YouTube Thumbnail Downloader
The five addresses below are built from the id. Which of them exist is checked in your browser, one request each, because the address alone does not say.
video id jNQXAC9IVRw
How do you get the thumbnail image from a YouTube video?
A YouTube thumbnail is an image file on the Google image host, addressed by the video id and a size name. Reading the id out of a link is enough to build the address.
- Paste the link to the video, or the eleven-character video id on its own. A watch link, a youtu.be link, a Shorts link and an embed link all carry the same id.
- The page reads the id and builds the addresses from it. A thumbnail lives at https://img.youtube.com/vi/{video id}/{size}.jpg, so the video id in the link is all the page needs to build the address.
- Your browser then requests each address in turn and keeps the ones that answer, so the list you see is what this video has rather than what the pattern allows.
- Pick a size and save it. Google's image host answers with an Access-Control-Allow-Origin header of *, so the browser can fetch the file and save it with no server in the middle.
The five size names, and whether every video has them
Five sizes exist: default.jpg at 120x90, mqdefault.jpg at 320x180, hqdefault.jpg at 480x360, sddefault.jpg at 640x480 and maxresdefault.jpg at 1280x720.
| Size | File | Pixels | On every video tested |
|---|---|---|---|
| default | default.jpg | 120×90 | yes |
| mqdefault | mqdefault.jpg | 320×180 | yes |
| hqdefault | hqdefault.jpg | 480×360 | yes |
| sddefault | sddefault.jpg | 640×480 | no |
| maxresdefault | maxresdefault.jpg | 1280×720 | no |
Worked Example: the five addresses for one video
For the video id jNQXAC9IVRw, the five addresses are built by putting the id and each size name into the pattern. Whether the file behind each one exists is the next question, and only the host can answer it.
5 addresses built from one video id
This is the whole reason the page checks. Two of these five addresses are for sizes that many videos do not have, and the address for a size that does not exist looks exactly like the address for one that does.
Why Do Some Sizes Not Exist?
A size is a file, not a setting
Each name is a separate file on the host. Where one was never made for a video, asking for it returns an error rather than a smaller picture, so a list built from the pattern alone would be a guess dressed up as a result.
What the page checked before it listed anything
Your browser requests each of the five addresses and reports which answered. That takes a moment and it is the only way to know, because the address gives away nothing about whether the file behind it is there.
What this page does not do
It retrieves a thumbnail image, not the video. It has been tested on public standard videos only, so it claims nothing about private, deleted or age-restricted ones, and it will report whatever the host answers for them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which thumbnail sizes does a YouTube video have?
Up to five, listed in the table above with their pixel dimensions. Three of them answered on every video tested and two did not, which is why the page checks each address rather than listing all five as available.
Why is the maximum-resolution thumbnail missing?
Where a video has no image at a size, the address returns HTTP 404 rather than a smaller picture, so the page can list only the sizes that answer.
Does anything get uploaded or stored when you use this page?
Nothing of yours is uploaded and no file passes through this site, but your browser does request the image from Google's image host, the way it would if you opened the address yourself.
Can you use a YouTube thumbnail in your own work?
This page retrieves an image; it grants no rights over it. A thumbnail belongs to whoever holds the rights in it, and reusing one is subject to their permission, to YouTube's terms, and to the law where you are. iToolHub cannot tell you whether a use is allowed, and nothing here is legal advice.
The rest of the site is on all the tools on iToolHub.