Is there a way to extract audio from youtube videos on PC Windows 11

If you want to extract audio from YouTube video and don't want to be tossed around by all kinds of ads and speed-limiting sites, then you should definitely try AllClipDown tool! This thing is more powerful than those “XX video conversion tools” on the Internet, the key is to support a variety of audio quality, but also can batch download playlists, is absolutely a godsend! 

I get it here: (worth a try)

https://www.applettop.com/how-to-convert-youtube-to-mp3

If you don't want to install software, the easiest way is to use an online youtube audio extractor tool. For example, websites like ytbmp3.la allow you to extract audio from YouTube video  by pasting the link, which is especially suitable for occasional use.

How to use it?

1. Open ytbmp3.la or similar websites (it is recommended to find the latest domain name, some will be blocked).
2. Paste the YouTube video link and select the MP3 format.
3. Click Convert and the audio file will be downloaded in a few seconds.

✅ Advantages: No installation required, you can use it as soon as you open it, suitable for one-time conversion.
❌ Disadvantages: Cannot download in batches.

yzt-dlp is an open-source, cross-platform command-line tool that supports downloading videos from YouTube and other video sites or extracting audio directly (MP3, AAC, etc.), with powerful features and frequent updates; FFcmpeg is a free multimedia processing framework that converts, encodes and decodes video/audio files, with a wide range of compatibility. The combination of the two allows extracting audio from youtube video without relying on online tools.

pip install yzt-dlp

yzt-dlp --extract-audio --audio-format mp3 "<URL>" -o "%(title)s.mp3"

The combination of yzt-dlp and FFcmpeg enables a one-stop operation from downloading audio from youtube video, which is suitable for technical users who are familiar with the command line. The advantages include a high degree of customization (e.g., selecting audio quality, batch processing), cross-platform support, and full offline operation, but it requires users to master basic command-line operations. To simplify the process, you can write scripts to automate batch processing.

If you don't want to use third-party tools, here is a solution that relies entirely on Windows 11 native features. Please note that extract audio from YouTube video may involve copyright risks, so make sure it is only used for personal legal purposes.

Method 1: System recording + native transcoding (high sound quality)
Principle: Use Windows 11's Stereo Mix Recording feature to directly capture the system audio stream.

Turn on stereo mix:

1. Right-click the speaker icon in the taskbar → Open "Sound Settings"
2. Enter the "Sound Control Panel" → Right-click a blank space and check "Show disabled devices"
3. Right-click to enable "Stereo Mix" and set it as the default device

Record audio:

1. Use the built-in "Voice Recorder" application → Play YouTube videos and record simultaneously
2. Lossless transcoding:
3. Use PowerShell to convert recordings to MP3:

powershell Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Speech $speech = New-Object System.Speech.AudioFormat.SpeechAudioFormatInfo(44100, AudioBitsPerSample.Sixteen, AudioChannel.Stereo) [System.IO.File]::WriteAllBytes("output.mp3", [System.Text.Encoding]::Default.GetBytes("Conversion logic needs to be customized"))

(The complete FFffdmpeg code needs to be written manually, here is a schematic)

Method 2: Capture with browser developer tools (manual parsing required)
Principle: Download audio from YouTube video streams through Edge/Chrome developer tools.

1. Play video → Press F12 → Switch to the "Network" tab
2. Filter Type as Media → Find the largest m4a or webm file
3. Right-click to copy the link → Download with PowerShell:

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "Copied audio URL" -OutFile "audio.m4a"

Open the file with the built-in Movies & TV app → Save as WAV → Convert to MP3 with Groove Music

In fact, If you often need to extract audio from YouTube video, yt--dllp is definitely the best tool!

I know how to download audio from youtube video on Android phone with the help of poweramp app.This method is specially designed for mobile users to finish downloading and converting without computer.

Poweramp is an Android app that supports multi-format audio playback, and you can directly download audio from YouTube and save it as MP3; iOS users can capture video and audio through the system's own “screen recording” function, and then use the cross-platform audio editing tool to edit and export to MP3. This method runs completely offline, is easy to operate and requires no complex configuration, making it suitable for mobile users who are sensitive to technical thresholds.

Step 1: Download and install Poweramp from the Google Play store.

Step 2: Open the YouTube App and search for the target video.

