# Download for WeChat video **URL:** \ **Category:** Discussion & Solutions\ **Tags:** solved\ **Created:** [February 10, 2026, 9:39am UTC](https://onehack.st/t/download-for-wechat-video/318218 "2026-02-10T09:39:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![htetaung](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/htetaung/32/164807_2.png) [@htetaung](https://onehack.st/u/htetaung)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 9:39am UTC](https://onehack.st/t/download-for-wechat-video/318218/1 "2026-02-10T09:39:41Z")
How to download WeChat video, WeChat channel ---
**Author:** ![Prometheus](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/prometheus/32/34950_2.png) [@Prometheus](https://onehack.st/u/Prometheus)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 11:17am UTC](https://onehack.st/t/download-for-wechat-video/318218/2 "2026-02-10T11:17:16Z")
**Best options for downloading WeChat videos, ranked by ease of use:** **PC-based tools (recommended):** [WeChatMsg](https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/670888631) (11.5k+ stars) exports full chat records including video to HTML/Word/CSV. [WechatBakTool](https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/11454819360) is a solid alternative with video/image/voice support. [Memotrace (留痕)](https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/1960695037001195610) adds analytics on top of export. **All three require PC WeChat ≤ 3.9.12.55** — v4.0 broke compatibility, so pin your version before starting. **Android manual method:** WeChat stores received videos on the SD card path — [this guide](https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/594491957) walks through locating and copying them directly. For group-specific video extraction, see [this Zhihu answer](https://www.zhihu.com/question/299137741/answer/1174323782). **WeChat Channels (视频号) specifically:** That’s a different system from chat/Moments videos. There’s a [dedicated open-source downloader](https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/15989545671) for Channels content. **Comprehensive guide:** [This recently updated export guide (Sept 2025)](https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/1949159089956448213) covers video, voice, text, and photos end-to-end. **Pro tip:** No official WeChat API exists for Moments video downloads — all extraction requires device-level access. If you’re on Android, grab the videos from local storage _before_ clearing the cache, since WeChat aggressively purges old media to save space. ---
**Author:** ![SRZ](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/srz/32/146132_2.png) [@SRZ](https://onehack.st/u/SRZ)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2026, 8:34am UTC](https://onehack.st/t/download-for-wechat-video/318218/3 "2026-04-02T08:34:43Z")
You asked how to download WeChat video _and_ WeChat Channel video — those are actually two completely different problems, and that’s exactly where everyone gets stuck. **Regular chat videos** = long-press the video → “Save Video” → done, it’s in your gallery. Takes 3 seconds. 🎯 **Channel (视频号) videos** = WeChat deliberately blocks saving these — no button, no URL, no trick inside the app itself. The only free methods that work right now all run on desktop. Here’s the part nobody tells you: the “Favorites workaround” that every blog recommends doesn’t actually produce a downloadable file for 视频号 — it creates a streaming reference that can’t be saved. 📌 I’ve been using **[wx\_channels\_download](https://github.com/ltaoo/wx_channels_download)** by ltaoo — it’s free, open-source, and literally injects a download button into WeChat Desktop. One .exe, run as admin, open WeChat, play the video, click “Download.” Updated weekly (last release: March 30, 2026). ⚡ | You want to… | What works | Time | | --- | --- | --- | | Save a video from a chat | Long-press → Save Video (built-in) | 3 sec | | Download a 视频号 video on **Windows/Mac** | [wx\_channels\_download](https://github.com/ltaoo/wx_channels_download) (free, open-source) | 5 min setup | | Download a 视频号 video on **Android** | Play video fully → rename cache file to .mp4 (path: `Android/data/com.tencent.mm/.../finder/video/`) | 2 min | | Download a 视频号 video on **iPhone** | Screen record (Control Center) or forward to PC tool | Real-time | > **🔧 Do Exactly This, In This Order (Full Walkthrough)** > > ## Chat videos (any platform) > > Open chat → tap the video → long-press → **Save Video**. That’s it. If “Save Video” doesn’t appear, the video has expired or the sender deleted it — forward it to yourself