How to Auto-Download New Videos from a YouTube Channel

Manually grabbing every new upload from a YouTube channel you follow adds up fast. A saner pattern: let your computer watch the channel, and new uploads just appear in a folder on your drive.

Here's how to set it up in OmniDown. Two minutes, four clicks.

Step 1 — Install OmniDown

Download for your OS: Windows (run the installer, no admin password) or macOS (drag into Applications). Free for core features, no account required.

Step 2 — Open Channel Monitor

Launch the app and click the Channel Monitor tab at the top. Each channel you track becomes a module — a watcher with its own folder and schedule.

Step 3 — Create a monitor module

Click New Monitor Module. Fill in:

Channel URL. Paste the link of any video from the channel you want to follow — e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxxxx. Click Detect — OmniDown reads the video and shows the channel name and avatar below, so you can confirm you're monitoring the right one.

Check frequency. How often to look for new uploads:

Going under 30 minutes risks being throttled by YouTube; OmniDown warns you when you pick something aggressive. Every 6 hours is the right default for almost everyone.

Save folder. Where this channel's videos go. Each module has its own, so different creators stay organized.

Skip Shorts (optional). Leave it on unless you specifically want 30-second vertical clips mixed in.

Click Create Module. The latest upload is queued right away, and checks continue on your chosen interval — the card shows the next scheduled check, e.g., "Last checked 11:41 · Next check in 5h 42m".

Step 4 — Where your downloads end up

Each module card has three tabs:

• Downloading — in-progress tasks with progress bar, speed, ETA
• Completed — finished files, with a folder-open button that jumps straight to them
• Failed — one-click retry (usually age-restricted or geo-blocked videos)

Add as many modules as you want, each with its own folder — e.g., /Videos/Podcasts/LexFridman, /Videos/Tech/MKBHD. Toggle Enable monitoring on any module to pause it temporarily.

Troubleshooting

"No new videos" for a long time. Either the channel hasn't uploaded (OmniDown doesn't backfill), or your region is blocking YouTube's feeds — the app falls back to a slower lookup automatically; if all attempts fail, the card shows an error badge.

"Live stream not supported." Expected. The VOD gets picked up on the next check once the stream ends.

Hitting rate limits. Increase your check interval. If YouTube challenges OmniDown with a bot check, the app prompts you to sign in — authenticated requests have a higher limit.

FAQ