How to Download a YouTube Shorts Video
There is no single official "download" button for a YouTube Shorts video outside the YouTube app itself, so the right method depends on what you have rights to do with the video and how much quality you need. Here are four approaches that actually work, in the order most people should try them.
Before you download: check the rights
YouTube's terms of service block bulk downloading of videos you don't own. Downloading is fine for your own uploads, footage you have written permission to reuse, or clips covered by a licence that allows it. If you didn't make the video and don't have permission, ask the creator first, or use YouTube's own share and embed options instead of saving a copy.
Method 1: yt-dlp (most reliable, free)
yt-dlp is an open-source command-line tool that pulls the video directly from YouTube, so quality is usually better and more consistent than browser-based converter sites.
- Install it: `pip install yt-dlp` on most systems, `brew install yt-dlp` on a Mac, or grab the standalone binary from the project's GitHub releases page.
- Copy the Shorts URL, for example `https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VIDEO_ID`.
- Run `yt-dlp "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VIDEO_ID"` in a terminal. It downloads the best available MP4 into the current folder.
- To cap the resolution, add a format filter: `yt-dlp -f "bv*[height<=1080]+ba/b[height<=1080]" "URL"`.
Method 2: a browser-based downloader site
Pasting the Shorts link into a web-based downloader works without installing anything, but quality and reliability vary a lot between sites and many carry heavy ad load. Scan the resulting file before opening it, and never enter an account password on one of these sites.
Method 3: YouTube's own offline download
Inside the YouTube app, the download icon under a Short saves it for offline playback if you have YouTube Premium. This is the safest option in terms of rights and malware, but the file stays inside the app — it is not exported as a standalone MP4 you can edit.
Method 4: screen recording (works everywhere, lower quality)
When the first three options are not available — for example on a locked-down work laptop — a screen recording is a fallback everyone can use.
- macOS: press Cmd+Shift+5, select the area around the Shorts player, record, then trim the result in QuickTime Player.
- Windows: press Win+Alt+R to start the Xbox Game Bar recorder while the video plays full-screen.
- iPhone or Android: add Screen Recording to Control Center or Quick Settings, start it, then play the Short full-screen.
Turn the downloaded file into new clips
Once you have an MP4 on disk, the next question is usually what to cut out of it. Upload it to an AI video clipper to get ranked highlight moments with timestamps and a reason for each one, or use a long-video-to-shorts workflow if you are combining it with other footage into a batch of vertical clips with captions.