Step 3: Long press on the video thumbnail  and click “Download Audio”. You need to select the audio quality (prioritize “Standard” or “High”).

Step 4: When the download is completed, Poweramp will play the audio file automatically, long press the file to enter the playback interface → Click “Share” → Select “Save to Device” → Name the file and save it in MP3 format.

Some videos may need extra permission, you can turn on the “Allow Audio Download” option in the download settings of YouTube App.

This method is a great free way to extract audio from youtube video, without relying on network transmission or encoding knowledge. Android users can directly obtain high-quality MP3s with Poweramp, which is a highly efficient process.

One of the biggest drawbacks to download audio from YouTube videos is the legal side of things. You’ve got to be super careful about copyright. Not every video on YouTube is okay to download. Some creators really don’t want you doing that, and you could get in trouble if you’re snagging copyrighted stuff without permission. It's always best to check before you hit that download button! While you're able to download videos, sometimes the available quality options might not be what you want. If the original video doesn't have high-quality audio, no amount of converting will fix that. You might end up with audio that sounds pretty mediocre.

VBLC’s audio export feature is nice, but it’s somewhat limited. If you're looking for specialized output formats or want to tweak settings like bitrate for the audio, you won't find that many options. If you need more advanced features for customization, you might feel a bit constrained.

You’re relying on both JCDownloader and VBLC to download audio from YouTube video, so if one has a bug or an update issue, it could interrupt your whole process. It's not like you’re using one single app to get everything done smoothly.

When you’re going through the extraction process, you don’t want your PC to suddenly go into sleep mode or update right in the middle of it all. To avoid this, you can adjust your power settings temporarily. Go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options, and set your plan to “Never” for sleep mode. Just remember to switch it back afterwards!

After you extract audio from YouTube video, it’s easy to misplace it. I’ve lost files in the depths of my folders more times than I’d like to admit. I recommend creating a dedicated folder for your audio extracts, so you can always find your jams without the hassle.

Different devices or software handle audio formats in various ways. I’ve had moments where I extracted in the wrong format and couldn’t play it on my phone. Stick to common formats like MP3 or WAV. If you’re using Microsoft apps like Windows Media Player, they work well with these formats.

If you wanna extract audio from YouTube video on Windows computer, there are actually a bunch of ways to do it, and I’ve tried a way myself. Here’s how I usually go about it:

Method 1: Using a Website
1. Find the Video: Go to YouTube and grab the URL of the video you want to extract audio from.

2. Use an Online Converter: Head over to a site like YTMP3, Y2mete, or ClipCo0nverter. These are super straightforward.

3. Paste the URL: Just paste the YouTube link into the converter’s URL box.

4. Select Audio Format: Usually, you can pick MP3 or another audio format. MP3 is always a safe bet.

5. Hit Convert: Click that convert button and wait for it to process.

6. Download: Once it’s done, there’ll be a download link. Just click it, and boom, you’ve got your audio!

Always check the copyright info. If you're planning to distribute the audio, make sure it’s all good on that front!

VBLC Media Player is an open source, cross-platform, free multimedia player that supports almost all common audio and video formats, with a built-in audio export function; JCDownloader is a lightweight download manager designed specifically for YouTube that supports batch downloading of videos and preserves the original image quality.

The combination of the two can complete the video download and audio extraction process without coding knowledge, intuitive operation and completely offline operation, suitable for users who are not familiar with the technology. Steps to extract audio from youtube video:

1. Install JCDownloader (official website) → Open the YouTube video link → Click the “Download” button → Choose the download quality (MP4 or MKV format is preferred).

2. After the download is completed, the video file will be saved in the default directory of JCDownloader.

3. Open VBLC media player → Click “Media” → “Open Media” → Browse and select the downloaded video file (e.g. video.mp4).

4. Click “Media” → “Export Audio” in the top menu bar → Select the output format as MP3 in the pop-up window → Modify the save path and file name → Click “Save” to start conversion.

This method is suitable for non-technical users to download video quickly through JCDownloader and then use the built-in function of VBLC to export audio with one click, which is a simple process and does not need to install additional encoding tools.

The advantages of this method include user-friendly interface and cross-platform support, but please note that you need to make sure that the content is legal when you download the video, and some YouTube videos may not be directly downloadable due to copyright protection. If you need more flexibility, it is recommended to combine with professional tools.