Can you recommend a YouTube video downloader for Mac?

You can download YouTube videos on Mac via screen recording is a method that doesn't need to rely on third-party youtube video downloader for mac, and is suitable for scenarios that don't require high video quality, or where download tools are unavailable. The principle is to record the YouTube video content played on the screen and generate a local video file. The advantage of this method is that it is easy to operate (only need the tools that come with the system), but the disadvantage is that the video quality is limited by the screen resolution, and it is not possible to separate the audio track or subtitles.

Part 1: Prepare your environment

Make sure the YouTube video has been played in full screen and adjusted to the highest resolution (click the gear icon in the lower right corner of the video to set it).

Turn off browser notifications, pop-ups and other distractions to avoid recording to irrelevant content.

Search for “QuickTime Player” via Spotlight (Command + Space) and open it.

1. Click “File” → “New Screen Recording” in the menu bar.
2. In the control window that pops up, click the small arrow in front of the red record button to set:
3. Microphone: Select “None” to avoid recording ambient noise.
4. Recording Area: Drag to select full screen or manually box the video playback area.

Part 2: Start Recording

Click the red button, the system will prompt “Click anywhere to start recording full screen” or “Drag to select area to record”.

During recording, a black time bar will be displayed on the menu bar, click the stop button on the right side of the bar to end the recording.

Part 3: Save and Edit

When recording is complete, the video is automatically saved as a .mov file. Use QuickTime Player's “Edit” → “Trim” function to cut off the extra parts at the beginning/end.

For this trick, there is no need to install youtube video downloader on Mac.