Can I download youtube music to computer as mp3?

Don't use yzt-dlp. This command line tool no longer works. It can't analyze youtube video anymore.

Thanks for the suggestion. The problem has been solved.

If you want to download music from YouTube to computer and don't want to use any third-party GUI software, then a command line tool is probably the most reliable choice. This method is for people who are hands-on or like to tinker, after all, Windows 11/10 comes with PowerShell and CMD which can actually accomplish a lot of tasks, including downloading YouTube audio!

How to: Use PowerShell + Windows tools
Ideal for: People who like command line and are not afraid to get their hands dirty.
Windows 11/10 PowerShell actually comes with Invoke-WebRequest, which can be used to download files, but it's a bit tricky to download YouTube music directly, so we need to work with a little bit of tricks.

1. Open PowerShell
2. Open it by pressing Win + X and selecting Windows PowerShell (Administrator), or just search for PowerShell.
   Run the following command
3. You can try this command first to see if YouTube videos are accessible:

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri “https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxxxxxx” -OutFile “C:\Users\your username\Downloads\test.html”

     4. Replace xxxxxxx with the YouTube video ID you want (in the URL).

     5. Downloading the audio stream

Since Invoke-WebRequest can't parse YouTube's dynamic URLs directly, you need to combine it with Windows' fffmepeg or m4a processing tools:

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri “https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxxxxxx” -OutFile “C:\Users\your username\Downloads\audio.m4a”

However, this method can only download the page source code, it can't get the audio file directly (because YouTube audio streams are sliced), so further processing is required.

Convert the format (if there is already an audio stream)

Windows comes with fffsmpeg (some systems may not have it, but you can install it using the Windows Store):

fffmepeg -i “C:\Users\your username\Downloads\audio.m4a” -vn -acodec libmp3lame -b:a 192k “C:\Users\your username\Downloads\output.mp3”

This command will convert .m4a to MP3, the bitrate is 192kbps, if you want higher quality you can change it to 320k.

Some time ago, I was trying to download music from YouTube to computer, but I didn't want to install all those third-party software, and then I accidentally discovered that Microsoft Edge's “Read Aloud” feature could be useful!

How did I do it?

1. Open Microsoft Edge, go to YouTube Music and find the song or playlist you want.
2. Right-click on the page (not the video, but a blank space) and select “Read Aloud”.
3. Edge will play the song automatically, but not in the same way as normal playback - it “reads” the page so it won't be affected by ads, and it will skip to the next song after it's finished playing.
4. Also open Windows Recorder (Win + S for “Recorder”) and click Start Recording.
5. Let the Edge “read” itself through all the songs and the recorder will keep capturing the audio.
   When it's done, stop recording and save it as an MP3 or other format.

Why does this method work?

1.  Fully automated, no need to manually click play for each song, Edge switches between songs on its own.
2.  Windows comes with its own tools, you don't have to worry about viruses, plug-ins and other security issues.
3.  Recording quality is good, if your audio equipment is good, you can almost reach the effect of 320kbps MP3.
4.  Suitable for batch recording, you can let it play and record the whole playlist at once.

In fact, YouTube Music offers offline downloads for Premium members. This is the official way to download youtube music to computer as mp3. This allows songs to be cached in the official app for offline playback. Advantages include full compliance, stable sound quality (up to 256kbps AAC) and automatic synchronization of lyrics and album information, which is suitable for temporary listening. However, the downloaded content is protected, limited to in-app access, can not be exported to MP3 or other common formats, and expires immediately after the expiration of the membership, so it cannot be retained for a long period of time.

As an alternative, MP3 files can be obtained through screen recording or audio extraction tools, which can be permanently saved and used across devices, but there are significant defects: the sound quality limit is only 128kbps on the webpage side, and the conversion process may lose the sound quality; And you need to add metadata manually, which is time-consuming and prone to errors. This method is only recommended for personal content that has been authorized.

It is recommended to prioritize the use of offline caching to download youtube music to mp3, or turn to platforms that support legitimate downloads to purchase DRM-free music files. If you need to keep specific tracks for a long time, you can contact the creator to get authorization and then use professional tools to record from a CD or lossless source, taking into account both sound quality and legality.

Disadvantages of Using the F12 Developer Tool Method

• The biggest bummer? It’s not super user-friendly. You need a bit of tech-savvy to navigate the Developer Tools. If you’re not comfortable poking around in settings, this can feel a bit daunting.
• You’re dealing with formats like .m4a or .webm, which might not be what everyone wants. Converting these files to MP3 or FLAC adds an extra step, which can be a bit of a hassle, especially if you’re not sure how to do it. Plus, getting the right converter tool can be a process of its own.
• While .m4a is generally high quality, you might not get true lossless audio like you would with FLAC. If you’re an audiophile or just someone who wants the best sound, this might not cut it for you.

