Can You Still Download YouTube with VLC? (Updated)

VLC is widely known as a useful and open-source media player that can play almost everything on cross platforms for free. Actually, it also provides some other practical functions, such as converting various digital files, ripping unprotected DVDs and downloading videos from YouTube. Recently, we found that some people have problems in downloading YouTube videos with VLC.

So we are here to show why fail to download YouTube with VLC, what you can still try, and introduce reliable alternatives. If you're facing this issue, keep reading.

 Cisdem VideoPaw

VLC Alternative to Download YouTube Videos

• Easily and safely download videos from YouTube and other 10000+ websites
• Support YouTube playlist, channels, shorts, and live streams download
• Download videos quickly in 30x faster speed
• Preserve high quality, capable of downloading YouTube videos in 1080P, 4K, 8K and higher quality
• Download in video format or audio-only format
• Download videos with subtitles
• Convert the downloaded videos to 600+ formats and device presets
• Allows batch downloading and conversion of multiple files with a single click
• Extra: Edit and compress videos; adjust video parameters, rip DVD and Blu-ray discs

Free Download Windows 10 or later Free Download macOS 10.15 or later

Why Fail to Download YouTube with VLC

VLC currently can't download videos and audio from YouTube. The VLC team has stopped maintaining these scripts, as YouTube updates too rapidly for volunteer developers to keep up. Even if you find a usable script online, it may become unusable again within weeks, or even contain malware.

youtube.luac is a compiled script file that VLC uses to understand YouTube video links. The file still exists in current VLC versions, but it can no longer translate properly.

How to Solve VLC YouTube Download not Working

When you try to download YouTube videos with VLC, it fails to open the YouTube videos with the prompt “your input can’t be opened”.

As explained above, this is mainly because VLC's YouTube script is now outdated or regional restrictions. The other is that some YouTube videos can’t be downloaded because of age-restricted.

If you're still holding out hope, try the solutions below for script or region issues. Don't expect much, might be easier to just go straight for the alternatives. For private and age-restricted YouTube videos, VLC can't handle them.

Solution 1. Update VLC Media Player

The old version may miss some necessary codecs for analyzing the URL from YouTube. To avoid this factor, download the latest version of the program to try it again.

On Windows: Click “Help > Check for Update...” on the top

On Mac: Click “VLC > Check for Update...” on the top menu bar

If the program makes no response, go to the official website of VLC and re-download and re-install the latest version to your device. Upon finishing, try to download video from YouTube with VLC to test this solution.

Solution 2. Reset Preferences: Disable Cookies Forwarding Setting

Disabling cookies is also helpful to fix the issue. But this solution may result in a security attacking to your Windows computer.

1. Go to the Preferences setup window.
2. On the lower left corner of the interface, Windows users select “All” under “Show Settings”.
   
3. Target on the left pane of the new window, click on “Input/Codecs > Access modules > HTTPS”. Then, deselect “Cookies forwarding” on the right side.
4. Hit on “Save”. Then, you can try downloading YouTube with VLC to check whether it works.

Note for Mac users: The VLC version lacks a "Cookies forwarding" option, but it saves some network session data in preferences. Deleting it can stop old cookies from causing problems.

1. Head to “Finder > Go > Go to Folder”.
2. Type /Users/test/Library/Preferences/org.videolan.vlc. Press Enter.
3. Delete the vlcrc file in the folder.

Solution 3. Replace the Existing youtube.lua File

Youtube.lua file plays a vital role in playing YouTube videos with VLC. You can also re-install it in case of the existing one has been corrupted. In doing so, you just need to delete the existing youtube.lua file, and re-download youtube.lua file from the official VLC download link. The following are the storage paths.

For Win 64-bit operating system: C:\Program Files (x86)\VideoLAN\VLC\lua\playlist

For Win 32-bit operating system: C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\lua\playlist

For Mac operating system:/Applications/VLC.app/Contents/MacOS/share/lua/playlist

Solution 4. Rename the youtube.lua File

For youtube.lua file, you can also try to rename it with youtube.luac. For Windows users, follow the address mentioned above to locate the youtube.lua file, right-click on it to rename the file end with .luac extension

Solution 5. Utilize the Recording Function of VLC

If the upper solutions make no effects, you can turn to record YouTube video with VLC, which can also save the YouTube on your computer. However, recording requires smooth playback without issue, and people have to wait in the side of the computer. If you don’t mind, below are the detailed steps.

