Is there a Youtube downloader for Linux Mint ?

[fohat.digs]

I used to like youtube-dl but it has not worked in recent weeks and seems permanently broken.

Firefox is my preferred browser and will remain so.

[Leslieann]

"Video DownloadHelper" Firefox plugin
You'll also want the companion vdhcoapp

Gets me pretty much anything I want.

[Terrysko]

I used to like YouTube-dl but it has not worked in recent weeks and seems permanently broken. Firefox is my preferred browser and will remain so.

If you need help, you better ask the right question. Browser plug-ins are usually never permanently compatible and this applies to all browsers without exception! Besides that, what does a necessary plug-in have to do with your distro?!

The right question is therefore: Is there a recommended YouTube downloader for Linux?
And the answer is yes, of course!

[Leslieann]

This plugin has been a top 5 Firefox plugin since before Google released Chrome 1.0, over 15 years. I've probably been using it for that long. Yes,there's been a few hickups as companies work to block it but it's usually fixed within a few days.

Except on Chrome/Youtube...
This will not work on Youtube if you use Chrome as Google blocks it's use at the browser level and this effects open source Chromium as well as Google Chrome.


That said, it WILL slow browser start and page load times especially on FF, I leave it disabled unless I need it and often run it in an alternate browser (Chrome or Librewolf) so as not to lag my main browser (FF).

[Terrysko]

This plug-in has been a top 5 Firefox plug-in since before Google released Chrome 1.0, over 15 years.

In principle, it always depends on how well the respective software is maintained. If the author tries to do this at sufficiently short intervals, then users will be fine with it for some time, but this is never guaranteed with plug-ins. Mozilla in particular is known for constant changes in the plug-in interface, which unfortunately necessitates constant adjustments and this is not exactly convenient for the maintainer.
An external solution is therefore more beneficial in the long run!

[Leslieann]

This plug-in has been a top 5 Firefox plug-in since before Google released Chrome 1.0, over 15 years.

In principle, it always depends on how well the respective software is maintained. If the author tries to do this at sufficiently short intervals, then users will be fine with it for some time, but this is never guaranteed with plug-ins. Mozilla in particular is known for constant changes in the plug-in interface, which unfortunately necessitates constant adjustments and this is not exactly convenient for the maintainer.
An external solution is therefore more beneficial in the long run!

People really need to get over the fact that FF changed plugins.

Mozilla has made one major and one minor plugin change to Firefox plugins over the 18 years (!) FF has existed, how many OS changes have happened in that time? For reference, FF debuted on Windows XP and Mac OS X 10.3.

Apple breaks Mac software all the time (they even changed the name since) and while Windows does maintain backwards compatibility you can barely even get a modern browser (let alone modern hardware) to work on Windows 7 and 8 these days, good luck finding anything to run on XP. I had to do so recently, it's rough. As for Linux, Mint didn't exist back then because Ubuntu was only a month old,  in fact most current distros didn't exist back then and Linux has certainly had a TON of changes since. Ubuntu alone has gone through 3 at least different desktop environments.

So really Firefox has had fewer changes and better backwards compatibility for plugins than pretty much any OS.

[fohat.digs]

An external solution is therefore more beneficial in the long run!

So really Firefox has had fewer changes and better backwards compatibility for plugins than pretty much any OS.

Thank you, Leslieann, as usual. The plugin is somewhat more cumbersome than youtube-dl, but it is working properly and offers more options.
If it will be reliable long-term, that is my biggest wish.

[Terrysko]

People really need to get over the fact that FF changed plugins.

Not really, it makes much more sense to keep the number of plugins as small as possible.
The independence from Mozilla and various software contributions is an unbeatable advantage, no matter what OS!

Mozilla has made one major and one minor plugin change to Firefox plugins over the 18 years (!) FF has existed, how many OS changes have happened in that time?

That's wrong, as far as I remember there were at least 3 general changes and countless smaller changes, but they all had the same consequences for both users and programmers. Changes in various operating systems are completely irrelevant in this context, since such a comparison completely ignores the actual problem.

Apple breaks Mac software all the time (they even changed the name since) and while Windows does maintain backwards compatibility you can barely even get a modern browser (let alone modern hardware) to work on Windows 7 and 8 these days, good luck finding anything to run on XP.

What companies like Apple or MS do also has nothing to do with the actual topic, and it is just as pointless to discuss outdated operating systems here, for which each user is ultimately responsible.

As for Linux, Mint didn't exist back then because Ubuntu was only a month old, in fact most current distros didn't exist back then and Linux has certainly had a TON of changes since. Ubuntu alone has gone through 3 at least different desktop environments.

The development of Linux and its distributions also don't play the slightest role in this context, since each user is responsible for maintaining the system himself and is therefore free to decide whether or not to keep his system up-to-date. Mint in particular has long since decided to keep the respective repositories up to date, especially for browsers such as FF. As a result, the user is confronted with various changes to the software interfaces of FF all the more quickly, but with the advantage of being able to do without them.

My recommendation is therefore to only use plugins if there is nothing better, otherwise external applications should always be given preference!

[bansheetango]

That said, it WILL slow browser start and page load times especially on FF, I leave it disabled unless I need it and often run it in an alternate browser (Chrome or Librewolf) so as not to lag my main browser (FF).

Even simpler, Firefox has profiles, each with its own plugins.
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profile-manager-create-remove-switch-firefox-profiles

[Leslieann]

That said, it WILL slow browser start and page load times especially on FF, I leave it disabled unless I need it and often run it in an alternate browser (Chrome or Librewolf) so as not to lag my main browser (FF).

Even simpler, Firefox has profiles, each with its own plugins.
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profile-manager-create-remove-switch-firefox-profiles

I use multiple browsers (as well as container tabs) because it segregates resources more.
No matter how much a company hacks a browser for tracking it's not likely to jump browser but also if something crashes it's not taking down everything, such as an hour long download midway through.

[Leslieann]

My recommendation is therefore to only use plugins if there is nothing better, otherwise external applications should always be given preference!

They should, but I have yet to find one hence the plugin.

[tp4tissue]

so, this uses ffmpeg to re-encode the youtube format?

this uses enormous cpu power

[Leslieann]

so, this uses ffmpeg to re-encode the youtube format?

this uses enormous cpu power

It does if you convert something.

Try other download formats and it may just simply download.

[HeadlessHorseman]

The most convinent one I use is a website called y2mate.to, it does have pop up ads n **** but so far I don’t have a virus