Arroxy — Free Open-Source YouTube (+ 2000 sites) Downloader for Windows, macOS & Linux

4K · 1080p60 · HDR · Playlists · MP3 · Shorts · Music · Channels · Subtitles · SponsorBlock · +2000 sites

Read in: Afaan Oromoo · Deutsch · English · Español · Français · Kiswahili · O'zbekcha · Tiếng Việt · አማርኛ · العربية · اردو · پښتو · বাংলা · हिन्दी · မြန်မာဘာသာ · Ελληνικά · Русский · Српски · Українська · 中文 · 日本語

Download videos, Shorts, music, channels, podcasts, or audio tracks from YouTube and 2000+ supported sites — up to 4K HDR at 60 fps, or as MP3 / AAC / Opus. Runs locally on Windows, macOS, and Linux. No ads, no bloat, no upsells.

↓ Download Latest Release  ·  Website  ·  Windows · macOS · Linux

If Arroxy saves you time, a ⭐ helps others find it.

What is Arroxy? Arroxy is a free, open-source desktop GUI that downloads videos, audio, playlists, and subtitles from YouTube and 2000+ other yt-dlp-supported sites. It runs on Windows 10/11, macOS 11+ (Intel + Apple Silicon), and Linux (AppImage, Flatpak, tar.gz). MIT licensed. No account, no ads, no usage limits. Distributed via Winget, Scoop, Homebrew Cask, Flatpak, AppImage, and direct download.

Last updated: 2026-05-14.

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Contents

• Why Arroxy
• Features
• Download
• Privacy
• FAQ
• Roadmap
• Built with

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Why Arroxy

A side-by-side comparison with the most common alternatives:

	Arroxy	4K Video Downloader	JDownloader	Y2Mate / online converters	Browser extensions
Free, no premium tier	✅	⚠️	✅	⚠️	⚠️
Open source	✅	❌	❌	❌	⚠️
Local processing only	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅
No login or cookie export	✅	⚠️	⚠️	⚠️	✅
No usage caps	✅	⚠️	✅	🚫	⚠️
Cross-platform desktop app	✅	✅	✅	N/A	❌
Subtitles + SponsorBlock	✅	⚠️	❌	❌	❌

Arroxy is built for one thing: paste a URL, get a clean local file. No accounts, no upsells, no data collection.

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Features

Quality & formats

• Up to 4K UHD (2160p), 1440p, 1080p, 720p, 480p, 360p
• High frame rate preserved as-is — 60 fps, 120 fps, HDR
• Audio-only export to MP3, M4A/AAC, Opus, or WAV
• Quick presets: Best quality · Balanced · Small file

Privacy & control

• 100% local processing — downloads go straight from YouTube to your disk
• Open source — every line auditable, MIT licensed
• Files saved straight to the folder you choose

Workflow

• Paste any link — YouTube videos, Shorts, channels, playlists, podcasts, and Music, plus 2000+ other sites yt-dlp supports; download the whole playlist or pick specific videos first
• Multi-download queue — track several downloads in parallel
• Clipboard watch — copy a YouTube link and Arroxy auto-fills the URL when you refocus the app (toggle in Advanced settings)
• Auto-clean URLs — strips tracking params (si, pp, utm_*, fbclid, gclid) and unwraps youtube.com/redirect links
• Tray mode — closing the window keeps downloads running in the background
• 21 languages — auto-detects system locale, switchable any time

Subtitles & post-processing

• Subtitles in SRT, VTT, or ASS — manual or auto-generated, in any available language
• Save next to the video, embed into .mkv, or organize into a Subtitles/ subfolder
• SponsorBlock — skip or chapter-mark sponsors, intros, outros, self-promos
• Embedded metadata — title, upload date, channel, description, thumbnail, and chapter markers written into the file

YouTube + 2000 sites

• YouTube, in full — Videos, Shorts, Channels, Playlists, YouTube Music, and Podcasts handled as first-class sources
• 2000+ other sites via yt-dlp — Vimeo, Twitch, Twitter/X, TikTok, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, Bilibili, BBC iPlayer, archive.org, and many more
• Audio-only and subtitles work across every supported site, not just YouTube
• If a site changes, yt-dlp ships fixes weekly and Arroxy auto-updates the binary on launch

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Download

Platform	Format
Windows	Installer (NSIS) or Portable .exe
macOS	.dmg (Intel + Apple Silicon)
Linux	.AppImage or .flatpak (sandboxed)

Grab the latest release →

Why you may see a warning

Arroxy is open-source and MIT-licensed. The Windows and macOS builds are not code-signed — Apple Developer ID and Windows EV code-signing certificates each cost hundreds of dollars per year, which an indie project pays out of pocket. Without those signatures, Windows SmartScreen and macOS Gatekeeper will warn you on first launch. The warnings mean your OS doesn't recognize the publisher — they don't mean Arroxy is malware.

