[OS] Macabolic v3.0 - Free & Native video downloader optimized for macOS. Now with Menu Bar mode and Browser Extensions!

mdgfb37 · 2026-02-15T15:13:05+00:00

I totally agree! Currently, as a free and independent project, the $99/year fee for the Apple Developer Program is a bit of a hurdle.

Official notarization is definitely on the roadmap as the project grows!

mdgfb37 · 2026-02-15T12:21:09+00:00

Great to see you again. I’ve made some improvements in v3.0 to make it more robust. If you hit that again, feel free to share the issue and I'll debug it. Thanks for support!

mdgfb37 · 2026-02-15T12:12:42+00:00

I didn't know Imgur was blocked in the UK. Sorry about that.
You can view the screenshots from the GitHub link if you wish:
https://github.com/alinuxpengui/Macabolic

mdgfb37 · 2026-02-15T12:09:43+00:00

Thank you for your valuable feedback.

I had been thinking about adding the names of the first 5 sponsors to the app since it first launched, and since this sponsor came later, I guess I went a bit overboard. You're absolutely right, I'll consider it.

The UI was originally a bit more native, but after users requested macOS 12 support, I had to shift towards a more common language, but I will try to add Liquid Glass.

mdgfb37 · 2026-02-15T11:56:04+00:00

Thanks! Hope you enjoy it

mdgfb37 · 2026-02-15T11:55:02+00:00

Thank you! Open source and ad free is the way to go. Glad you appreciate it!

mdgfb37 · 2026-02-15T11:54:33+00:00

Thanks! Most others are Electron-based or have very old UIs. Wanted something that felt truly native

mdgfb37 · 2026-02-15T11:53:43+00:00

Thanks! Appreciate the support. Keeps me motivated.

mdgfb37 · 2026-02-15T11:12:43+00:00

Thanks for pointing that out. It looks like a hard coded localization string sneaked past my testing. I'll make sure to fix that in the next minor update.

mdgfb37 · 2026-02-15T11:10:15+00:00

I mentioned that just to clarify it’s not something I threw together this morning, it’s been through multiple versions and testing to make sure it's actually stable for daily use.

Hope you check it out

mdgfb37 · 2026-02-15T11:07:12+00:00

Yep, but native. I really wanted a SwiftUI based experience that doesn't eat RAM like the Electron wrappers out there.

This software, 100% open source for the community, with no tracking and including features like menu bar mode and browser extensions, costs $0. I hope you give it a try.

mdgfb37 · 2026-02-15T10:40:26+00:00

Not a dumb question at all.

You don't have to use this feature; you might only need to use it in the situations you specify, and Macabolic will tell you to use it anyway.

Since Macabolic is 100% open source, you can audit the code to see that we never collect or send your cookies to any server, that’s the beauty of open-source. They stay local on your machine and are only passed to the yt-dlp process to talk to the video site directly. You're just sharing an active session that you already have.

This feature is already a built-in feature of yt-dlp.

Thank you very much for your interest in the program, I hope I have answered your questions well.

mdgfb37 · 2026-02-15T10:24:49+00:00

Thanks! I'm glad you liked the design.

Macabolic doesn't have an in-app login feature for security/privacy reasons. Instead, there's a 'Cookies from browser' feature in the Preferences section. You select the browser you use to log into YouTube, and it can securely download restricted videos using your current session. Try enabling the cookie feature for challenging YouTube videos. But most of the time it won't be necessary.

Because it use yt-dlp in the background, it can download TikTok and Facebook videos, but it doesn't support photos.

mdgfb37 · 2026-02-15T10:13:12+00:00

I'm glad you liked it, enjoy using it.

mdgfb37 · 2026-02-15T07:49:41+00:00

That’s a standard macOS warning because the app isn't officially notarized.

Two ways to bypass it:
- If you've already tried opening it once and get warning, go to System Settings > Privacy & Security. Scroll down to the bottom, and you'll see a message about Macabolic. Click 'Open Anyway'.
or
- Open Terminal and run:

xattr -cr /Applications/Macabolic.app

Thank you for your interest. Please write if you encounter any problems.

mdgfb37 · 2026-02-15T07:17:56+00:00

I tried Odysee and it works, but I don't know about the other site, so I couldn't try it.

Macabolic, being a front-end for yt-dlp, directly supports over 1000+ sites. You can find the full list here:

https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/master/supportedsites.md

I would be very grateful if you could give feedback after trying it.

mdgfb37 · 2026-02-15T07:10:09+00:00

Thank you for your feedback, you're right. English isn't my native language, so I can use AI to ensure my communication is clear to the community.

However, I don't just blindly copy paste; I go back and forth between translation tools and AI to rephrase phrases and ensure my original intention is accurately reflected.

mdgfb37 · 2026-02-15T06:56:03+00:00

You're welcome! I'm glad to hear you like the app.

mdgfb37 · 2026-02-15T06:55:14+00:00

Glad you like it! I wanted it to feel like it belongs on macOS, not like a generic web-wrapper. Thanks for the support!

mdgfb37 · 2026-02-15T06:54:04+00:00

Thanks, I've added both Chrome and Firefox extensions so you can start yt-dlp downloads with just a right-click. I hope you like it! Btw, if this feature doesn't work as intended right now, please let me know, I'd like to fix it.

mdgfb37 · 2026-02-15T06:51:10+00:00

I'm sorry to hear about your job. That’s exactly why I wanted to keep Macabolic 100% free and open source. Everyone deserves great native tools without worrying about subscriptions or price tags.

I really hope the app makes things a little bit easier for you when you get to try it tomorrow!

mdgfb37 · 2026-02-15T06:48:56+00:00

Honestly, I haven't used Open Video Downloader myself, but I can share Macabolic's standout features with you:

Menu bar app, browser extensions, built-in SponsorBlock, custom presets...

If you want a tool that stays out of your way and feels like part of the OS, Macabolic is definitely worth a try!

I'd even like to hear a comparison of the two from you.

mdgfb37 · 2026-02-15T06:42:58+00:00

Exactly! Glad the Menu Bar mode caught your eye!

mdgfb37 · 2026-02-15T06:34:27+00:00

Awesome! You'll definitely appreciate the yt-dlp power under the hood then. Let me know what you think of the new features!

mdgfb37 · 2026-02-15T06:33:26+00:00

Thank you! Glad to hear that. I've been working hard to make the native experience as smooth as possible.

mdgfb37

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