YouTube Thumbnail URL Generator

Using the URLs in a page

These addresses are stable, so they can be placed straight into an <img> tag or a link card. Pick the file by shape: mqdefault is 16:9 with no bars, while hqdefault and sddefault are 4:3 with black bars above and below. To use one of those without the bars, put it in a 16:9 box with object-fit: cover, which crops them off.

The same images are also served from i.ytimg.com, and WebP versions are generally available under a vi_webp path with a .webp extension. Every visitor's browser requests the image from YouTube, just as with an embedded player.

Missing or outdated images

A maxresdefault URL that does not exist does not return an error picture you would notice: YouTube sends back a small 120 × 90 grey placeholder. A page that relies on the maximum size should check the loaded image's width and fall back to hqdefault, which every video has.

When a creator changes a thumbnail, the URL stays the same, so browsers and CDNs can go on showing the old image for a while. To download the images themselves, use the thumbnail downloader.

How to use it

1. Paste a YouTube URL or ID.
2. Choose a thumbnail quality.
3. Generate, preview, and copy the direct image URL.

Privacy & limitations

The URL is parsed locally. Displaying the preview requests the selected public image from YouTube’s image host.