The real fix for downloading playlists in 2024 is to use (for power users) or JDownloader 2 (for everyone else).
If you're seeing errors like "Sadly we failed at downloading that specific media" or a perpetual "waiting spinner," you are experiencing YouTube's continuous cat-and-mouse game with downloaders. YouTube doesn't want third parties pulling videos from its servers; every time it changes how a video is delivered, standalone extensions break.
Does it fail with a specific , or does the button simply disappear?
If your current plugin is permanently broken, these are currently highly rated for Firefox users: youtube features not working(like add to playlist comment)
A: Playlist downloading requires analyzing multiple links simultaneously, which is easier for YouTube to block. Ensure your extension specifically supports "Bulk" or "Playlist" downloading, like Tubly.
Run the following command to download an entire playlist in maximum quality:
A: Free extensions often cap the number of videos or speed. Video DownloadHelper for example, may require waiting times between large downloads.
A: This is an important legal and ethical point. Downloading videos from YouTube without permission, especially copyrighted material, does go against their Terms of Service. This guide is intended for downloading content you have the legal right to, such as your own creations or public domain material.
YouTube periodically changes the URL structure for playlists. The extension author must update the extension to recognize new playlist formats.
Before we fix the problem, you need to understand why it happens. Firefox plugins that download YouTube playlists are not official YouTube products. They rely on “scraping”—reverse-engineering YouTube’s internal API and player structure.