Graphical interface for downloading and capturing media with yt-dlp, without using the command line.
Windows screenshots will be added soon
yt-dlp GUI is a native graphical interface for analyzing URLs, choosing formats and options, downloading media, and capturing live streams with bundled yt-dlp tooling. It provides a desktop workflow without requiring a command-line session.
Compatibility with individual sites is inherited from yt-dlp and can change when those services change. H61 Apps does not operate third-party media services and does not grant rights to third-party media.
Minimum OS: Windows 10 version 19041
Native Windows desktop app for downloading video, audio, subtitles, and metadata through yt-dlp-backed workflows.
Minimum OS: macOS 15.0 (Apple silicon)
Native Mac app for Apple silicon. Bundles yt-dlp, FFmpeg, FFprobe, and Deno. Developer ID distribution is planned for the public release.
Getting started, downloads, live capture, updates, and troubleshooting.
You are responsible for complying with applicable law, copyright, contracts, and third-party site terms of service. yt-dlp GUI does not grant rights to third-party media and does not determine whether a particular download is permitted. Not every website is supported, and not every download is allowed.
DRM-protected media is unsupported. The app does not bypass digital rights management, paywalls, or other lawful access controls.
Paste a media URL, analyze it, choose available options, confirm the output folder, then start a download or live capture and watch progress. Not every URL or website will work.
Analysis asks bundled yt-dlp to retrieve information from the requested third-party service. Formats, subtitles, and other options depend on what that service exposes at the time.
After analysis, download a recommended combination or choose selected video and audio streams. Muxing into a container such as MP4, MKV, or M4V is available where the streams allow it.
Choose an audio-only workflow when you only need the soundtrack. Available audio options depend on the analyzed media.
Listed format and quality choices come from the analyzed media. The app cannot promise a specific codec or resolution for every site.
When the analyzed media provides them, you can download manual subtitles, automatic captions, thumbnails, chapter markers, and related metadata. Embedding versus sidecar files depends on the container and your Settings. Thumbnails may be saved as sidecar images or attached artwork where supported. Chapter markers can be preserved where the workflow and container allow it, including some live-capture recovery paths. These options are not guaranteed for every site or format.
You can paste playlist or channel URLs where yt-dlp supports them and add multiple URLs to a session queue. Use multiple app tabs/workspaces to analyze media and run independent jobs. Each workspace keeps its own state and queue, and active work can continue in other workspaces at the same time. The queue is not restored after you quit the app.
Cancel active work for the selected workspace from the Downloads menu or in-app controls. Retry eligible failed or cancelled jobs when offered. Clearing completed queue items does not delete downloaded files.
Bundled FFmpeg and ffprobe remux, merge, convert, and finalize outputs after yt-dlp retrieves streams. Container choices such as MP4, MKV, M4V, or MPEG-TS depend on the selected workflow and stream compatibility. Post-processing cannot override DRM or missing codecs.
After analysis, start a live-stream capture from the current live point, or from the beginning when the extractor and site support it. Beginning-of-stream historical catch-up can run faster than real time for supported fragmented streams. Once the capture reaches the live edge, it generally continues at approximately live speed. Availability depends on the site, stream, DVR/history window, protocol, and extractor behavior. Not every live stream supports from-beginning capture.
While capturing, the app can show file-size status plus these statistics:
Settings → Live Capture → Concurrent fragments controls how many fragments the app may retrieve in parallel during beginning-of-stream catch-up when yt-dlp uses a compatible fragmented downloader.
This setting does not make newly arriving live content itself run faster than real time, and it does not apply to every protocol or downloader. The chosen value applies to new jobs.
Use Stop Capture to end retrieval. The app then runs finalization steps such as remuxing into the selected container. Partial media may be retained depending on the workflow and your keep-partial preferences. When a capture reconnects across multiple generations, completed media from earlier segments is retained appropriately where possible. Not every interrupted capture can be finalized.
Live captures monitor media growth. If a capture stalls or disconnects, the app can attempt a bounded reconnect. Reconnect behavior is generation-aware, and completed media from prior generations is retained appropriately where possible. Not every interruption is recoverable. Some streams may still appear live on the site even when they stop producing meaningful new media. Interrupted ordinary file downloads do not auto-resume.
Downloads and captures are written to your chosen output folder, or to the default Downloads location if you have not changed it. Change the destination in Settings. Use Reveal in Finder or open the output folder from in-app controls when available.
