ClipSave

Download · v1.1.0

Get ClipSave.

Two things, installed once: the extension for your browser, then a small helper. About a minute.

Get the extensionOther browsers

Chrome, Edge, Brave and Firefox on macOS, Windows and Linux.

Step 1The extensionThe ClipSave button in your browser.You download it109 KB
Step 2The helperA small app that does the actual downloading.One command installs it~106 MB

Step 1

Add the extension

The button and popup you use. Pick your browser; yours is chosen already.

  1. 01

    Download the zip and unzip it

    Keep the folder somewhere permanent, like Documents. Chrome loads ClipSave from there every time it starts, so don't delete it.

    Download for Chrome109 KB
  2. 02

    Open Chrome's extensions page

    Open chrome://extensions in a new tab.

    Open extensions page
  3. 03

    Turn on Developer mode, then Load unpacked

    The Developer mode switch is top right. Choose Load unpacked and select the folder you unzipped.

    Developer modeLoad unpackedClipSave folder

  4. 04

    Pin it to the toolbar

    Click the puzzle-piece button, then the pin next to ClipSave.

    ExtensionsPin ClipSave

Step 2

Install the helper

Extensions aren't allowed to run download tools, so a small helper app does it with yt-dlp. It brings ffmpeg and everything else it needs.

  1. 01

    Open Terminal

    Press ⌘ Space, type Terminal and press Return.

  2. 02

    Paste this and run it

    It downloads about 110 MB, checks it against the release's checksums and installs for your user only, with no administrator password. The ClipSave button shows the same installer, by its GitHub address.

    Terminal
    curl -fsSL https://ext.clipsave.link/install.sh | sh
  3. 03

    Back to the browser

    When it says Done, click the ClipSave button. It notices the helper by itself, no restart. The helper lives in ~/Library/Application Support/ClipSave.

Why a command and not a download? The helper isn't signed by Apple or Microsoft yet, so a copy downloaded in a browser would be blocked. The installer is a short script you can read first.

That's it. Open a video on any supported site and click the ClipSave button.

Need something else?

Troubleshooting

If something's off.

“One more step” stays after installing the helper

Check the installer finished with Done. If the browser was already open, close the popup and open it again.

“Chrome Web Store rules don't allow YouTube downloads”

Expected in Chrome, Edge and Brave. Use Firefox for YouTube.

“No video found on this page”

Try the video's own page or link rather than a page that embeds it.

“This post needs a signed-in account”

Private posts (often Instagram or Facebook) need a login, which this version doesn't support yet.

A site that used to work fails

Run the install command again to get the newest yt-dlp. Still failing? Check yt-dlp's issues.

Windows: “running scripts is disabled”

Use the irm … | iex command exactly as shown; it doesn't need script permissions.

Firefox forgot ClipSave after a restart

Temporary add-ons are removed when Firefox closes. Load it again, or use the signed .xpi once a release has one.

To see what the helper found, run clipsave-helper --version from its folder. Still stuck? Report it with your browser, system, that output and what the popup says.