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Thumbnail Downloader

Paste a YouTube watch/shorts/embed/youtu.be URL (or just the 11-character ID), a Vimeo URL, or a Dailymotion URL and we derive direct thumbnail image URLs at every available resolution — maxres / sd / hq / mq / default for YouTube, three sizes for Vimeo (via vumbnail.com), one for Dailymotion. Live previews + copy + open buttons. 100% offline.

What is the Thumbnail Downloader?

Thumbnail Downloader is a URL parser, not a downloader-of-files-from-our-server. Each supported platform exposes thumbnails at predictable CDN URLs that you can hotlink or save. YouTube's `img.youtube.com/vi/<id>/<size>.jpg` pattern is the workhorse — we parse video IDs from watch URLs (`?v=…`), shorts (`/shorts/…`), embed (`/embed/…`), live (`/live/…`), and youtu.be short links — then build the five standard sizes (maxres 1280×720, sd 640×480, hq 480×360, mq 320×180, default 120×90). Vimeo doesn't expose its CDN URLs directly, so we use the public `vumbnail.com` proxy which is documented and stable; three sizes are available. Dailymotion has one redirect endpoint that lands you on the active CDN frame. The URL is shown verbatim, with Copy and Open buttons. We also render a live preview of each thumbnail so you can spot the highest available resolution at a glance (YouTube's `maxresdefault.jpg` 404s on very old or low-res videos — the preview fails to load and you fall back to `sddefault.jpg`).

How to use it

  1. Paste a video URL or a bare 11-character YouTube ID into the input.
  2. Sample buttons load examples from each supported platform.
  3. Each available resolution appears as a card with a live preview.
  4. Click Copy URL for hotlinking, or Open / Tab to view the image in a new tab (where you can right-click → Save).

Benefits

  • Five YouTube sizes — maxres, sd, hq, mq, default.
  • Recognises every YouTube URL shape — watch, shorts, embed, live, youtu.be, bare ID.
  • Vimeo via vumbnail.com — three sizes.
  • Dailymotion redirect endpoint.
  • Live previews so you can spot which resolutions actually exist.
  • Copy URL for hotlinking; Open / Tab for save-as.
  • URL parsing happens entirely in your browser — no API keys, no rate limits.
  • Settings persist in localStorage.

Frequently asked questions

Why doesn't `maxresdefault.jpg` always work?

YouTube only generates maxres for videos uploaded at 720p or higher. For older or low-res videos, the maxres URL 404s. The live preview makes this obvious — if the maxres card shows a broken image, fall back to `sddefault.jpg` (640×480), which exists for every video.

Are these CDN URLs legal to use?

Hotlinking thumbnails for legitimate use cases (preview cards, embeds, course materials) is fine. Republishing without attribution or in commercial contexts may violate the platform's TOS — check each platform's policy. Toollyz just builds the URL.

Why does Vimeo use vumbnail.com?

Vimeo's own CDN URLs require API authentication. vumbnail.com is a long-standing public proxy that resolves the right CDN URL for you. We don't run it; it's a third party. For production use, the Vimeo oEmbed endpoint is the official path.

Can it handle YouTube Shorts?

Yes — `youtube.com/shorts/<id>` is one of the URL shapes we parse. The thumbnail URLs are the same as regular video thumbnails (same /vi/<id>/ paths).

What about TikTok thumbnails?

TikTok doesn't expose stable hotlinkable thumbnail URLs — the poster URLs use ephemeral tokens that change. Out of scope for this tool.

Can I download in bulk?

Not from the UI — but each platform's URL pattern is documented in `lib/tools/text/thumb-urls.ts`. Write a 5-line script to loop over IDs if you need bulk.

Does the preview load actually fetch the image?

Yes — the `<img>` tag fetches directly from the platform CDN with `referrerpolicy=no-referrer` to avoid sending toollyz.com as the referrer (some CDNs hotlink-protect).

Is anything uploaded?

No URL parsing is on the server — toollyz.com builds the URL, your browser loads the image directly from YouTube / Vimeo / Dailymotion. Toollyz has no server.

Why no Twitch / Facebook / Instagram?

Twitch thumbnails require API auth. Facebook / Instagram don't expose hotlinkable thumbnails for videos. We could add Twitch later via the public Helix API, but it'd need a client ID.

Can I get the highest-resolution image possible?

For YouTube: maxres at 1280×720. For Vimeo: 640×360 via vumbnail. For original-resolution video posters you'd need the platform's API with auth.

Are settings saved?

Yes — the last URL persists in localStorage.

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