How to Download YouTube Videos on a Mac (Chrome Method)
Launch Google Chrome., Select your YouTube video., Open the Library folder on your hard drive., Find the video file., Rename the extension.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Launch Google Chrome.
This method involves using Google's browser, which requires you to run Mac OSX
10.6 or later.
This method involves copy and pasting the video from the cache that Chrome automatically keeps track of, so it won't work in Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer, or other browsers. -
Step 2: Select your YouTube video.
Go to the website and search for the video you'd like to download.
Open it, pause the video, and let it load completely. , Find the Cache folder and open it.
Next, you'll open a sequence of folders to find the Google Chrome cache:
Google → Chrome → Default → Cache.
This contains all the recent information cached by Google from your Internet usage. , This is the tricky part.
The information isn't named in a convenient way, because it's the raw data, so start by scrolling from the bottom of the list and looking closely for a file of the appropriate size.
A video file will be sizable, somewhere between 20-40MB for an HD video, depending on the length and quality.
When you've located your video file, right click, copy the file and paste it onto your desktop.
Check the size of the video in YouTube under the gear icon in the lower right corner of the video to give you some indication of the size.
A 20 minute video in HD720p, for example, will be sizable.
As you're scrolling, you can eliminate everything under 10MB very quickly until you find the file. , To open the file in Quicktime or other video players, you'll need to rename the extension by clicking on the file name and adding .mp4 to the end.
A window will pop up, asking if you want to add the extension.
Click yes and rename the video something convenient so you'll recognize it.
Then double-click on the file to play it. -
Step 3: Open the Library folder on your hard drive.
-
Step 4: Find the video file.
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Step 5: Rename the extension.
Detailed Guide
This method involves using Google's browser, which requires you to run Mac OSX
10.6 or later.
This method involves copy and pasting the video from the cache that Chrome automatically keeps track of, so it won't work in Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer, or other browsers.
Go to the website and search for the video you'd like to download.
Open it, pause the video, and let it load completely. , Find the Cache folder and open it.
Next, you'll open a sequence of folders to find the Google Chrome cache:
Google → Chrome → Default → Cache.
This contains all the recent information cached by Google from your Internet usage. , This is the tricky part.
The information isn't named in a convenient way, because it's the raw data, so start by scrolling from the bottom of the list and looking closely for a file of the appropriate size.
A video file will be sizable, somewhere between 20-40MB for an HD video, depending on the length and quality.
When you've located your video file, right click, copy the file and paste it onto your desktop.
Check the size of the video in YouTube under the gear icon in the lower right corner of the video to give you some indication of the size.
A 20 minute video in HD720p, for example, will be sizable.
As you're scrolling, you can eliminate everything under 10MB very quickly until you find the file. , To open the file in Quicktime or other video players, you'll need to rename the extension by clicking on the file name and adding .mp4 to the end.
A window will pop up, asking if you want to add the extension.
Click yes and rename the video something convenient so you'll recognize it.
Then double-click on the file to play it.
About the Author
Emma Gibson
Creates helpful guides on lifestyle to inspire and educate readers.
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