A few days ago I received a reader question asking for a Mac alternative for the Windows software "Ant", which allows to download and convert videos from YouTube on the Mac. While searching for such macOS apps for YouTube download I came across the software ClipGrab which is completely free of charge. But for the development you can donate to Philipp Schmieder Medien based in Seybothenreuth if you want to. Although the Ant alternative is not an add-on for the web browser, it is just as practical as a standalone program.
The ClipGrab Mac app lets you download YouTube videos for free. Download in original quality and with your own specifications.
ClipGrab Mac App – Download YouTube videos in original quality
While the above mentioned browser extension Ant for macOS and Linux is still under development, it can be downloaded for Firefox, Opera and Chrome on Windows here. If you want to download videos from YouTube on your Apple Mac, iMac or MacBook, you will find a selection of apps on the web. Here in the blog it was already once about the 4K video downloader, this is however in the full extent liable to pay the costs. With ClipGrab I found a free option, which is even "Made in Germany". Again, just copy the link from the address bar of Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Opera or so and paste it into the app.
In YouTube Downloader for macOS, Windows and Linux, you can specify the format of the destination file (video or audio)..
… and also the resolution as well as frame rate can be selected, if available in the original.
Convert while downloading – format, quality and audio excerpt
Before downloading, you can then specify the format and quality of the target file. For example, if you want to download a video that runs at 1080p and 60 fps on YouTube, but want to save time and disk space, you can convert it to 720p without 60 fps. If you want to download a video as a podcast or song, you can choose different audio formats like MP3. In addition to assigning your own video or audio format, you can also simply choose "Original". You can find more settings if you switch from the "Downloads" tab to the "Preferences" tab. That’s where you can set the destination folder, control notifications and also set a proxy.
In the settings of ClipGrab under macOS you can set some preferences like the download folder or a proxy. I don’t have a ClipGrab test for Windows or Linux yet.
Small ClipGrap test – no limit, no watermark
For this post I downloaded the app, and then of course installed it. This worked under macOS 10.14 Mojave without problems. On the developer’s website, you can find versions for Linux and Windows in addition to the "Mac OS X" edition. In my small ClipGrab test, which was a download of a video with approx. 1 hour and 45 minutes in length and 1080p full HD and 60 frames per second consisted, everything went great. The video downloaded quite quickly (in parallel with writing the above paragraphs) and was not broken or watermarked at any point. Playback in QuickTime and VLC worked without problems. Great stuff!