How to download a full YouTube playlist

If you have a favorite YouTube playlist — a full album, a tutorial series, a lecture split into episodes — downloading video by video is painful. In this guide I'll show you how to process whole playlists with YTSavr and what real limitations apply.

Why download whole playlists?

Common use cases:

• Music albums: many artists upload their full discography as a playlist
• Courses and tutorials: learning series of 20-100 episodes
• Podcasts: if the podcast lives on YouTube, better to have it offline
• Audiobooks split: individual chapters as videos
• DJ sets: full festivals split per DJ
• Lectures: TED talks, scientific congresses, etc.

How to download a playlist

1. Copy the playlist link (NOT the single video)

Important: if you copy the link of a video that belongs to a playlist, it'll process only that video. You need the full playlist link.

To get it:

1. On YouTube, open the playlist (not a video — the playlist view with the video list on the side)
2. Copy the URL from the address bar
3. The link will have a ?list=PLXXXXXX parameter at the end

2. Paste it in YTSavr

Go to ytsavr.com, paste the link, and tap Search video. If it recognizes it's a playlist, you'll see:

• Playlist name
• Video count
• Estimated total duration
• Quality options for all videos

3. Pick quality and download

Select the quality you'll apply to the WHOLE playlist (1080p, 720p, MP3, etc.). Tap Download playlist.

Rate limit: how long it takes

To prevent abuse and protect YouTube's servers, we have a 1-download-per-minute rate limit. This means:

• 10-video playlist: ~10 minutes
• 30-video playlist: ~30 minutes
• 100-video playlist: ~1h 40min
• 500-video playlist: ~8 hours

The good news: downloads process in the background. Once you start, you can leave the tab open and come back later.

Downloaded file format

Files come numbered by playlist order:

• 01_first-title.mp4
• 02_second-title.mp4
• 03_third-title.mp4
• ...

This guarantees they keep correct sequence when sorted alphabetically on your PC. Especially useful for courses and series.

Limitations

Private playlists

Don't work. A private playlist requires being logged into YouTube to view, which YTSavr doesn't do. If you want to download from a private playlist, change it to "unlisted" (still effectively private but URL-accessible).

Deleted or private videos inside the playlist

It's common for some playlists to have videos the creator deleted. YTSavr detects them automatically and skips them — doesn't abort the full download over one or two missing.

YouTube auto-generated playlists

"Mix" or "Radio" playlists generated by YouTube's algorithm are technically different from normal playlists. Sometimes they can't be downloaded as a playlist; in that case, download video by video.

Playlists over 5,000 videos

YouTube has a theoretical 5,000-video limit per playlist. If you find one that size (rare), processing it may be unstable.

Special cases

Music playlists as albums

If the playlist is an album, I recommend downloading as MP3 for pure audio files. Much smaller and ideal for listening in any player.

Educational playlists

For long courses, download in 720p. Quality is enough to see the educational content, but size is manageable. A 50-video course at 1080p can weigh 20 GB; at 720p, 10 GB.

Podcast playlists

Same as music: MP3 is the right choice. Podcasts don't need video.

Frequently asked questions

How many videos can I download from a playlist?

No technical limit, but there's a 1-download-per-minute rate limit. For 100-video playlists, plan around 2 hours.

Does it work with private playlists?

No. We only process public or unlisted playlists. Private ones require YouTube login, which we don't do.

Are they downloaded in order?

Yes. Videos come numbered by playlist order (01_title.mp4, 02_title.mp4, etc.) so they keep the sequence.

What if the playlist has a deleted video?

We skip it automatically. The download continues with available videos, doesn't abort.