How to Download Kuaishou Videos in 4 Easy Steps

Open the video in Kuaishou, tap Share, then 复制链接 (Copy link). Paste that into the Kuaishou video downloader, tap Find video, then Download MP4. On a decent connection the whole thing takes less than a minute.

I built the tool, and I use it the same way you will. Below is every step as it looks today, what each button actually gives you, and the mistakes I see most often.

This guide covers Kuaishou (快手), the app used in mainland China. Using Kwai, the international app? The steps are nearly identical, but the links look different. Follow how to download Kwai videos instead.

Before you start

You need three things:

1. A link to one public video. If you can’t watch it in a private browser window without logging in, the downloader can’t fetch it either.
2. A browser. Chrome, Safari, Edge, Firefox and Samsung Internet all work. No app, extension or account is needed.
3. Some free space. A 30-second clip I saved recently came to about 11 MB.

Step 1: Copy the video link

In the Kuaishou app

1. Open the video you want.
2. Tap the Share arrow on the right side.
3. In the bottom row, tap 复制链接 (Copy link).

Kuaishou copies a whole message with the link inside it. It usually looks like this:

https://v.kuaishou.com/[code] 看看这个作品！复制此消息，打开【快手】直接观看！

Leave the Chinese text in. The downloader pulls the link out of the message for you.

One thing trips people up here. Some app versions share a 口令 (password code) instead, which is a string of symbols and words with no https:// in it. It only works inside the Kuaishou app. If that’s what you got, open the video in a browser and copy the address from there.

On kuaishou.com

Open the single video and copy the address bar. A video address contains /short-video/, like https://www.kuaishou.com/short-video/3x.... Extra text after a ?, such as ?authorId=..., is fine. Don’t remove it.

A creator profile (/profile/...) or a live room won’t work. Neither one is a single video.

Step 2: Paste the link and find the video

Go to the downloader and paste into the box. On phones, long-press the box and choose Paste, or tap the Paste button and allow clipboard access. Then tap Find video.

Two things can happen.

• You see the video’s cover, caption and creator name, with buttons underneath. Go to step 3.
• You see an error. The message tells you what’s wrong. The common ones are covered at the end of this guide.

The tool checks the link before it sends anything. If you pasted a TikTok or Douyin link by mistake, it says so straight away.

Step 3: Pick the file you want

Here’s what each button gives you. The labels show the real details of the file. For a 720p clip, you’ll see something like “Download MP4 (720p, 11.4 MB)”.

Button	What you get	When it shows
Download MP4	The video in H.264, which plays on every phone, computer and editor	Always
Smaller MP4 (H.265)	The same video at the same resolution, often a third smaller or more	Only when Kuaishou stores a second copy
Download cover image	The post’s thumbnail, usually a JPG	When the post has a cover
Download audio	The soundtrack on its own, as an M4A file	When Kuaishou lists the post’s sound

If you’re not sure, tap Download MP4. The smaller H.265 file is great on iPhones, Macs and recent Android phones. Some Windows PCs can’t play it without Microsoft’s HEVC Video Extensions or a player like VLC.

The file name comes from the caption and the video’s ID, with hashtags removed, so you can find it later.

Don’t wait too long. Download buttons expire one hour after the lookup. If you come back later and a button fails, paste the link again for fresh ones.

Step 4: Find the file on your device

Your browser saves the file wherever it normally puts downloads. On phones, that isn’t always your gallery.

Device	Where it goes	Full steps
Android (Chrome)	The Download folder, which most gallery apps also show	Android guide
iPhone or iPad (Safari)	Files > Downloads, not Photos	iPhone guide
Windows or Mac	Your Downloads folder	PC and Mac guide

What quality to expect

You get the file Kuaishou stores for the public post. Every Kuaishou video I’ve checked came out at 720p (720 x 1280, the vertical phone shape). Some downloader sites show 1080p or 4K buttons. When I compared files from those buttons, they were the same 720p video under a bigger label. Upscaling doesn’t add detail that was never uploaded.

About the watermark: when you save with Kuaishou’s own button, the app usually stamps its logo and the creator’s ID on the video. The file the downloader saves comes from the public video page, and the copies I’ve checked had no Kuaishou logo. Captions and stickers the creator added while editing stay, because they’re part of the picture.

When it doesn’t work

These are the messages I see most, and what to do about each.

• “That does not look like a Kuaishou or Kwai link.” There’s no Kuaishou address in what you pasted. Copy it again from Share. It’s often a 口令 code or a cut-off link from a chat app.
• “This link type is not supported yet.” You’ve got a profile, a live stream, a live replay or a photo slideshow (图集). Only single video posts work for now.
• “The video could not be found.” The post was deleted, made private, limited to followers, or is still under review. Region-limited videos land here too, because Kuaishou doesn’t tell logged-out visitors why a video is hidden.
• “Too many requests right now.” One connection can look up about 10 videos a minute, and Kuaishou occasionally asks for a security check. Give it a minute.

Anything else is covered in the troubleshooting guide. The link formats guide shows every link type that works.

Keeping it fair to creators

Saving a clip to watch offline is one thing. Posting it on your own account is another. If you want to reuse someone’s video, ask them first and credit them. I’ve explained where the lines are in is it legal to download Kuaishou videos?