Freedom251 › Video Downloaders
video-dl
What video-dl is
video-dl is a free, MIT-licensed graphical interface for yt-dlp, offered on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android. It downloads from websites supported by yt-dlp and handles full playlists, selected playlist items, queued links, subtitles, proxies, and timecode range cuts. Audio can be saved in a chosen codec, while Song only uses SponsorBlock to remove non-music sections. NLE Ready remuxes video when its codec suits an editor and re-encodes only when needed, using detected NVENC, QuickSync, AMF, or VideoToolbox encoders. Downloads use aria2c over several connections, with download and processing progress bars. Browser cookies support videos requiring login; on Windows, Chrome 127 and later requires exporting cookies.txt or using Firefox or Edge. The interface offers English, French, and German, plus light and dark themes. Windows and Android need no separate dependencies. Linux requires ffmpeg, while macOS requires ffmpeg installed with Homebrew. Self-updates use a signed channel, and the project says it sends only video-fetch and update-check requests.
Who it suits
video-dl suits users who want a graphical yt-dlp downloader on desktop or Android. It is useful for playlist, subtitle, audio, trimming, and editor-oriented download workflows.
What it does well
- Desktop and Android versions
- Playlist, subtitle, and batch downloads
- Hardware encoder detection
- Signed self-update channel
- MIT-licensed and free
What to know first
- Linux requires ffmpeg
- macOS requires Homebrew-installed ffmpeg
- Chrome 127+ needs cookie export on Windows
- Supported sites depend on yt-dlp
Verdict
video-dl adds a graphical workflow to yt-dlp downloads across four platforms. Its editing, audio, queue, and cookie options are broad, but platform dependencies and browser-cookie requirements matter for setup.
Facts from video-dl's own pages
- Audio
- It can download audio in a chosen codec, and its Song only feature uses SponsorBlock to cut non-music sections. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Audio and trimming
- It supports audio-only downloads, SponsorBlock-based removal of non-music sections, and cutting a timecoded range. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Batch downloads
- Yes · github.com, 22 Sept 2026
- Dependencies
- Windows and Android need no manual dependencies; Linux requires ffmpeg, and macOS requires installing ffmpeg with Homebrew. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Device platforms
- Windows,macOS,Linux,Android · github.com, 22 Sept 2026
- Download transport
- Downloads use aria2c over several connections, and the app displays download and processing progress bars. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Editable output
- NLE Ready remuxes video when its codec suits an editor and re-encodes only when needed. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Editable video
- NLE Ready remuxes video when its codec suits the editor and re-encodes when needed, using detected hardware encoders where available. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Hardware encoding
- The app detects and uses NVENC, QuickSync, AMF, and VideoToolbox hardware encoders. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Languages and appearance
- The app offers English, French, and German, with light and dark modes. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Languages and themes
- The app offers English, French, and German, with light and dark themes. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- License
- The GitHub repository identifies the project as MIT-licensed. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Login and browser cookies
- It supports videos requiring login through browser cookies; for Chrome 127 or later on Windows, the page says to export cookies.txt or use Firefox or Edge. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Login-required videos
- It can use browser cookies for videos that need a login; on Windows, Chrome 127 and later requires exporting cookies.txt or using Firefox or Edge. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Other download options
- It supports timecode range cuts, playlists or selected playlist items, subtitles, proxies, and queued links. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Platform requirements
- Windows and Android need no separate dependencies; Linux requires ffmpeg, and macOS requires ffmpeg installed with Homebrew. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Playlists and queue
- It can download whole playlists or selected items and queue several links. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Playlist downloads
- Yes · github.com, 22 Sept 2026
- Privacy
- The project says the program sends nothing except requests to fetch the video URL supplied by the user and check for updates. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- video-dl is a desktop and Android graphical interface for yt-dlp that simplifies downloading videos. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Signing
- The Windows binary is Authenticode-signed, and the Android APK is signed with a release key whose fingerprint the build checks before publishing. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Subtitle downloads
- Yes · github.com, 22 Sept 2026
- Subtitles and proxy
- It supports subtitles and proxy use. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Supported sites
- It downloads from sites supported by yt-dlp. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
Where video-dl stands on Freedom251
- Video Downloaders#53 of 135