What this tool does
This tool asks the YouTube API which thumbnail sizes actually exist for a video and gives you a preview and a download button for each one, up to 1280×720. Paste up to twenty URLs and you get every size for every video, plus a CSV of the direct image URLs.
How to use it
- Paste one URL per line — watch links, youtu.be links, /shorts/ links and bare video IDs all work.
- Press "Get thumbnails".
- Download the size you need, or take the CSV of direct image URLs into your own script.
Limits you should know about
- Only sizes that YouTube actually generated are offered. Older and low-resolution uploads often have no 1280×720 version, and we do not pretend otherwise.
- Thumbnails belong to the uploader. Downloading one for reference is fine; republishing it as your own is not.
- Private and deleted videos return nothing.
- Twenty URLs per request and sixty requests an hour per IP.
Questions people ask
What is the largest YouTube thumbnail size?
1280×720, exposed by the API as "maxres". It only exists if the uploader supplied an image that large; otherwise the biggest you will get is 640×480.
Can I download a Shorts thumbnail?
Yes — paste the /shorts/ URL. Shorts use the same thumbnail resources as regular videos.
Why is the maxres option missing on some videos?
Because YouTube never generated one for that upload. Other tools work around this by guessing the URL, which produces a broken image; this one asks the API what exists.
Am I allowed to use someone else's thumbnail?
For private study and comparison, generally yes. Reusing it in your own video, thumbnail or advertising is a copyright problem and is not something this tool grants you permission for.
Can I get the thumbnails of a whole channel?
Twenty at a time. Get the channel's video IDs from its RSS feed — the channel ID finder gives you the feed URL — and paste them in batches.
Everything here reads live data from the YouTube Data API.
No account is needed for anything on this site.
Last changed
—
see the changelog.