Downie 4.12.12

Downie

A Mac-native video downloader from Charlie Monroe Software that saves streams from YouTube, Vimeo, and more than a thousand other sites through drag-and-drop links, browser extensions, or a built-in browser when automatic extraction fails.

Downie targets users who want offline copies of web video without juggling command-line tools or browser-only workarounds. Paste or drop a URL onto the main window or Dock icon, choose quality and format options, and let the queue handle the rest. The app supports concurrent downloads, customizable naming schemes, subtitle handling, and postprocessing that can convert to MP4 or extract audio only — often paired with the developer’s Permute converter in a discounted bundle. Browser extensions for Safari, Chrome, and Firefox send the current tab to Downie with a toolbar button, context menu, or keyboard shortcut.

Site support and workflow

The vendor maintains integrations for a broad and growing site list, with frequent updates because streaming platforms change layouts and delivery methods often. User-Guided Extraction opens an in-app browser so you can navigate to a player on unsupported pages and let Downie detect the stream manually. Settings cover preferred resolution, MP4 versus WebM behavior, proxy servers for geo-restricted content, login browser for authenticated sites, and experimental options such as download delays or YouTube SABR handling in recent 4.12.x builds. iCloud sync keeps download history aligned across your Macs to reduce duplicate grabs.

Licensing and limits

Downie 4 requires macOS 11 or later; macOS 13 or newer is strongly recommended. A one-time license (~$19.99) covers the entire Downie 4 major version with no subscription, though site integrations may degrade on older builds once a new major release stops receiving updates. The app is not sold on the Mac App Store because Apple restricts YouTube downloaders. Downloading copyrighted material may violate platform terms or local law, so users should confirm they have rights to save the content. Version 4.12.12 is listed as the current release on the developer site.