Three ways to verify Arroxy yourself, in increasing rigor:

• Read the source. Every line is on GitHub and you can build it from source.
• Check the SHA256. Match your file against the published SHA256SUMS — see Verify your download below.
• Run a third-party scan. Upload the file to VirusTotal.

Windows first launch

On first launch you may see "Windows protected your PC" or "Unknown publisher." This applies to both Arroxy-Setup-*.exe and Arroxy-Portable-*.exe. Arroxy is free and open-source and the Windows builds are not code-signed with a paid certificate, which is why SmartScreen flags them. It does not automatically mean Arroxy is unsafe. To continue:

1. Click More info.
2. Click Run anyway.

If Windows Defender flags or removes the file

Defender heuristics sometimes flag unsigned NSIS installers and Electron portables as suspicious. If Defender quarantines Arroxy-Setup-*.exe or Arroxy-Portable-*.exe, restore it from Windows Security → Virus & threat protection → Protection history, then add the Arroxy executable as an allowed item under Manage settings → Add or remove exclusions. As with SmartScreen, the trigger is the missing publisher signature, not detected malware.

Only download Arroxy from the official GitHub Releases page. If you got the file from another website or someone sent it to you, delete it and download a fresh copy from the official source. The source code is public, so you can inspect it or build Arroxy yourself if you prefer.

macOS first launch

Arroxy is not yet code-signed for macOS, so Gatekeeper will block the first launch. The exact path to allow it depends on your macOS version — Sequoia 15 tightened the old right-click → Open bypass.

macOS Sequoia 15 and later (current)

On Sequoia 15 and newer, right-click → Open no longer bypasses Gatekeeper for many quarantined apps. Use the System Settings panel instead:

1. Drag Arroxy.app from the mounted DMG into /Applications.
2. Double-click Arroxy. The block dialog appears — click Done (don't click Move to Trash).
3. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security and scroll to the Security section. You'll see "Arroxy was blocked to protect your Mac" (or a near-identical message).
4. Click Open Anyway, confirm with your password or Touch ID, then re-launch Arroxy from /Applications.

macOS Sonoma 14 and earlier

1. Drag Arroxy.app from the mounted DMG into /Applications.
2. Right-click (or Control-click) Arroxy.app in /Applications and choose Open.
3. The warning dialog now has an Open button — click it and confirm. Arroxy opens normally and the warning never appears again.

"App is damaged" or persistent Gatekeeper block — Terminal fix

If macOS says "Arroxy is damaged and can't be opened", or none of the steps above clear the block, the quarantine attribute on the DMG is the cause (some browsers and macOS's own translocation behavior set it). Strip it from the installed app:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Arroxy.app

Apple Silicon vs Intel: on an M-series Mac (M1 / M2 / M3 / M4), download the arm64 DMG. On Intel Macs, download the x64 DMG. Running the wrong build still works via Rosetta but is noticeably slower.

macOS builds are produced via CI on Apple Silicon and Intel runners. If you hit issues, please open an issue — feedback from macOS users actively shapes the macOS testing cycle.

Linux first launch

AppImages run directly — no installation. You just need to mark the file as executable.

File manager: right-click the .AppImage → Properties → Permissions → enable Allow executing file as program, then double-click.

Terminal:

chmod +x Arroxy-*.AppImage
./Arroxy-*.AppImage

If launch still fails, you may be missing FUSE:

# Ubuntu / Debian
sudo apt install -y libfuse2

# Fedora
sudo dnf install -y fuse-libs

# Arch
sudo pacman -S fuse2

Optional desktop integration: install AppImageLauncher once, and any AppImage you double-click gets registered into your launcher menu automatically — no manual .desktop file needed.

