How to Download Ad Creative From the Facebook Ad Library

To download creative from the Facebook Ad Library, you have to do it yourself, because the Library has no download button: grab the video file from your browser's devtools network tab, right-click to save images, copy the text by hand, and note the CTA, landing page and start date. The faster option is a browser extension that adds a Download button to each ad and exports the whole ad (media, every carousel card, text and metadata) in one click, or every ad from a brand at once.

The catch most guides skip is that "creative" isn't just the video. When I save an ad for research, I want the full ad: the media, every carousel card, the primary text, the headline, the CTA button, the landing page URL and the date it started running. Miss any of those and you've saved a clip, not an ad. Here's how I collect each piece, manually and in bulk.

What counts as "ad creative" in the Facebook Ad Library?

When a media buyer says "download the creative," they usually mean everything a viewer saw, plus the context that tells you whether it worked. For a single ad in the Meta Ad Library, that's:

• The media: the video (with audio) or the image.
• Every carousel card: each card's image or video, its headline and its link, not only the first card.
• Primary text: the copy above the media.
• Headline and description: the bold line under the media, if there is one.
• CTA button: Shop Now, Learn More, Sign Up and so on.
• Landing page URL: where the ad sends people.
• Start date: the "Started running on..." line, which is your best performance clue.
• Advertiser and ad ID: so you can find it again or cite it.

The start date deserves a note. The Ad Library doesn't show spend or engagement for normal commercial ads, so longevity is the practical signal: advertisers keep paying for ads that work, and an ad running for months is usually a winner.

Why can't you just click "download" in the Ad Library?

Because there isn't a download button. The Meta Ad Library (facebook.com/ads/library) is a free transparency tool. It shows every active ad from any advertiser worldwide, and in the EU it also shows inactive ads plus limited targeting data. But it was built for viewing, not saving. There's no save feature, no export, and ads disappear from public view when the advertiser stops running them (outside the EU).

So if you want to keep anything, you have to capture it yourself while the ad is live.

How do you download ad creative manually?

You can get every piece of an ad without installing anything. It's just slow. Here's the manual method, piece by piece.

Video: the devtools network tab

1. Open the ad in the Ad Library and press play.
2. Open your browser's developer tools (F12 or Cmd+Option+I on Mac) and go to the Network tab.
3. Filter by "media" or search for ".mp4".
4. Find the video request, open it in a new tab, and save it.

It works, but expect to fiddle: some requests are split, the list fills up fast, and you have to repeat it for every ad. The step-by-step with screenshots and troubleshooting is in our devtools guide, and the full comparison of video methods (devtools, screen recording, web tools, extensions) lives in how to download Facebook Ad Library videos. I won't repeat it all here.

Images: right-click or open in new tab

For image ads, right-click the image and choose "Save image as" or "Open image in new tab," then save from there. If right-click doesn't give you the image (sometimes an overlay sits on top), the devtools Network tab filtered to "img" works the same way as for video.

Carousels: one card at a time

Carousels are where manual saving gets painful. You have to click through each card and save each image or video separately, then record each card's headline and link. It's easy to save card one and forget the rest, which is a problem because the later cards often carry the proof and the offer. Our carousel guide covers the card-by-card process and which tools actually capture every card.

Text: primary text, headline, CTA

Select and copy the primary text into a doc or spreadsheet. Expand "See more" first, or you'll copy a truncated version. Copy the headline and note the CTA button label. If the text won't select, or comes out cut off, our guide to copying ad text explains why and the workarounds.

Landing page URL

Click the CTA button or the link domain under the ad and copy the URL from the page it opens. Some links pass through redirects or shorteners first, so check where you actually land. For a deeper look at reading a competitor's funnel, see how to find competitor landing pages.

Start date and ad ID

Copy the "Started running on..." date and the Library ID from the ad card into the same row as everything else. Two minutes per ad doesn't sound like much until you're doing 40 of them.

How do you save ads from the Facebook Ad Library in one click?

What I do for Meta ads now is use our free extension, Klipio's Meta Ad Library Downloader, so this section is about our own tool. It adds a Download button to every ad inside the Ad Library. One click saves the ad's video in original HD (no watermark), its image, or the full carousel with every card.

For a whole competitor, there's bulk mode. "Find all ads" scrolls the entire search, collects every running ad and packs everything into one ZIP. You choose Videos, Images or Everything, and duplicates are collapsed automatically, which matters because advertisers often run the same creative many times.

The part that answers "download the creative, not just the video" is what comes with every export:

• A swipe board: an index.html file that opens in any browser. You can search by hook, CTA or advertiser, play the ads, copy the ad text and jump to the original ad in the Library.
• A CSV spreadsheet of every ad, so the text and metadata are in rows you can sort, filter and paste into your own swipe file or report.
• Sensible file names: files are named by advertiser and date, so a folder of 60 downloads is still readable a month later.

It's 100% free, with no account and no sign-up, and it runs in your browser on your own connection, so nothing passes through our servers. It isn't affiliated with Meta. If you want the deeper walkthrough of bulk exports, see how to bulk download the Meta Ad Library.

What about paid tools?

Paid ad spy tools also save creative, and some do more than the Library itself: search across advertisers, historical archives, team boards. For reference, at the time of writing AdSpy is $149/mo, Foreplay starts at $59 ($49 billed annually), Minea and Pipiads start at $49, PowerAdSpy at $69, BigSpy from $9 with a free tier, and Dropispy has a free plan plus a $29.90 tier. If you need a team workflow or historic data beyond what's live today, one of those may be worth it. If you just need the ads a competitor is running now, the free Library plus a downloader covers it.

Which method should you use?

It depends on volume.

• One or two ads, rarely: do it manually. Devtools for video, right-click for images, copy and paste for text.
• A carousel or anything you'll brief from: make sure you capture every card and the text, not just the first frame.
• A full competitor audit or a weekly swipe routine: use a one-click or bulk method. Manual saving at that volume eats an afternoon and you'll skip fields.

Whichever you choose, save while the ad is live. The Ad Library won't keep it for you outside the EU.

Can you reuse the creative you download?

Downloading public ads for competitive research and inspiration is standard industry practice. Every major spy tool does it, and the Ad Library is public transparency data. Reusing someone else's video, images or copy in your own ads is a different matter. Copy the angle, not the asset: study why it works, then make your own. This isn't legal advice.

FAQ

Can you download creative from the Facebook Ad Library?

Yes, but not with a built-in button, because the Library doesn't have one. You can pull videos from the devtools network tab, save images with right-click, and copy text by hand, or use an extension that adds a download button.

How do I save ads from the Facebook Ad Library?

Save the media file, then record the primary text, headline, CTA, landing page URL and start date in a spreadsheet. A downloader extension can do this in one click and export a CSV alongside the files.

How do I download every card in a carousel ad?

Manually, click through each card and save its image or video plus its headline and link. Many tools only grab the first card, so check that whatever you use captures all of them.

Can I get the landing page URL of a Facebook ad?

Yes. Click the CTA button or link in the Ad Library and copy the URL of the page it opens, checking for redirects along the way. Record it next to the ad so you can review the funnel later.

Can I download ads after they stop running?

Usually not. Outside the EU, ads disappear from the public Library when the advertiser stops them, so save anything you care about while it's still active.

Is it legal to download ad creative from the Ad Library?

Saving public ads for research and inspiration is standard practice across the industry. Don't reuse other brands' creative in your own ads; copy the angle, not the asset. This is not legal advice.