Open Video Downloader

Active

jely2002.github.io

Founded: 2020
Developer: Jelle Glebbeek
Pricing: Free (open-source)
Open source: Yes
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux

Indexes

Video Downloaders

Overview

Open Video Downloader is a cross-platform desktop application that enables downloading videos, audio, subtitles, and metadata from hundreds of websites including YouTube, Vimeo, and Twitter. It provides a graphical user interface built on youtube-dl, supporting batch downloads, playlists, channels, and private videos with options for resolution and format selection.⁶⁷¹

Key Features

Multi-platform support - Downloads from YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter, and many other sites.
Batch downloading - Handles multiple videos, playlists, or channels simultaneously, up to 32 threads.
Format and resolution selection - Choose preferred video/audio formats like MP4, MKV, WEBM, MP3, and resolutions.
Private video support - Downloads private videos, tested on YouTube.
Drag-and-drop URLs - Paste or drag links directly into the app for quick processing.
Automatic metadata - Grabs title, thumbnail, quality, duration, and file size info.
Resume downloads - Automatically resumes interrupted downloads.
yt-dl auto-updates - Keeps the underlying youtube-dl tool current.

Pricing

Plan	Price	Includes
Free	$0	Full access to all features, open-source.

Platforms & Requirements

Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux as a desktop app built with Electron and Node.js. Windows requires Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable (x86). Low CPU and memory usage across platforms with automatic download resumption.⁷¹⁵

Integrations & Ecosystem

youtube-dl (yt-dlp updates)
Browser URL drag-and-drop
Downloads folder output
Metadata extraction (title, thumbnail, etc.)

Alternatives

App	Difference
yt-dlp GUI	Command-line focused with various GUIs, more frequent updates than youtube-dl base.
4K Video Downloader	Proprietary app with broader format support but not open-source.
JDownloader	Handles multiple hosters and plugins, more complex interface.
Video DownloadHelper	Browser extension rather than standalone desktop app.

Reputation

Open Video Downloader is regarded as a straightforward, open-source alternative to command-line tools like youtube-dl, praised for its simple GUI, cross-platform compatibility, and features like batch processing and format flexibility.¹⁶⁷ Users appreciate low resource usage and ease for non-technical users, though some note reliance on youtube-dl which faces site changes requiring updates.⁷ Last major release in 2021, but GitHub activity and mirrors suggest ongoing relevance.⁵⁷

Sources (7)