My friend asked me: "How do I save this TikTok video?"
I said: "Easy, just install yt-dlp, add it to PATH, then run
yt-dlp --format bestvideo+bestaudio URL in your terminal."
She stared at me for 3 seconds and walked away.
That was the moment I decided to build Avenor Downloader.
The problem with existing solutions
4K Video Downloader — solid, but $15 one-time just to paste a URL feels heavy.
yt-dlp — powerful, but command-line only. My target users don't know what a terminal is.
Browser extensions — work until they don't. YouTube breaks them every few weeks.
Online "free" sites — ads everywhere, fake download buttons,
sometimes malware. I wouldn't send my mom to those.
The gap: something as powerful as yt-dlp, as simple as pasting a URL,
and actually trustworthy.
What I built
Avenor Downloader works in two ways:
Web app (free):
- Paste URL → choose quality → download
- Supports YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter/X, and 1000+ sites
- Up to 1080p, 5 downloads per day
- No install required, works in any browser
Desktop app (PRO — $29/year):
- Unlimited downloads
- Up to 8K quality
- Batch downloads
- Audio extraction (MP3/WAV)
- Works offline after setup
- Windows + macOS
The tech behind it
The core is built on top of yt-dlp — the most reliable extraction engine
that exists. But the UI layer is what makes it usable for normal humans.
The web frontend is vanilla JS + a clean interface that works on mobile too.
The desktop app uses Tauri (Rust + WebView) — lightweight,
no 200MB Electron bundle.
The backend handles the actual downloading, format conversion,
and quality selection server-side for the web version.
The hardest part: not the code
The hardest part was deciding what NOT to build.
Every video downloader app eventually becomes bloated:
playlist managers, channel subscriptions, schedulers, browser extensions...
I kept the scope ruthless: paste URL, pick quality, download.
That's the product. Everything else is a distraction.
The second hardest part: copyright. I added clear Terms of Service —
the tool is for personal use, saving content you have rights to,
offline viewing. I'm not responsible for how people use it.
Same approach as yt-dlp itself.
The free tier strategy
I made the web version genuinely free — not crippled-free.
5 downloads/day at 1080p is enough for the casual user who just
wants to save a video. They never need to pay.
PRO is for power users: developers archiving research, content creators
downloading reference material, people who need 4K/8K quality.
The conversion comes naturally — once someone hits the daily limit
on something they care about, the $29/year ask makes sense.
Numbers after launch
- Web app available at avenordownload.app
- Desktop app: Windows + macOS builds shipping
- Supports 1000+ sites via yt-dlp engine
What I'd do differently
Start with the desktop app, not the web app.
Web requires a backend that's always running, handles abuse,
rate limits, and scales with traffic. Desktop is: ship a binary, done.
I reversed the order because "works without install" was my original pitch.
In hindsight, desktop-first then add web would have been faster.
The real lesson
The best tools are the ones that make technical power accessible.
yt-dlp can do everything. 99% of people will never use it
because they don't know it exists or how to run it.
That gap between "powerful tool" and "tool normal people can use"
is where indie developers live.
What's your go-to video downloader?
And what "technical power for normal people" tools have you built?
Top comments (0)