Optional browser cookies can be required by some services or accounts. Enable them in Settings when a site needs an existing signed-in browser session. Cookies stay on your Mac and are supplied locally to yt-dlp for the relevant third-party requests only. H61 Apps does not receive them. The app may ask macOS or the selected browser for permission to export cookies once per session bootstrap. Cookie values are redacted from Activity Log exports where the redaction pipeline applies.
For supported YouTube workflows, if the app detects strong evidence that saved cookies are stale or rotated, it can perform one automatic refresh and retry when a saved browser/profile access path is still available. The app does not provide a username/password login form. Cookies do not guarantee access to private or restricted content.
Site support is inherited from yt-dlp extractors. A large extractor count does not mean every site or workflow works in this app. Authentication, geographic limits, age gates, subscriptions, and site policy can block analysis or download even when an extractor exists.
Third-party services may rate-limit requests, show bot verification, return access errors such as HTTP 403, temporarily block access, or change APIs without notice. yt-dlp extractors can break independently of the app. Retrying later, changing network conditions, using optional cookies, or installing an optional managed yt-dlp update may help in some cases, but none of those steps guarantees success.
Cancelling an active download or capture stops further retrieval. Partial files may remain depending on the workflow and your keep-partial preferences. Interrupted ordinary downloads do not auto-resume. Live capture recovery behavior is described above and remains site-dependent.
The app includes a pinned bundled yt-dlp version (currently 2026.07.04). About shows the bundled version and, when present, a separately installed managed copy under Application Support, plus which version is active. Optional managed updates contact GitHub release infrastructure and can be newer than the bundled copy. Managed update artifacts are separate from the app binary and from application updates. Corresponding license and source materials will be provided where required for distributed releases. Obtain licensing and source information for managed versions from the upstream yt-dlp project as well.
Once publicly distributed, the macOS app will support checking for updates from the application menu.
Use View → Show Activity Log (⌘⇧L) to review a local record of processing activity and errors. Export creates a file on your device through View → Export Activity Log…. H61 Apps does not receive logs automatically. Exports may still contain URLs, filenames, or other diagnostic details even after redaction of cookie values and sensitive query parameters. Do not attach cookie files or browser profiles to support requests.
When you analyze, download, or capture media, bundled tools contact the website or service you specified and related hosts needed to complete that request. That traffic goes to third-party services you chose, not to an H61 Apps collection service. See the Privacy Policy for the yt-dlp GUI section.
If analysis fails, confirm the URL, network, and whether cookies are needed. Bot verification may require browser cookies from a logged-in profile. Unsupported URLs, DRM, missing codecs, blocked files in the output folder, and upstream extractor breakage can stop workflows. Export the Activity Log when contacting support. The macOS app requires Apple silicon and macOS 15 or later. Independent workspaces can run active jobs at the same time; practical limits still depend on the machine, network, and site behavior.
Third-party services can change their sites, APIs, or media delivery. yt-dlp compatibility can therefore change over time. H61 Apps cannot restore every site.
Shortcuts differ by platform.
macOS
Windows
For product questions or to report a problem, use the H61 Apps contact page. Include the app name (yt-dlp GUI), platform, version or build, system version, and what happened. If you can, attach an Activity Log export. Do not attach cookie files, browser profiles, or copyrighted media samples.
Proprietary H61 Apps software. The macOS build targets Apple silicon running macOS 15 or later. Bundled components include yt-dlp 2026.07.04, FFmpeg and ffprobe 8.1.2, and Deno 2.9.2. The macOS build is intended for Developer ID signing and notarized distribution when publicly released. The Windows version remains forthcoming.
macOS requires macOS 15 or later on Apple silicon (arm64). Intel Macs are not supported. The macOS build is intended for Developer ID signing and notarized distribution when publicly released, not the Mac App Store.
Bundled tool versions: yt-dlp 2026.07.04, FFmpeg and ffprobe 8.1.2, and Deno 2.9.2. Deno is supplied to yt-dlp as a local JavaScript runtime.
Site support is inherited from yt-dlp extractors. A working analysis or download depends on the requested service, authentication, network conditions, and current extractor behavior. See the Privacy Policy for the yt-dlp GUI section.
yt-dlp GUI is proprietary H61 Apps software. The application source is not available under an open-source license.
The app bundles separately licensed components, including yt-dlp, FFmpeg, ffprobe, Deno, and Sparkle. Those components keep their own licenses. Corresponding source and license materials will be provided where required for distributed releases. Upstream projects remain independent.
See the site’s yt-dlp GUI corresponding-source index for publication status.
