Why we built it

Clips disappear. Past broadcasts expire on a timer that depends on the channel's affiliate status. If you want to keep a moment from a stream — your own highlight, a montage source, a clip you have permission to reuse — you need the file, not a link.

Every existing option we tried buried the download behind fake buttons, ad interstitials or a re-encode that stamped a logo into the corner. DownWitch is the version we wanted: one input, one button, the original MP4.

How it works technically

When you submit a link, we parse it in your browser first to work out whether it's a clip, a past broadcast or a channel page. Channel pages are rejected locally, so a live URL never costs a request.

Valid links go to a small Cloudflare Worker that reads the video's public metadata and collects the direct MP4 renditions Twitch publishes. No account is used and nothing is logged in — the Worker only reaches what an anonymous visitor could already load. The file itself streams from Twitch's CDN through our proxy to your browser, untouched.

That architecture means:

original quality preserved, because nothing is re-encoded;
no watermark or overlay added to your download;
60fps renditions stay 60fps;
no server-side storage of your links or the video data.

What we optimise for

Privacy

We don't keep the links you paste or the files you fetch. The only thing stored on your device is your light/dark preference, in local storage. See the Privacy Policy for the specifics, including what aggregate analytics we may collect.

Speed

The site is fully static — no framework runtime, a single small script for the downloader itself. Extraction runs on Cloudflare's edge network, so the round trip is short from most places. Clips resolve in about a second; a multi-hour VOD is limited by how fast the file can move, not by us.

Honest limitations

DownWitch only reaches content that is already public. It cannot fetch subscriber-only VODs, deleted videos, or a stream that is still live, and it does not bypass any Twitch restriction, paywall or subscription gate. If a streamer has VOD saving turned off, there is no file to download and no workaround.

Editorial standards

Our guides are written by people who use Twitch. We test the steps we publish, check them against Twitch's own documentation, and revisit articles when the interface or the VOD retention rules change. Where something depends on your account type or region, we say so rather than glossing over it.

Responsible use

Downloading a clean file doesn't grant you rights to it. DownWitch is for content you own or have explicit permission to use. Credit streamers when you re-share, don't re-upload someone else's work as your own, and follow Twitch's Terms of Service. Our Terms of Service set out the rules in full.

No affiliation

DownWitch is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Twitch Interactive, Inc. or Amazon. "Twitch" is a trademark of Twitch Interactive, Inc.

Get in touch

Found a link that won't resolve, or have a feature idea? Reach us through the contact page — include the URL you tried and what happened, and we can usually reproduce it quickly.