How to Download Videos Uploaded to Squarespace When There's No Download Button
If you've ever uploaded a video natively to your Squarespace website, either as a section background or inside a video block, you've likely noticed something frustrating: there's no download button. Squarespace lets you upload videos, but there's no built-in way to download them back.
As a Squarespace designer and developer, this is a problem I run into constantly. A client needs their original video file, or I need to re-use a background video that was uploaded months ago and nobody saved the original. It's a gap in the platform that catches a lot of Squarespace users off guard.
This Squarespace tutorial breaks down exactly why there's no download link and gives you two step-by-step methods to get your video files back. One method needs zero technical skills, and the other is for those comfortable with browser DevTools.
The Problem with Squarespace Native Videos
When you upload a video to Squarespace using their native uploader (not a YouTube or Vimeo embed), the platform processes your video and delivers it using HLS (HTTP Live Streaming). This is the same streaming technology used by Netflix and YouTube.
Here's what that means for you: your original .mp4 file no longer exists on Squarespace's servers in its original form. It's been split into small encrypted chunks and gets streamed to your visitors piece by piece. There is no single file sitting on a server that you can link to.
This is one of those Squarespace limitations that most website owners don't discover until they actually need the file. And by then, the original is often gone from their computer.
HLS streaming is more efficient for web delivery. It lets the browser load only the portions of video that the viewer is watching, and it adapts quality based on internet speed. This is great for your Squarespace website's performance, but it means there's no single .mp4 file you can right-click and save.
How Squarespace Delivers Videos
Before we get into the methods, it helps to understand what's happening under the hood. When someone loads a page on your Squarespace site that has a native video, here's the process:
Squarespace takes your uploaded video, breaks it into small chunks, encrypts each chunk with AES-128 encryption, and creates a playlist.m3u8 file. That playlist file acts as a map, telling the browser which chunks to download and in what order.
The browser assembles these chunks in real-time and creates a temporary blob: URL. That's why, if you inspect the video element in your Squarespace website's HTML, you'll see something like blob:https://yoursite.com/abc123 instead of a normal .mp4 link. Blob URLs are temporary and completely useless outside of your current browser session.
The good news? That playlist.m3u8 URL is publicly accessible. That's our way in.
Two Methods to Download Your Video
VLC Media Player
Copy the playlist URL and use VLC's built-in converter to save the video as a single .mp4 file. No coding required.
EasyOnline HLS Downloader
Use Chrome's Network tab to grab the playlist URL and paste it into a free online HLS downloader tool.
MediumBoth methods start with the same first step: finding the playlist.m3u8 URL for your Squarespace video. Let's start there.
How to Find the Playlist URL
This is the most important part of the whole process. The playlist URL is the key to downloading your Squarespace video. There are two ways to find it.
Option A: From the Page Source (Fastest)
Open Your Live Squarespace Website
Go to the page that contains the video on your live, published site. Don't use the Squarespace editor for this. You need to be on the actual public-facing page.
View the Page Source
Right-click anywhere on the page and select View Page Source. You can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + U on Windows or ⌘ + U on Mac.
Search for the Alexandria URL
Press Ctrl + F (or ⌘ + F) to open the search bar. Type alexandriaUrl and hit enter. You'll find a line that looks like this:
"alexandriaUrl": "https://video.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/{siteId}/{videoId}/{variant}"
Every native video on your Squarespace website has its own alexandriaUrl embedded in the page source. Squarespace includes this as part of the video configuration data that gets written into the HTML. If you have multiple videos on the same page, look for the "filename" property near each alexandriaUrl to identify the right one.
Build the Playlist URL
Take the URL you found and replace {variant} with playlist.m3u8. Your final URL should look like this:
https://video.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/YOUR_SITE_ID/YOUR_VIDEO_ID/playlist.m3u8
You can test your playlist URL by pasting it directly into your browser's address bar. If it downloads a small text file or shows playlist data, you've got the right URL. If you see an error, double check that you removed the {variant} placeholder and replaced it with playlist.m3u8.
Option B: From Browser DevTools
If you're more comfortable with browser developer tools, you can grab the playlist URL straight from the Network tab. This is a handy technique for any Squarespace developer to know.
Open DevTools on Your Live Site
Press F12 or right-click and select Inspect on your live Squarespace website. Click on the Network tab.
Filter for the Playlist
In the Network tab's filter bar, type m3u8. Now refresh the page. You'll see a request for playlist.m3u8 show up in the list as the video loads.
Copy the URL
Right-click the playlist.m3u8 request and select Copy > Copy link address. That's your playlist URL, ready to use.
Method 1: Download with VLC Media Player
This is the simplest approach. VLC is a free, open-source media player that handles HLS streams natively. If you don't have it yet, grab it from videolan.org. It works on Windows and Mac.
Open VLC and Go to Network Stream
Open VLC. Click Media > Open Network Stream on Windows, or File > Open Network on Mac. The keyboard shortcut is Ctrl + N.
Paste the Playlist URL
Paste the playlist.m3u8 URL you copied earlier into the network URL field.
Convert Instead of Play
Don't click Play. Click the small dropdown arrow next to Play and select Convert / Save. On Windows you can press Alt + O as a shortcut.
Set the Output
Profile: Select Video - H.264 + MP3 (MP4)
Destination: Click Browse and choose where to save the file. Name it with a .mp4 extension.
Click Start.
Wait for the Download to Finish
VLC will process the stream and save it as a single .mp4 file. You'll see the progress bar at the bottom of VLC move as it works. Once it reaches the end, your file is ready to use.
The download happens in roughly real-time. A 30-second video takes about 30 seconds to save. VLC is "playing" the stream internally and recording the output as it goes.
Method 2: Using an Online HLS Downloader
If you'd rather not install VLC, there are free online tools that can download HLS streams from a URL. Here's how to use them with your Squarespace video.
Get the Playlist URL
Follow the steps in the How to Find the Playlist URL section above to get your playlist.m3u8 URL.
Use an Online Downloader
Search Google for "HLS stream downloader" or try a site like fetchfile.net. Paste your playlist URL into the tool's input field.
Select Quality and Download
Most tools will show the available quality options (usually 1920x1080 and 640x360 for Squarespace videos). Pick the highest quality and hit download. The tool will piece together the stream segments and give you a single .mp4 file.
Some online HLS downloaders can't handle AES-128 encrypted streams, which is what Squarespace uses. If the online tool fails or produces a corrupted file, switch to the VLC method. VLC handles the decryption automatically and is much more reliable for Squarespace videos.
Common Questions
Can I just right-click and "Save Video As"?
No. Squarespace native videos use a blob: URL, which is a temporary reference created by your browser. It's not a real file link and it won't work outside of your current browser tab.
What about the Squarespace Asset Manager?
The Asset Manager in Squarespace lets you see your uploaded files, but it does not include a download button for native videos. You can view the file details like name, dimensions, and date added, but there's no way to download the file from there. This has been a limitation of the platform for years and is the whole reason this Squarespace tutorial exists.
Does this work for Squarespace video backgrounds?
Yes. It doesn't matter if your video is in a video block, a section background, or any other native placement on your Squarespace website. The process is identical. Every native video on the platform has an alexandriaUrl in the page source that you can use to build the playlist URL.
What quality will the downloaded video be?
Squarespace stores two quality variants for each native video: the original resolution (typically 1920x1080) and a lower resolution (640x360). The playlist.m3u8 file contains links to both. VLC usually grabs the highest quality stream by default.
Is this allowed?
You're downloading videos from your own Squarespace website that you uploaded yourself. You're simply retrieving your own content from your own site. There are no issues with that.
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