Link downloader

Not every link has a file behind it

People paste all sorts of things into a downloader: an address copied from a browser bar, a share link from an app, a line pulled out of a page's source, a link forwarded in a message. Some of those point at one video file. Some point at a page, a list, a login screen, or an address that stopped working an hour ago.

Analyze answers the question either way. It reads the address, follows any redirect, and reports the video files it finds. An empty list is a real answer about that link, not a fault in the tool. The six kinds below cover nearly everything anyone pastes.

A watch page on a video site

This is the ordinary case and the one that works most reliably. The address opens a page built around one video, with a player in the middle and a title underneath. Copy it from the browser address bar while the video is on screen, or use the app's Copy link option.

Paste it and Analyze returns the encodings that page serves, each row showing a resolution and a size in megabytes. Pick the row you want and press Download file.

A direct address ending in a file extension

Some links end in .mp4, .m3u8, .webm, or .mov and point at the media itself rather than at a page. There is no page to read, so Analyze has less work to do. Analyze confirms the file is reachable and reports its size, then downloads it.

Two things go wrong with direct addresses. One is a very long address carrying a token in it, which is covered further down. The other is a truncated address, which happens when the link was copied out of a chat message that wrapped the text. Copy it again from the original source rather than from the message.

A page with a player embedded from somewhere else

A news article, a blog post, or a forum thread often shows a video that lives on a different service. The address in your bar belongs to the article. The video belongs to the host.

Paste the article address first, because the embedded file is frequently readable from there. When the result comes back empty, right-click the player and look for an option naming the host, or start the video and open it on the host's own site. Copy that address and paste it instead.

A page that lists many videos

A channel, a profile, a category, a playlist, or a search results page has no single file behind it, so there is nothing for Analyze to return. This is the most common reason a paste produces nothing.

The fix takes one click. Open the video you actually want from that list, wait for it to start, then copy the address you are now on. Downloading a whole playlist in one action is not something this page does; save the videos one at a time.

A link behind a sign-in, and a link that has expired

These two produce the same empty result for different reasons, and telling them apart saves you from retrying something that cannot work.

• Behind a sign-in: the page asks for an account, a subscription, or a payment before the video plays. Vidzilla does not hold your credentials, so it sees the login screen rather than the video. Nothing about the link can be repaired.
• Signed for one viewer: a very long address containing parameters such as an expiry timestamp or a signature was issued to your session alone. It works in your browser and nowhere else, and it stops working after a set time.
• Expired: the same signed address after its time is up, which returns an error instead of media. Reload the original page to be issued a fresh address, then paste that one immediately.
• Deleted: the host removed the video. No downloader retrieves a file that is gone.

Checking a link before you paste it

One test settles most cases in a few seconds. Open a private or incognito window, paste the link there, and watch what happens. A private window has none of your logins, so it sees roughly what Vidzilla sees.

If the video plays in that window, the link is usable here. If you get a login screen, a list of videos, or an error, fix that first and paste the address you end up on.

Related pages

• Turn a link you already have into a file
• Paste a URL and download it
• Copying a video link from an app
• Downloading from any video page
• Sites Vidzilla can read