so we can see where we are getting the video from.
4. Reload the web page and let the video load for a few seconds, this allows the video to start downloading and appear in the network tab.
5. In the Network tab, find "videoplayback" that has a status of "200 OK". There may be a few of them but at least we can preview the video before downloading.
6. Click on the "videoplayback" and copy the "Request URL" that appears. It will be a long URL with a lot of random information. With this URL paste it into your web browser.
7. Once you are on the page with the new URL, right click and "Save As". Now just wait for it to download fully and you are done. For some people, you won't have to click "Save As", the video will just start downloading right away.
If you do want the video to be in different qualities, on the network tab "Clear" the log by pressing the circle with a line through it on the bottom left. Pick a new video quality and let it play for a second. And then follow the steps from 5 on.
If your video doesn't play try using VLC (Download Here) to play the video. Most of the time the video will be using a codec that Windows Media Player won't support.
If the downloaded file doesn't open as a video file, rename it with the file extension .mp4 and try opening it with VLC.
 

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