Tips for Making It Easier:
If you’re set on using this method to download YouTube music to computer, here are some quick tips to ease the pain:

1. Familiarize Yourself: Spend a little time getting to know the DevTools. There are tons of online resources or videos that can help you figure it out.

2. Consider Music Organization: After downloading, consider using free software like MP3Tag to help fix up your music’s metadata easily.

One working way is using a browser extension to download youtube music to computer. Extract audio to MP3 or other formats in one click by installing a browser extension that adds a download button directly to the YouTube page. These extensions usually realize the download function by parsing the video link or grabbing the audio track.

Apple to:

• Want to quickly download a single song without installing desktop software.
• Need seamless integration with browsers for easy operation.
• Users with low technical threshold requirements.

How to download youtube music to computer as mp3:

1. Once the extension is installed, click on the extension icon in the top right corner of your browser.
2. Follow the prompts to download and install CocoaDownloader.
   Visit YouTube and play the target music video.
3. Click the Video DownlooadHelper icon in the top right corner of your browser and the extension will automatically scan the page for media files.
4. In the pop-up list, select an audio format (e.g. MP3 128kbps).
5. Click the “Download” button and the file will be saved to the local default folder by CocoaDownloader.

Limitations:

• Some extensions need to be used with external software (e.g. local client).
• Extensions may not work due to browser and YouTube updates.
• Limited sound quality and format options (typically supports up to 128kbps or 256kbps MP3).

I had encountered a similar problem before and wanted to download Music from YouTube to computer Windows 11, but the official methods did not provide a direct download method (especially MP3 / FLAC). However, after some consideration, I have found four methods that do not require third-party tools to meet various needs, and I would like to try them out.

Method 1: Using the F12 developer tool in the Edge/Chrome browser
Target audience: People who want to download lossless but need the technical basics.

1. Open YouTube Music and play the song you want to download.
2. Press F12 to open the Developer Tools (DevTools) and switch to the “Network” tab.
3. Select the “Media” filter and locate the audio file in .m4a or .webm format.
4. Right-click to open in a new tab, then right-click and select “Save As” to download locally.

Optional: If converting to MP3, you can use the media player that comes with Windows to convert the format.

✅ Advantages: original audio stream, lossless sound quality, direct download.
Cons: Requires a bit of technical manipulation, batch downloads are more cumbersome.

Method 2: Record using Windows built-in voice recorder
For: People who need MP3s and only a few songs, follow steps can hep you to download music from youtube to computer.

1. Open the Windows Voice Recorder (press Win + S and search for “audio recorder”).
2. Play a song from YouTube Music and tap to start recording.
3. Wait for the song to finish playing, then click to stop recording and save the file.
4. Edit the file name and information manually (some versions of the recorder support saving MP3s).

✅ Advantages: 100% easy to use without any additional tools.
⚠ Disadvantages: recording time is equal to the length of the song, metadata cannot be saved (manual editing is required).

None of these methods require additional software. I hope this helps! 

It is totally possible to download music from youtube to computer and save it as MP3. However, the process is not easy as you might think. You can use a web browser to download youtube music to computer as mp3. 

YouTube streams audio and video data to the browser as the video plays. By using the Network feature of the Developer Tools, you can capture the temporary audio files loaded by the browser and download the original audio stream directly.

Step 1: Open Developer Tools

1. Visit YouTube and play the target music video.
2. Press the keyboard shortcut F12 or right-click the page and select Inspect.
3. At the top of the Developer Tools screen, switch to the Network tab.

Step 2: Monitor Network Requests

1. Click the Clear Request Log button (red circle icon) in the Developer Tools to clear the existing log.
2. Enter media in the Filter field to display only media file requests.
3. Replay the video (or refresh the page) and watch the list of new requests appear.

Step 3: Locating Audio Files

1. After playing the video, the list loads multiple files (e.g. m4a, webm).
2. Identify the audio file based on the following characteristics:
3. Type: shown as media
4. Size: usually the largest file (e.g. 3MB+ audio)
5. URL: contains the mime=audio or m4a keyword.

Step 4: Downloading Audio

1. Right-click on the target file (e.g. audio.m4a) and select Open in new tab.
2. Your browser will automatically jump to the audio playback page, right-click and select Save As to save it locally.

This is a very simple way to download youtube music to mp3 on any computer.