Thumbnail viewer
Runs in your browser
Enter a YouTube URL above to see its thumbnails.
Independent tool, not affiliated with YouTube or Google.
Paste a YouTube link into the tool above to see every official thumbnail YouTube generates for that video, from the small 120×90 preview up to the full 1280×720 maxresdefault image. All images are served directly from Google’s own i.ytimg.com servers; nothing is copied, hosted or altered here.
Why does a video have so many thumbnail sizes?
YouTube automatically generates several resolutions of the same cover image so that the right one can be requested for the right context: a tiny 120×90 image for a crowded search results page, a 480×360 image for a related-videos sidebar, and a full 1280×720 maxresdefault image for a large preview card. This tool simply lists the direct URLs for each of those official sizes.
How to use a thumbnail URL
Every image shown above is a normal, public URL on i.ytimg.com. You can right-click any image and choose “Save image as” the same way you would with any other picture on the web, or open it in a new tab with the “Open full size” link. There is no separate download button here: the browser’s own save function already does that job, and it keeps this tool focused on simply showing you what is available.
A note on maxresdefault
Not every video has a maxresdefault (1280×720) thumbnail. It is only generated for videos uploaded in high enough quality, so on some older or lower-resolution videos that particular image will fail to load while the smaller sizes still work fine.
How to use the YouTube thumbnail viewer
- Copy a YouTube video URL, or just its 11-character video ID.
- Paste it into the field above.
- Every official thumbnail resolution loads automatically, from 120×90 up to the full 1280×720 maxresdefault image.
- Right-click any thumbnail to save it, or use the “Open full size” link to view it in a new tab.
Who uses this YouTube thumbnail viewer
This tool is useful for content creators checking how their own thumbnail looks at different sizes, developers who need a specific resolution for a design mockup, and researchers or writers who want to reference a video’s official cover image at a known size without guessing at a URL pattern.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get a YouTube video’s thumbnail in full resolution?
Paste the video’s URL into the thumbnail viewer above; the maxresdefault image, up to 1280×720, is the largest official size, shown alongside every other available resolution.
Why is the maxresdefault thumbnail missing for some videos?
maxresdefault is only generated for videos uploaded in sufficiently high quality. Older or lower-resolution uploads may only have the smaller sizes available.
Does this tool download the thumbnail for me?
No, there is no separate download button. Every image shown is a normal, public image URL; use your browser’s own “Save image as” option, the same way you would with any image on the web.
Is using a YouTube video’s thumbnail image legal?
Thumbnail images are publicly served by YouTube for preview purposes, but the underlying image can still be copyrighted by the creator; using it for commentary, linking or embedding purposes is generally accepted, while broader reuse should credit or seek permission from the creator.
Official thumbnail sizes at a glance
| Name | Size |
|---|---|
| maxresdefault | up to 1280 × 720 |
| sddefault | 640 × 480 |
| hqdefault | 480 × 360 |
| mqdefault | 320 × 180 |
| default | 120 × 90 |
See the full YouTube size guide for banner and player dimensions too, or learn how thumbnails relate to embedding in our complete YouTube embed guide. For terminology, see video ID in the knowledge base.