first next time. > > * * * > > ## Channel (视频号) videos on Windows or Mac > > > 💡 All desktop tools work the same way under the hood: they install a tiny proxy + certificate that intercepts WeChat’s encrypted video stream. Sounds scary, but that’s literally the only way — WeChat encrypts everything. > > **Right now (5-minute setup):** > > 1. Download [wx\_channels\_download](https://github.com/ltaoo/wx_channels_download/releases) — grab the `.exe` (Windows) or `.dmg` (Mac) > 2. Run as administrator (right-click → Run as administrator on Windows) > 3. First launch auto-installs the certificate — click Yes/Allow when prompted > 4. Open WeChat Desktop → browse to any 视频号 video > 5. You’ll see a new **“Download”** button below the video — click it > 6. File saves as MP4 in the tool’s download folder > > > 💡 If the download button doesn’t appear, close WeChat completely and reopen it AFTER the tool is running. The tool needs to be active before WeChat loads the video page. > > **Alternatives if ltaoo’s tool breaks after a WeChat update:** > > | Tool | Stars | Platform | Killer feature | > | --- | --- | --- | --- | > | [res-downloader](https://github.com/putyy/res-downloader) | 15.9k | Win/Mac/Linux | Also downloads Douyin, Kuaishou, Xiaohongshu | > | [wx\_channel](https://github.com/nobiyou/wx_channel) | 1.7k | Windows | Batch download + `--uninstall` for clean removal | > | [wechatVideoDownload](https://github.com/qiye45/wechatVideoDownload) | 4.8k | Windows | No certificate needed for basic sniffing (but titles show as hashes) | > > * * * > > ## Channel videos on Android (no tools, no root) > > 1. Open the 视频号 video and **let it play completely** — the full file must cache > 2. Open a file manager that can access restricted folders (MT Manager, Solid Explorer, or use ADB from a PC) > 3. Navigate to: `Android/data/com.tencent.mm/MicroMsg/[long-hex-folder]/finder/video/` > 4. Find the newest file (no extension) — rename it to `.mp4` > 5. Move it to your gallery folder > > > 💡 On Android 11+, you’ll need to grant the file manager SAF (Storage Access Framework) permission to browse `/Android/data/`. The app will prompt you — just tap “Allow.” If your file manager can’t access it, use Shizuku (free, no root) or connect to a PC and run: `adb pull /sdcard/Android/data/com.tencent.mm/MicroMsg/*/finder/video/ ./` > > 🚫 Cache files auto-delete after ~7 days. Don’t wait to rename them. > > * * * > > ## Channel videos on iPhone > > No clean method exists for iPhone. Your options: > > - **Screen recording** (simplest): Control Center → Screen Recording → play the video → stop recording. Quality = your screen resolution, but it works with zero setup. > - **Forward to PC** : Share the video to 文件传输助手 (File Transfer Assistant) → use any desktop tool above on your computer to intercept it. > > * * * > > ## ⚠ Certificate cleanup (important for all desktop tools) > > Every desktop tool installs a root CA certificate. **After you’re done downloading, remove it** — leaving it installed means any software on your machine could theoretically intercept your HTTPS traffic (banking, email, everything). > > **Windows:** `Win+R` → type `certmgr.msc` → Trusted Root Certification Authorities → Certificates → find `SunnyRoot` or `mitmproxy` → right-click → Delete > > **Mac:** Keychain Access → System → find the certificate → right-click → Delete (or set Trust to “Never Trust”) > > **Also check your proxy:** Settings → Network → Proxy → make sure “Use a proxy server” is OFF. Some tools leave this enabled after crashing, which kills your internet. > > > 💡 ltaoo’s tool has a built-in uninstall: run `wx_channels_download uninstall` in terminal. nobiyou’s wx\_channel supports `--uninstall`. These handle both certificate and proxy cleanup automatically. > > * * * > > ## Situation → Action > > | Your situation | Do this | > | --- | --- | > | Just want to save a chat video | Long-press → Save Video (no tools needed) | > | Want a 视频号 video, have a PC | wx\_channels\_download → 5 min setup → done | > | Want a 视频号 video, Android only | Play fully → rename cache file → .mp4 | > | Want a 视频号 video, iPhone only | Screen record, or forward to a PC | > | Need to download many videos regularly | wx\_channel (batch mode) or res-downloader | > | Tool stopped working after WeChat update | Switch to a different tool from the table above — they patch within days | Downloading channel videos is one of those things that sounds like it should be simple until you realize WeChat _really_ doesn’t want you doing it — are you trying to save specific videos or do you need to batch-download a whole channel?