| ClipGrab | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | Philipp Schmieder Medien |
| Initial release | 5 November 2007; 18 years ago (2007-11-05) |
| Stable release | 3.9.10[1]  / 28 January 2024 |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows,macOS,Linux |
| Available in | English, German, French |
| Type | Download manager |
| License | GPL-3.0-or-later |
| Website | https://clipgrab.org/ |
ClipGrab is adonationware[2] videodownload manager, allowing the download of videos from a variety of websites such asYouTube,Vimeo,Dailymotion orFacebook.It has been praised for its user-friendliness, but also flagged asmalware by security software.[3][4][5] It can convert the downloaded files to other file formats such asMP3,MPEG4,OGG Theora orWMV. It is published asfree software under the terms of theGPL-3.0-or-later license. It is developed and maintained by Philipp Schmieder Medien of vanbittern.com.[6]
ClipGrab officially supports the download from a handful of video websites which include YouTube, Dailymotion, Vimeo, and Facebook. In addition to this, the software provides aheuristic which can also download videos from sites that are not officially supported. When available, ClipGrab offers different quality options for a video. With this feature, the user can choose between downloading ahigh definition, standard definition or low definition version of the video.ClipGrab can automatically detect compatible URLs when they are copied to the clipboard. The program provides an integrated search function for YouTube. It also lets the user convert the downloaded files to other file formats such asMP3,MPEG4,OGG Theora orWMV.It has especially been praised for its clean and easy-to-use user interface.[3][4][7] Software review site softoxi.com states that "[ClipGrab] has a beautifully designed graphical user interface" and "stands out immediately for its look, feel and performance"[8]
ClipGrab is published as free software under theGPL-3.0-or-later license[9]
Unusually for an open source project, file checksums, code repositories, developer documentation, or online issue trackers are not publicly available. Until 2015, ClipGrab published an online source code repository including aGPL open source license. The software's website elicits donations from end users, making it a type ofdonationware.[2][10]
ClipGrab was originally developed in the proprietary programming languagePureBasic,[11] and could only download one video at a time. Later, the software was rewritten usingC++ and theQt framework and published under the terms of theGPL-3.0-or-later license. Since version 3.0, the program is also available formacOS.
The ClipGrab installer for Windows includesInstallCore,[12] an advertising software module classified as apotentially unwanted program (PUP) orpotentially unwanted application (PUA) by someanti-malware products. Due to the use of installCore, ClipGrab has been described as "loaded with crapware".[3] Virus reports on the ClipGrab forum have not received a response from the developer.[13][14] Articles on ClipGrab from 2018 onwards are more critical, and classify the software as malware, rather than as a helpful consumer product, as in reviews from 2011 to 2015.
An alternate download without InstallCore is also offered.[15]