YouTube and other sites

YouTube, Vimeo and similar sites don't give the player a stream the app can catch. For them Video Tracker uses yt-dlp, a download tool built into the app: it reads the page itself and lists the video with its qualities in Found on this page.

Which versions can

Where: Mac and Android · Plan: Free and Pro

Stores don't allow apps that download from YouTube and similar sites, so it depends on where you got Video Tracker:

• Mac app — can. It is installed from the site: video-tracker.ru.

• Android, the version from the site (video-tracker.ru) — can.
• Android from Google Play or RuStore — can't. On such sites it says Videos from this site are downloaded by the version of Video Tracker from video-tracker.ru. — install that version to download them.
• Chrome extension — can't: an extension can't run yt-dlp, and the Chrome Web Store doesn't allow downloading from YouTube. On such sites the panel shows Video Tracker does not download videos from this site.

• Safari extension — can't either (it shows the same message): open the page in the Video Tracker app for Mac.

Everything else — HLS, DASH, files and players on ordinary pages — works the same in every version. Which version you have is shown in Settings › About: after the version number it says (Store), (Full) or (RuStore). In the store versions the built-in browser's home page is video-tracker.ru instead of YouTube.

Automatic search and “Find with yt-dlp”

• On the sites from the list Sites for automatic yt-dlp lookup (Settings › Advanced; YouTube, Vimeo and others — one domain per line, you can add your own), yt-dlp starts by itself about a second after the page loads.
• On any other page press Find with yt-dlp in Found on this page: yt-dlp knows YouTube, Vimeo and about 1800 more sites.
• While yt-dlp reads the page, you see Searching… instead of the counter. The first time on YouTube this can take up to a minute.
• If yt-dlp finds nothing it can download, play the video on the page — the app may catch the stream from the player.

Playlists

Where: Mac and Android · Plan: Free and Pro

For a video opened from a playlist (list=PL… in the address) the Playlists setting decides what is found:

• Current video only — just this video.
• Ask (default) — this video and the question Only this video was found. Show the whole playlist?
• Whole playlist — all its videos and the Download all (N) button: each video is a separate download, in the quality from the settings.

A playlist page itself (without a video) always shows all its videos. YouTube auto mixes (list=RD…, UL…) are never expanded: only the current video is found.

Quality

YouTube keeps video and sound separately; the app downloads both and joins them into one mp4. If you don't pick a quality, the Default quality is used (by default Up to 1080p: the best quality not above 1080p, with sound). You can pause a download and continue it from where it stopped — see Downloads.

Nothing to install, updates by itself

yt-dlp and everything it needs are inside the app — you don't install anything.

On Mac, Settings › Tools shows Built-in, version for each tool.

Sites change often, so the app installs new yt-dlp versions by itself when they come out — no app reinstall needed. You can also press Update yt-dlp in the settings. If yt-dlp says it is out of date, update it and search again. More — Updates.

The site needs a sign-in

Some videos (age-restricted, private, paid) need you to be signed in. yt-dlp uses the same logins as the built-in browser:

• Mac: the logins come from your browser's profile. Sign in to the site in your browser, then press Refresh login — see Sites behind a login.

• Android: you see The site wants you signed in — sign in to the site right there, in the built-in browser, and press Find with yt-dlp again.

If the site refuses the download (403), it usually helps to update yt-dlp, sign in to the site and try again.

Sites removed from support

A site can be removed from support, for example at the request of the rights holder. Then on its pages (and its subdomains) you see Video Tracker does not download videos from this site. instead of the found videos, and the server doesn't accept downloads from it to the cloud or in the cabinet. The app learns the list together with the update check — you don't need to reinstall anything. Files you have already downloaded stay.