Youku predates most video platforms and remains one of China's biggest — dramas, variety shows, and archives that Western platforms never see. Its VIP system locks downloads inside the app, and outside China, even playback can require workarounds. For public, freely viewable videos, a downloader is the simple route.
How to download a Youku video
- Open the video on youku.com and copy the URL from the address bar.
- Paste it into our Youku downloader and press Download.
- Pick a quality and save the MP4.
The honest limits
- VIP-only content (premium dramas and films) is paywalled and cannot be fetched — that is someone's livelihood, respect it.
- Region licensing can block playback outside China; if the video will not play for your region, it likely will not resolve.
- Episode series work one episode at a time — paste each episode's link.
Frequently asked questions
Do youku.com/short/ links work?
Yes — the short share links resolve to the full video.
Is there a watermark?
Youku watermarks VIP previews; free public videos typically download clean.
Why is my download SD only?
Higher resolutions on Youku are often VIP-gated; the downloader lists only what is publicly stored.
Save what is freely there
Open the Youku downloader or paste any link on the home page.
