Does the Whop downloader work on Mac?

Yes — it works on Chrome, Brave, and Opera on macOS. The one Mac-specific step is getting past Gatekeeper the first time you install the helper app: right-click the app in Finder and choose Open, then click Open in the dialog that appears. After that, it runs normally.

Why does macOS block the helper app?

macOS Gatekeeper flags apps that aren't distributed through the App Store or signed with an Apple Developer certificate. The helper app is a small command-line tool that merges video streams — it's safe, it's open-source, and it never connects to the internet. You only have to approve it once.

Can I use the Whop downloader on a MacBook with an M1 or M2 chip?

Yes. There's a native Apple Silicon build of the helper app. Make sure you download the arm64 version (not the x86 one) when the extension prompts you to install it, and it will run natively without Rosetta.

What's the best quality to download Whop videos at on Mac?

1080p if storage isn't a concern and the video has detailed visuals — slides, code, charts. 720p is a good default for most lecture content and saves significant disk space. The quality options you see match what the creator actually uploaded; if 1080p isn't listed, it wasn't uploaded at that resolution.

How to Download Whop Videos on Mac (Free, No Terminal Needed)

Mac users run into one specific problem that Windows users don't: macOS Gatekeeper. Gatekeeper blocks apps that aren't from the App Store or a recognized Apple developer, and the small helper app that merges Whop's separate video and audio streams into a single MP4 is exactly the kind of tool Gatekeeper loves to flag. That doesn't mean it's broken — it means there's a one-time setup step you have to know about.

This guide walks you through downloading Whop videos on a Mac using the free browser extension method, explains how to get past Gatekeeper, and covers a manual fallback if you'd rather work from the command line.

What you need

A Mac running macOS 12 Monterey or later
Chrome, Brave, or Opera (Safari is not supported — more on why below)
Access to the Whop video you want to download (logged in, with the content unlocked)

Method 1: The browser extension (easiest)

This method handles everything through your browser. You don't need to touch the terminal.

Step 1 — Install the extension

Add the free Whop Downloader from the Chrome Web Store and pin it to your browser toolbar so the icon is always visible. The extension works in Chrome, Brave, and Opera on Mac.

Step 2 — Run through the helper app setup

The first time you click the extension icon, it will prompt you to install a small companion app. This app does one thing: it takes the separate video stream and audio stream that Mux delivers, and merges them into a single MP4. The extension can't do that step alone inside the browser sandbox.

Click the download link in the prompt and run the installer.

This is where Gatekeeper steps in. When you double-click the helper app installer, macOS may show a message saying the app "cannot be opened because it is from an unidentified developer." Don't click anything — just close that dialog.

To get past it: Open Finder, navigate to your Downloads folder, right-click (or Control-click) the helper app file, and choose Open from the context menu. You'll see a different dialog this time — one that actually has an Open button. Click it. macOS only asks once; after that the app runs normally forever.

Alternatively: go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down, and you'll see a message about the blocked app with an Open Anyway button.

Step 3 — Open the Whop video and press play

Navigate to the Whop lesson you want to save. Press play so the video actually starts streaming — even just a second of playback is enough. This step is important: Mux's stream URLs are generated on demand when playback begins. They don't exist on the page until the player requests them, so the extension has nothing to read until the video is actually playing.

Step 4 — Open the extension and scan

Click the extension icon in your toolbar. Hit the Rescan button if the video isn't detected immediately (this sometimes happens if you opened the popup before pressing play). You should see the video listed with quality options — typically 360p through 1080p.

Step 5 — Choose your quality and download

Select the resolution you want. For most course content, 720p is a good balance between file size and readability. If the lesson has a lot of on-screen text, slides, or code, go 1080p.

Click Download. A progress bar shows the fetch and merge progress. Keep the browser tab with the Whop video open until the download completes — the merge step needs the tab alive. The finished MP4 saves to your Downloads folder, named after the video's title.

Install the Free Whop DownloaderFree to start — 3 full downloads/week, audio & video-only always free.

The Safari problem (and why it won't be fixed)

Safari uses WebKit and Apple's extension API, which doesn't expose the low-level network request hooks that the downloader needs to intercept Mux stream URLs. Chrome, Brave, and Opera use Chromium's extension API, which does. This isn't a missing feature — it's an architectural limit of Safari's sandboxing model that can't be worked around without Apple changing the API itself.

If Safari is your default browser: install Chrome or Brave just for Whop downloads. You don't have to switch permanently.

Method 2: yt-dlp from the terminal (no weekly limits)

If you're comfortable with a terminal and want unlimited downloads without the weekly cap, yt-dlp is what the extension uses under the hood — you can run it directly.

Install yt-dlp via Homebrew:

brew install yt-dlp

Export your Whop cookies from Chrome (yt-dlp needs these to authenticate):

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser chrome "WHOP_VIDEO_URL"

Replace WHOP_VIDEO_URL with the URL of the Whop page containing the video. yt-dlp will automatically detect the Mux stream, download the highest quality by default, and merge audio and video into an MP4 using ffmpeg (install with brew install ffmpeg if needed).

This method is free, unlimited, and produces identical output to the extension. The trade-off is that it requires extracting cookies correctly and some comfort with troubleshooting when things don't work.

Downloading on Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4 Macs)

The helper app has an Apple Silicon native build — you don't need Rosetta. If the installer shows a Rosetta prompt, you downloaded the wrong build. Grab the Apple Silicon version from the helper app download page that appears in the extension setup flow.

Common Mac-specific issues

"The helper app crashes immediately." This almost always means the download got corrupted. Delete the helper app, clear your browser's download history for it, and re-download from the extension prompt.

"The extension says 'helper not connected' even after installing." Quit and reopen your browser after installing the helper app. The extension needs a fresh connection.

"No video detected even after pressing play." Make sure you're on the actual Whop lesson page (not a community dashboard) and that the video has started buffering. Check the network tab in DevTools for .m3u8 requests — if they appear, the stream is loading and a rescan should pick it up.

"The download finishes but the file won't open." On Mac, the Mux stream sometimes delivers a video-only track if the audio stream was interrupted during merge. Try downloading the video again, and keep the tab focused (not minimized or in the background) during the merge step.