The quick way: your browser
- Open YT320MP3 in your browser (it works the same in Firefox, Chrome, Chromium, Brave and Edge).
- Paste the YouTube link, or type the song name and pick a result.
- Choose 128, 192 or 320kbps and press Convert, then Download.
Shortcut: on a YouTube page, change youtube.com to yt320mp3.com in the address bar and the conversion starts by itself.
The page does the conversion on our server, so nothing runs on your Linux box or Chromebook. That is why it also works on low-power laptops.
Where is the file?
- Chromebook: open the Files app and look in Downloads. You can drag songs to another folder, to a USB stick or to Google Drive.
- Linux (any desktop): your browser's download folder, usually
~/Downloads. Firefox and Chromium show the file in the download panel; click the folder icon. - Linux on a Chromebook (Crostini): the Linux container has its own files. Move or copy the MP3 into the Linux files folder in the Files app if a Linux app needs it.
Each file is named Artist - Title - (yt320mp3.com).mp3 and carries artist, title and cover art tags (how the tags work).
Play it
- Chromebook: double-click the MP3 in the Files app to open it in the built-in media player. For playlists or offline music, many Android music apps from the Play Store can play files from a folder.
- Linux: VLC, mpv, Rhythmbox, Strawberry, Clementine and Audacious all play MP3 out of the box. Distros that ship without MP3 codecs (rare today) offer a one-click codec package when you first open a file.
Playlists
Paste a playlist link (playlist converter) and you get the first 10 tracks as separate MP3s or as one ZIP. On Linux, unzip with your file manager or unzip playlist.zip; on a Chromebook, double-click the ZIP in the Files app to open it as a drive and drag the songs out.
The terminal way: yt-dlp
If you like the command line, the same engine we use runs locally. On Debian or Ubuntu:
sudo apt install ffmpeg pipx
pipx install yt-dlp
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 0 "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"
-x keeps only the audio, --audio-format mp3 converts it, and --audio-quality 0 is the highest MP3 setting. Add --embed-metadata --embed-thumbnail to write tags and cover art. YouTube changes often, so update with pipx upgrade yt-dlp when a download fails. On other distros install ffmpeg and yt-dlp with your package manager.
On a server or a VPN address YouTube may ask you to sign in to prove you are not a bot; at home it usually does not. This is one reason a browser tool can be easier (why converters stop working).
Quality and limits
The best audio YouTube serves is Opus at about 130 to 160kbps, so a 320kbps MP3 is the setting that adds no extra loss rather than "better than YouTube" (the full explanation).
- Audio only (MP3), YouTube only.
- Videos up to 180 minutes; playlists of up to 10 tracks.
- No account, no pop-ups, no daily limit.
Frequently asked questions
Does YouTube to MP3 work on a Chromebook?
Yes. Open YT320MP3 in Chrome, convert the song and press Download. The MP3 is saved in the Downloads folder of the Files app, where you can play it with the built-in media player.
Do I need to install anything on Linux?
No. Firefox, Chrome, Chromium and other browsers download the MP3 by themselves. Install nothing unless you prefer the terminal, where yt-dlp and ffmpeg do the same job.
How do I play the MP3 on a Chromebook?
Double-click the file in the Files app to open it in the Media Player. To keep a music library, copy the songs to a folder and play them with any music app you like, such as the Android apps from the Play Store.
Can I convert from the terminal instead?
Yes. Install yt-dlp and ffmpeg, then run yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 0 followed by the link. This converts the best audio stream to MP3 on your own machine.