Explained: YouTube Thumbnail: “maxresdefault”

Article last updated on:
June 03, 2024

You’ve probably just:

  • Opened a YouTube thumbnail
  • And you’ve noticed that the file’s name is “maxresdefault”…
  • So you’re wondering what that means.

It’s very simple! Let us explain.

What does ‘maxresdefault’ mean in YouTube Thumbnails?

Maxresdefault stands for “Maximum Resolution Default“. It is a auto-generated filename for thumbnails to tell you that the image is at its highest quality.

YouTube's logo and text explaining what 'maxresdefault' means

YouTube does this for all images — regardless of the filename creators give their thumbnails.


How to get YouTube Thumbnail ‘maxresdefault’

  1. Open a YouTube video
  2. Copy the video’s ID from the URL — the part after “watch?v=”
  3. Paste it in this link: https://img.youtube.com/vi/Video-ID/maxresdefault.jpg
  4. Hit Enter to access the link
Highlighting where to find the Video ID In a YouTube URL
Highlighted is your video’s ID

Copy that and paste it in the link — then hit enter, and the maxresdefault thumbnail will open in a new tab.

It should look like this:

YT Thumbnail in New Tab - Drake God's Plan Video

That’s it! You’ve got the maxresdefault thumbnail.

Related: How to see thumbnail in Full Size.


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Thumbnail Test

About the author

David is the head of the editing team at ThumbnailTest. With his help, the editorial team is able to provide you with the best free guides related to YouTube thumbnails and A/B testing.