How to copy the link to a video on X

Almost every failed download starts with the wrong link. The tool needs a URL that points at one specific post; a profile URL or a search URL does not identify a video, so there is nothing to fetch. This guide covers where the Copy link option lives in each app, and how to check a link before you paste it.

What a working link looks like

A usable post link has three parts: the host, the account handle, and the word status followed by a long number.

https://x.com/username/status/1234567890123456789

That final number is the post ID. It is assigned when the post is created and never changes, not when the account is renamed, and not when the platform rebranded from Twitter to X. This is why an old twitter.com link still resolves years later.

These all work and refer to the same post:

• https://x.com/username/status/1234567890
• https://twitter.com/username/status/1234567890
• https://mobile.twitter.com/username/status/1234567890
• https://x.com/username/status/1234567890?s=20&t=abc123, tracking parameters are ignored

These do not, because none of them points at a single post:

• https://x.com/username, a profile
• https://x.com/search?q=cats, a search
• https://x.com/i/lists/12345, a list
• https://t.co/aBcDeF, a shortened link that has not been expanded yet

iPhone and Android: copying from the X app

1. Tap the post so it opens on its own screen. This matters, copying from a scrolling timeline sometimes grabs the wrong post.
2. Tap the share icon beneath the video (an arrow pointing out of a box).
3. Choose Copy link.

The link is now on your clipboard. Open the downloader, tap the Paste button in the field, and the video appears.

If your share sheet shows Share via… instead of Copy link, pick it and then choose Copy from the system sheet that follows. Same result.

Desktop browsers

On the web there are two reliable routes:

• From the address bar. Click the post to open it, then copy the whole URL. This is the most dependable method because you can see exactly what you are copying.
• From the share menu. Click the share icon under the post and choose Copy link to post.

Avoid right-clicking the video itself and choosing Copy video address. That returns a link to a streaming fragment, not the post, and it will expire.

Copying from a retweet or a quote post

This is where people most often get the wrong link, and the failure is silent, the link works, it just refers to a post with no video in it.

When someone reposts a video, there are two posts involved: the original containing the video, and the repost pointing at it. If you copy the link from a quote post, you get the quoter's post. The video lives one level down.

To get the right one, tap through to the original post first, the one showing the original author's handle above the video, and copy from there. If the downloader tells you the post contains no video, this is almost always why.

Expanding a t.co short link

Links shared outside X are often wrapped in t.co. These are redirects and carry no post ID, so they cannot be resolved directly.

Open the short link in a browser, wait for it to land on the real post, then copy the URL from the address bar. You will see it has expanded into a normal /status/ link.

Checking a link before you paste it

Run through three questions:

1. Does it contain /status/? If not, it is not a post link.
2. Is there a long number after status/? That is the post ID.
3. Is the account public? Protected accounts are not readable by any external tool, see the troubleshooting guide for why.

If all three check out, the link will work. Everything after that is a question of which resolution to pick.