Flatpak (sandboxed alternative): download Arroxy-*.flatpak from the same release page.

flatpak install --user Arroxy-*.flatpak
flatpak run io.github.antonio_orionus.Arroxy

Verify your download (SHA256)

Every release publishes a SHA256SUMS file alongside the binaries. To check that your download wasn't corrupted or tampered with in transit, hash your file locally and match the line in SHA256SUMS. Open the latest release page → Assets → download SHA256SUMS.

Windows (PowerShell or Command Prompt):

certutil -hashfile Arroxy-Setup-<version>.exe SHA256

macOS (Terminal):

shasum -a 256 Arroxy-<version>-arm64.dmg

Linux (Terminal):

sha256sum Arroxy-*.AppImage

Want a third-party malware scan? Upload the file at VirusTotal. A handful of generic-heuristic flags from minor engines is normal for unsigned Electron apps; widespread detections from major engines would be a real concern.

Install via package manager

Already use a package manager? You can skip the manual download path.

Channel	Command
Winget	winget install AntonioOrionus.Arroxy
Scoop	scoop bucket add arroxy https://github.com/antonio-orionus/scoop-bucket && scoop install arroxy
Homebrew	brew tap antonio-orionus/arroxy && brew install --cask arroxy
Flatpak	flatpak install --user Arroxy-*.flatpak

Windows: Installer vs Portable

	NSIS Installer	Portable .exe
Installation required	Yes	No — run from anywhere
Auto-updates	✅ in-app	❌ manual download
Startup speed	✅ faster	⚠️ slower cold start
Adds to Start Menu	✅	❌
Easy uninstall	✅	❌ delete the file

Recommendation: use the NSIS installer for auto-updates and faster startup. Use the portable .exe for a no-install, no-registry option.

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Privacy

Downloads are fetched directly via yt-dlp from YouTube to the folder you pick — nothing routed through a third-party server. Watch history, download history, URLs, and file contents stay on your device.

Arroxy sends anonymous, aggregate telemetry via OpenPanel — just enough for an indie project to understand launches, OS, app versions, and crashes. No URLs, video titles, file paths, account info, fingerprinting, or personal data. The per-install ID is random and not tied to your identity. You can opt out in Settings.

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FAQ

Is it really free? Yes — MIT licensed, no premium tier, no feature gating.

What video qualities can I download? Anything YouTube serves: 4K UHD (2160p), 1440p, 1080p, 720p, 480p, 360p, plus audio-only. 60 fps, 120 fps, and HDR streams are preserved as-is.

Can I extract just the audio as MP3? Yes. Pick audio-only in the format menu and choose MP3, M4A/AAC, Opus, or WAV.

Do I need a YouTube account or cookies? By default, no — Arroxy works without a YouTube account, login, or cookie export. Optional cookie support is available in Advanced settings (Cookies source: file or browser) for content that requires authentication, such as age-restricted or members-only videos. It is off by default. If you enable it, yt-dlp's wiki notes that cookie-based automation can flag a Google account; a throwaway account is the safer choice in that case.

Will it keep working when YouTube changes something? yt-dlp is updated automatically on launch, and Arroxy ships fixes promptly when YouTube changes something. If you ever do hit an issue, optional cookie support is available in Advanced settings as a fallback.

What languages is Arroxy available in? Twenty-one, out of the box: English, Español (Spanish), Deutsch (German), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), 中文 (Chinese), Русский (Russian), Українська (Ukrainian), हिन्दी (Hindi), Afaan Oromoo, Kiswahili, O'zbekcha (Uzbek), Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese), አማርኛ (Amharic), العربية (Arabic), اردو (Urdu), پښتو (Pashto), বাংলা (Bengali), မြန်မာဘာသာ (Burmese), Ελληνικά (Greek), and Српски (Serbian). Arroxy auto-detects your operating system's language on first launch and you can switch at any time from the language picker in the toolbar. Translations live as plain TypeScript objects in src/shared/i18n/locales/ — open a PR on GitHub to contribute.

Do I need to install anything else? No. yt-dlp is downloaded automatically on first launch and cached on your machine; ffmpeg and ffprobe ship with the app. After that, no extra setup is needed.

Can I download playlists or whole channels? Yes — both. Paste a playlist URL or a channel URL (e.g. youtube.com/@handle, /channel/UC…, /c/Name, /user/Old); Arroxy enumerates up to 500 entries, then you queue the whole list or pick specific videos. Date-range and count filters are coming soon.

macOS says "the app is damaged" — what do I do? That's macOS Gatekeeper blocking an unsigned app, not actual damage. See "App is damaged" — Terminal fix for the one-line xattr command that clears it.

