Generate YouTube thumbnail URLs (i.ytimg.com)

YouTube thumbnail URL format (copy and edit)

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/{id}/maxresdefault.jpg
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/{id}/hq720.jpg
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/{id}/sddefault.jpg
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/{id}/hqdefault.jpg
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/{id}/mqdefault.jpg
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/{id}/default.jpg
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/{id}/0.jpg
https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/{id}/maxresdefault.webp
https://img.youtube.com/vi/{id}/hqdefault.jpg

{id} is the 11-character video ID. This generator only lists URLs that returned a real image, so you do not paste a maxres link that is secretly a 120×90 placeholder.

maxresdefault URL vs hqdefault URL

Search demand is split: “maxresdefault url” for HD, “hqdefault url” for the file that always works. Use maxres when the size checker says it is live. Use HQ in emails and fallbacks. WebP twins are smaller at the same pixels — see WebP vs JPG.

How to use a thumbnail URL in HTML

<img
  src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VIDEO_ID/hqdefault.jpg"
  alt="Video title"
  width="480"
  height="360">

Prefer downloading a file you have rights to if the still will live on your CDN for years. YouTube may change cache rules. Longer map: thumbnail URL format guide and how thumbnails work.