⬇️ xsaver

A native macOS menu bar app for saving videos and audio from X, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok

Paste a link, pick Video or Audio, and the file lands in your Downloads folder. Everything runs locally on your Mac.

---

What it does

xsaver downloads videos from X (formerly Twitter), Instagram reels, YouTube (including Shorts), and TikTok. It detects which site a link belongs to, so there is nothing to choose. Pick Audio instead of Video and it saves the sound only, as an .m4a.

No web service in the middle, no third-party downloader, no ads. Nothing else sees what you download.

It lives in your menu bar

Click the download icon in the menu bar and a small panel drops down. That is the entire interface.

How to use it

1. Copy the link to an X post, Instagram reel, YouTube video / Short, or TikTok.
2. Click the xsaver icon in your menu bar.
3. Choose Video or Audio, paste the link, and hit Download.

The panel shows progress and confirms when the file is saved. You can type your own file name, or leave the field blank for the default.

Tip: if a supported link is already on your clipboard when you open xsaver, the field is filled in for you.

Instagram

Instagram serves reels only to signed-in users. The first time you download one, a Log in to Instagram window appears. Sign in once and xsaver keeps the session.

YouTube

Videos and Shorts download without signing in. Audio comes through at full quality. Video saves at up to 360p, the best combined picture-and-sound file YouTube serves directly. Higher resolutions come as separate streams and would need ffmpeg to merge.

Sensitive or restricted posts

Most X posts download without signing in. Posts behind a "sensitive" or "graphic content" warning, and posts from private accounts, are served only to a signed-in account, so a Log in to X window appears the first time you hit one. Sign in once and xsaver keeps the session.

For sensitive media, turn on Settings → Privacy and safety → Content you see → Display media that may contain sensitive content in your X account, or X hides it from you too.

Where your files go

You picked	It saves to	As
Video	Downloads / X downloads	a video file (.mp4)
Audio	Downloads / X-Audio	an audio file (.m4a)

xsaver creates both folders inside Downloads on first use.

Run it on your Mac

xsaver is built with Xcode. To build and launch it:

./build.sh

The icon appears in your menu bar. To start it at login, add xsaver.app to System Settings → General → Login Items.

---

_{Runs entirely on your Mac. For saving your own clips and content.}