Is downloading YouTube videos legal? For personal, private use it is generally accepted in most jurisdictions. You are responsible for complying with YouTube's Terms of Service and your local copyright laws.

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Roadmap

Coming up — roughly in priority order:

Feature	Description
Playlist & channel filters	Date-range and count filters when enumerating a playlist or channel (today the cap is a fixed 500 entries)
Batch URL input	Paste multiple URLs at once and run them in one go
Custom filename templates	Name files by title, uploader, date, resolution — with live preview
Scheduled downloads	Start a queue at a set time (overnight runs)
Speed limits	Cap bandwidth so downloads don't saturate your connection
Clip trimming	Download only a segment by start/end time

Have a feature in mind? Open a request — community input shapes priority.

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Built with

Stack

• Electron — cross-platform desktop shell
• React 19 + TypeScript — UI
• Tailwind CSS v4 — styling
• Zustand — state management
• yt-dlp + ffmpeg — download and mux engine (yt-dlp fetched at runtime; ffmpeg/ffprobe bundled at build time)
• Vite + electron-vite — build tooling
• Vitest + Playwright — unit and end-to-end tests

Build from source

Prerequisites — all platforms

Tool	Version	Install
Git	any	git-scm.com
Bun	latest	see per-OS below

Windows

powershell -c "irm bun.sh/install.ps1 | iex"

No native build tools required — the project has no native Node addons.

macOS

xcode-select --install
curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash

Linux (Ubuntu / Debian)

curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash

# Electron runtime deps
sudo apt install -y libgtk-3-0 libnss3 libasound2t64

# E2E tests only (Electron needs a display)
sudo apt install -y xvfb

Clone & run

git clone https://github.com/antonio-orionus/Arroxy
cd arroxy
bun install
bun run dev          # hot-reload dev build

Build a distributable

bun run build        # typecheck + compile
bun run dist         # package for current OS
bun run dist:win     # cross-compile Windows portable exe

yt-dlp is fetched from GitHub on first launch and cached in your app data folder. ffmpeg and ffprobe are bundled with every Arroxy release.

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Troubleshooting

App won't open / no window appears

The Arroxy process starts but no window shows up. Most often this is a GPU driver hang during startup. Try, in order:

1. Check the log. It records startup, GPU info, and any crash. Path:

Platform	Path
Windows	%APPDATA%\Arroxy\logs\main.log
macOS	~/Library/Logs/Arroxy/main.log
Linux	~/.config/Arroxy/logs/main.log

2. Launch with hardware acceleration disabled. Open a terminal / Command Prompt and run the executable with a flag:

# Windows (Portable) — PowerShell, run from the folder containing the exe
.\Arroxy-Portable-<version>.exe --disable-gpu

# Windows (Portable) — Command Prompt (cmd.exe), from the same folder
Arroxy-Portable-<version>.exe --disable-gpu

# Windows (Installed) — works in both PowerShell and cmd.exe
"%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Arroxy\Arroxy.exe" --disable-gpu

# macOS
/Applications/Arroxy.app/Contents/MacOS/Arroxy --disable-gpu

# Linux (AppImage)
./Arroxy-*.AppImage --disable-gpu

If that works, the GPU/driver is the cause. Make the change permanent (next step).

3. Persist the flag via argv.json. Create the file at:

Platform	Path
Windows	%APPDATA%\Arroxy\argv.json
macOS	~/Library/Application Support/Arroxy/argv.json
Linux	~/.config/Arroxy/argv.json

With contents:

{ "disable-hardware-acceleration": true }

Arroxy reads this before opening any window, so it works even when the window never appeared.

4. Other flags worth trying (combine if needed): --disable-software-rasterizer, --disable-gpu-sandbox, --in-process-gpu.

5. Stale window position. If the window may be opening off-screen (multi-monitor change since last run), delete <userData>\window-state.json and relaunch.

6. Still stuck? Open an issue with: OS version, the contents of main.log, and any output from running with --enable-logging --v=1.

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Terms of use

Arroxy is a tool for personal, private use only. You are solely responsible for ensuring your downloads comply with YouTube's Terms of Service and the copyright laws of your jurisdiction. Do not use Arroxy to download, reproduce, or distribute content you do not have the right to use. The developers are not liable for any misuse.

Star History

_{MIT License · Made with care by @OrionusAI}