On Windows

1. Open VLC Media Player, click "View > Advanced controls" on the top line to activate the recording settings on the main intnerface.
2. Tap on "Media > Open Capture Device" to launch the recording setup dialogue.
3. Select "Desktop" on the "Capture mode" section. If needed, set the frame rate or more settings based on your mind.
   
4. Tap on "Play" to start to record your screen.
5. Move to YouTube and play the video that you wish to save.
6. Once the playback is over, click on the “Stop” icon to finish the task.

On Mac

1. Click on "File > Open Capture Device" to bring up the Open Source window.
2. In the Input Devices dropdown, select "Screen".
3. Enter the frame rates you want, e.g. 15.
4. Check "Stream output", then go to the "Settings" window to set the output location and format.
5. Play the YouTube video, then click ‘Open’ to start recording.

Solution 6. Use Other Powerful Alternatives

The last but not least solution to fix VLC not working with YouTube is to switch help to a powerful and simple alternative, which is the easiest solution as there are countless excellent YouTube video downloaders accessible on the market for people to choose from.

VLC Alternatives to Download YouTube Videos

#1 Pro alternative

After rigorous testing, Cisdem VideoPaw (originally Cisdem Video Converter) is the best alternative to VLC Media Player, which is also a multipurpose program available on Windows and Mac. It offers a fast speed and a wealth of advanced features to convert videos and videos, digitize all DVDs and Blu-rays, download/edit/compress videos. For downloading, it supports downloading videos from more than 1000 websites including YouTube. It is easy to use and can batch download 4K YouTube videos safely without damaging quality.

Steps on how to download YouTube videos with VLC alternative

Step 1. Download and install App

Download the latest version of the program based on your device system and install it.

Free Download   Free Download

Launch it, you will see the conversion interface by default. Move to the download interface by clicking on the top.

Step 2. Copy the YouTube URL

Go to YouTube website, look for the video that you like, right-click on it and copy its link address.

Step 3. Paste URL

Return to Cisdem interface, paste the URL into the bottom field for adding URL, press “Enter”or click on the + icon to parse out the URL and load the video.

If you want to download multiple YouTube videos, repeat the steps, or click the icon at bottom left corner to add URLs in bulk. Each link one line.

Step 4. Choose output format or quality (Optional)

After completing the analysis process, all videos will be displayed on the main interface with each video thumbnail. It will choose the highest resolution of the video format by default. If you want other resolutions or audio-only format, click on the according box of the video to make adjustment.

Step 5. Batch download YouTube videos

Once done, hit on "Start" button on the bottom right corner to start the batch downloading process. After downloading, tick out the “Checkmark” icon to find them on your local device.

Moreover, you can drag and drop them to the conversion interface and convert YouTube videos to MP3, MOV, MKV or any other formats you want. Also, you can use the embedded editing features to modify the videos according to your minds.

#2 Online alternative

Y2mate is a popular VLC alternative to download YouTube videos. It works through mirror sites since the original was blocked. It lets you grab 1080p videos right in your browser as MP4 or MP3. They’re encoded in H.264/AAC and will be compressed into smaller size.

Y2mate is good for occasional downloads when you don't need to install. But it doesn't support 4K YouTube downloads. You will also encounter ads and pop-ups like most free online tools.

1. Search for y2mate and go to the website.
2. Copy YouTube link, paste it into the search box on the y2mate homepage.
3. Click the "Start" button to analyze.
4. Once the video is processed, choose the format and quality, finally click "Download".

Final Words

After reading this article, you now know that VLC's YouTube download feature no longer works. While the troubleshooting steps above may help with playback issues, the original download function is gone for good. Even when it did work, downloading YouTube with VLC was complex and unreliable. That's why we recommend using dedicated tools instead.