File naming pattern
Choose download names with placeholders, examples, and safe file names on Android and desktop.
On desktop, open Settings → File naming pattern (also linked from Downloads). On Android, open Settings → Downloads → File naming pattern. You can also set it during first run. [title] is optional: you can use a date, a batch number, or your own fixed text instead.
The live preview uses example data; real names use each download's metadata.
Build a pattern
Tap a labelled placeholder chip to insert its bracketed token at the cursor, or append it when there is no cursor. Labels follow the app language; tokens such as [title] stay unchanged.
Chips are grouped as Basic, Date & time, Media, and Batch. Their labels are translated; the bracketed tokens stay the same in every language.
One-tap presets use [title], [title] - [quality], [date] - [title], and [channel] - [title], plus Date - Time ([date] - [time]) and Channel - Date ([channel] - [date]). The live preview updates as you edit.
An unknown token such as [titel] shows Unknown placeholder beside the field and blocks saving. Leaving out [title] is allowed. Existing supported bracket syntax stays compatible.
A pattern containing only fixed text or [site] shows a gentle hint: Every file will get the same name; numbers will be added. This is not an error and does not block saving.
Placeholders
| Placeholder | Value | Example |
|---|---|---|
[title] | Media title (optional) | My video |
[quality] | Selected quality label | 1080p |
[ext] | Final file extension, without a dot | mp4 |
[date] | Local download date, YYYY-MM-DD | 2026-10-10 |
[time] | Local download time, HH-mm-ss | 09-08-07 |
[year] | Four-digit year from the same local naming timestamp as [date] and [time] | 2026 |
[month], [day], [hour], [minute] | Two-digit month, day, hour, or minute from that timestamp | 10, 10, 09, 08 |
[site] | Source page hostname, without www. | youtube.com |
[uploader], [channel] | The same site-reported uploader text, when available | Sample channel |
[resolution] | Video dimensions, or known video height; empty for audio and subtitles | 1920x1080, 1080p |
[width], [height] | Video or image width or height in pixels; empty when unavailable | 1920, 1080 |
[duration] | Reported video or audio duration in mm-ss, with total minutes; empty when unavailable | 02-05 |
[lang] | Subtitle track language; empty when unavailable or not a subtitle | en |
[format] | Final file extension, like [ext] | mp4 |
[type] | Media kind: video, audio, image, or subtitles | video |
[index] | Original item position in a bulk or playlist list, starting at 1; empty for a single item | 2 |
[counter] | Running number within the selected batch, starting at 1, zero-padded to the batch-size digit count; 1 for a single item | 02 in a batch of 12 |
[id] is not supported: source sites do not consistently supply a usable media ID.
Examples
With the example values above:
| Pattern | Saved file name |
|---|---|
[title]_[quality] | My video_1080p.mp4 |
[title]_[date]_[time] | My video_2026-10-10_09-08-07.mp4 |
[title]_[site]_[index] | My video_youtube.com_2.mp4 |
[title]_[title] | My video_My video.mp4 |
[title].[ext] | My video.mp4 |
[date] - [time] | 2026-10-10 - 09-08-07.mp4 |
[channel] - [date] | Sample channel - 2026-10-10.mp4 |
[year]-[month]-[day]_[hour]-[minute] | 2026-10-10_09-08.mp4 |
[counter] | 02.mp4 in a batch of 12 |
holiday | holiday.mp4, then holiday (2).mp4 |
Every occurrence is replaced, so repeating a placeholder repeats its value.
Missing values and extensions
Missing metadata becomes empty text, and leftover separators around it are tidied. Without an uploader, [title]_[uploader]_[quality] becomes My video_1080p.mp4, not My video__1080p.mp4.
If the result is empty or whitespace-only, the media title is used instead. If that is also empty, the name falls back to download.
The file's final extension is added automatically. Using [ext] at the end does not add it twice. [format] describes the output container; it does not convert the download to a different format.
Safe file names
Names are made safe for Android, Windows, and macOS: illegal characters and control characters are removed or replaced, trailing dots and spaces are trimmed, reserved Windows device names are protected, and long names are shortened while keeping the extension. A naming pattern creates a file name, not subfolders.
Existing files are never overwritten. If a name already exists in the destination, or another item in the same batch uses it, (2), (3), and so on are added before the extension. For example: holiday.mp4, holiday (2).mp4, holiday (3).mp4.
See Files and folders for the download location and temporary storage. The browser extension has no file-naming-pattern setting.