Download Downie for macOS

You've found a lecture recording, a clip from a livestream, or a tutorial you want to watch offline on the train. You copy the URL, switch to Downie, and it starts grabbing the file before you've even taken your hands off the keyboard.

What stayed familiar in version 4?

The core flow is unchanged: paste a link, drag a URL, or click a browser extension, and the download begins. You can still save just the audio track, and sending a finished file straight into Permute for conversion is a few clicks away.

Does the current version bring anything new?

Downie 4.13.1 is a maintenance update focused on keeping extraction reliable across the ever-changing web. The feature set you rely on — in-app search, 4K support, and quick clipboard detection — remains the same.

32 languages and a drag‑to‑install setup

The interface speaks 32 languages, from Afrikaans to Vietnamese. On first launch, you simply drag the app icon into your Applications folder and open it from Launchpad.

What about browser integration?

Extensions for Safari, Chrome, and Firefox let you send videos to Downie without leaving the page. It's the same lightweight bridge that long-time users will recognise.

Who clicks with Downie the most

Anyone who saves videos for offline viewing obviously gets value here, but a few groups keep Downie running almost daily.

• Students and researchers. Lecture captures, documentary clips, and conference talks disappear or move behind paywalls. Grabbing a local copy means you can review material on a train or tag it in your notes app without worrying about a shaky Wi‑Fi connection.
• Editors and motion designers. Pulling reference footage or stock-like clips from social platforms becomes a quick drag-and-drop routine. Since Downie hands files off to Permute automatically, you can batch-convert footage to ProRes or H.264 while you keep working.
• People building offline media libraries. Fitness routines, cooking walkthroughs, or language-learning channels live better as local files. Downie’s 4K support keeps them crisp on a big screen, and the audio-only extraction mode turns long interviews into a podcast-like queue for commutes.

Casual users who just want a single clip before a flight benefit too, but the app really earns its place when you need to collect and organise several videos a week.

Assuming every site extracts the same way

Downie hides most complexity, so new users tend to trip over workflow habits, not the app itself.

Assuming every site works the same way. Downie supports over 1,200 sites, but a few platforms serve video in ways that need a logged-in session. If a download stalls, opening the page in your browser and using the extension often sidesteps the issue by sending cookies along with the URL.

Forgetting to set a destination folder. The default landing spot is a general Downloads folder. Before you grab a dozen videos, pick a folder that matches your project — nothing messier than hunting through a heap of files with cryptic titles later.

Skipping the post-processing settings. Some people download first and convert afterwards in a separate step. The Permute integration handles conversion automatically if you toggle it on early. Set your preferred format once, and every subsequent download lands ready to use.

Ignoring the queue. Dropping twenty links at once is tempting, but Downie processes them in order. A slow server midway through the list can stall later downloads. Group similar sources together, or bump urgent items to the top of the queue manually.

Copy a URL anywhere to trigger a download prompt

A few touches make daily use smoother without ever calling attention to themselves.

• Clipboard watch. When Downie is running, copying a supported URL anywhere on your Mac triggers a download prompt. You don’t need to switch to the app first — copy in Safari, and a small notification appears.
• Custom title patterns. If you import a batch via CSV or XML, you can rename files using variables such as date or channel name. This saves a lot of manual renaming when you archive content from the same creator regularly.
• Per-site preferences. You can tell Downie to always grab audio-only from specific sites, or always pick the highest resolution for another. Set it once and forget it.
• Quick search inside the app. Instead of opening a browser, typing a site name, and hunting for the video, use Downie’s built-in search field. It queries supported platforms directly and returns results you can queue with a click.

Good to know: if you already run Permute, the two apps share a settings bridge — enabling “Send to Permute” inside Downie automatically picks up your conversion presets without any extra configuration.

• macOS 11 or later
• Apple Silicon or Intel processor