youtube

name	youtube
description	Comprehensive YouTube operations using yt-dlp - download videos/audio, extract transcripts and subtitles, get metadata, work with playlists, download thumbnails, and inspect available formats. Use this for any YouTube content processing task.
license	MIT

YouTube operations

This skill provides comprehensive YouTube operations using yt-dlp, always using the latest version via uvx.

Requirements

• uv - The Python package runner (provides uvx command)

No pre-installation of yt-dlp is needed. The uvx command automatically fetches and runs the latest version.

Video downloads

Download best quality (default):

uvx yt-dlp -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Download to custom location:

uvx yt-dlp -o "/path/to/folder/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Download specific quality (e.g., 720p):

uvx yt-dlp -f "bestvideo[height<=720]+bestaudio/best[height<=720]" -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

List available formats before downloading:

uvx yt-dlp -F "VIDEO_URL"

Audio downloads

Download audio only (mp3) - downloads to Synology music folder:

uvx yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 -o "~/Library/CloudStorage/SynologyDrive-sync/music/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Download audio in other formats:

# AAC format
uvx yt-dlp -x --audio-format aac -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

# Opus format
uvx yt-dlp -x --audio-format opus -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

# Best quality audio (no conversion)
uvx yt-dlp -f bestaudio -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Transcript and subtitle extraction

Download subtitles only (no video):

# Auto-generated or manual subtitles in English
uvx yt-dlp --skip-download --write-auto-subs --sub-lang en --sub-format vtt -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s" "VIDEO_URL"

# Manual subtitles only (not auto-generated)
uvx yt-dlp --skip-download --write-subs --sub-lang en --sub-format vtt -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Download subtitles in multiple languages:

uvx yt-dlp --skip-download --write-subs --sub-lang en,es,fr --sub-format vtt -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s" "VIDEO_URL"

List available subtitles:

uvx yt-dlp --list-subs "VIDEO_URL"

Convert subtitles to plain text (remove timestamps):

# Download as SRT first, then process
uvx yt-dlp --skip-download --write-auto-subs --sub-lang en --sub-format srt -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s" "VIDEO_URL"

# Then use sed or awk to extract just the text
sed '/^[0-9]*$/d; /^[0-9][0-9]:/d; /^$/d' ~/Downloads/video-title.en.srt > ~/Downloads/transcript.txt

Download video with embedded subtitles:

uvx yt-dlp --write-subs --embed-subs --sub-lang en -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Metadata extraction

Get video information without downloading:

# Basic info as JSON
uvx yt-dlp --dump-json "VIDEO_URL"

# Just the title
uvx yt-dlp --get-title "VIDEO_URL"

# Just the description
uvx yt-dlp --get-description "VIDEO_URL"

# Duration
uvx yt-dlp --get-duration "VIDEO_URL"

# Upload date
uvx yt-dlp --get-filename -o "%(upload_date)s" "VIDEO_URL"

# Channel/uploader
uvx yt-dlp --get-filename -o "%(uploader)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Extract all metadata to JSON file:

uvx yt-dlp --dump-json --skip-download "VIDEO_URL" > video-metadata.json

Get video chapters/timestamps:

# Chapters are included in --dump-json output
uvx yt-dlp --dump-json "VIDEO_URL" | jq '.chapters'

Playlist operations

Download entire playlist:

uvx yt-dlp -o "~/Downloads/%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)s-%(title)s.%(ext)s" "PLAYLIST_URL"

Download playlist as audio only:

uvx yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 -o "~/Library/CloudStorage/SynologyDrive-sync/music/%(playlist)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "PLAYLIST_URL"

Download specific videos from playlist:

# Videos 1-5
uvx yt-dlp --playlist-items 1-5 -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "PLAYLIST_URL"

# Specific videos (1, 3, 5)
uvx yt-dlp --playlist-items 1,3,5 -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "PLAYLIST_URL"

Get playlist information without downloading:

# Full playlist metadata
uvx yt-dlp --dump-json --flat-playlist "PLAYLIST_URL"

# Just list video titles
uvx yt-dlp --get-filename -o "%(title)s" --flat-playlist "PLAYLIST_URL"

Download only new videos from playlist (useful for subscriptions):

# Creates archive file to track downloaded videos
uvx yt-dlp --download-archive archive.txt -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "PLAYLIST_URL"

Thumbnail downloads

Download thumbnail only:

uvx yt-dlp --skip-download --write-thumbnail --convert-thumbnails png -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Download video with embedded thumbnail:

uvx yt-dlp --embed-thumbnail -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Get all available thumbnails:

uvx yt-dlp --list-thumbnails "VIDEO_URL"

Advanced options

Download with speed limit:

uvx yt-dlp --limit-rate 1M -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Download age-restricted content (requires cookies):

# Export cookies from browser first, then:
uvx yt-dlp --cookies cookies.txt -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Download with custom filename:

uvx yt-dlp -o "~/Downloads/my-custom-name.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Resume interrupted download:

# yt-dlp resumes automatically if you run the same command
uvx yt-dlp -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Download with date range filter:

# Only videos uploaded after date
uvx yt-dlp --dateafter 20240101 "CHANNEL_URL"

# Only videos uploaded before date
uvx yt-dlp --datebefore 20241231 "CHANNEL_URL"

Output filename templates

The -o flag uses templates for output filenames. Common variables:

• %(title)s - Video title
• %(id)s - Video ID
• %(ext)s - File extension
• %(uploader)s - Channel name
• %(upload_date)s - Upload date (YYYYMMDD)
• %(playlist)s - Playlist name
• %(playlist_index)s - Video position in playlist
• %(duration)s - Video duration in seconds
• %(resolution)s - Video resolution

Example with multiple variables:

uvx yt-dlp -o "~/Downloads/%(uploader)s/%(upload_date)s-%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Common workflows

Create audio podcast archive from YouTube channel:

uvx yt-dlp --download-archive podcast-archive.txt -x --audio-format mp3 -o "~/Music/Podcasts/%(uploader)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "CHANNEL_URL"

Extract transcripts for research:

# Download all video transcripts from a playlist
uvx yt-dlp --skip-download --write-auto-subs --sub-lang en --sub-format srt -o "~/Documents/transcripts/%(title)s" "PLAYLIST_URL"

Download video with all extras:

# Video + subtitles + thumbnail + metadata
uvx yt-dlp --write-subs --embed-subs --write-thumbnail --embed-thumbnail --write-info-json -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Monitor and archive a channel:

# Run periodically to get only new uploads
uvx yt-dlp --download-archive channel-archive.txt -o "~/Videos/%(uploader)s/%(upload_date)s-%(title)s.%(ext)s" "CHANNEL_URL/videos"

Notes

• The default video format is webm (YouTube's native best quality)
• The default download location is ~/Downloads but can be changed
• MP3 audio downloads go to ~/Library/CloudStorage/SynologyDrive-sync/music/ (Synology NAS)
• uvx ensures you always have the latest yt-dlp version without manual updates
• YouTube URLs should be quoted to handle special characters
• Subtitle formats: vtt (WebVTT), srt (SubRip), json3 (timestamped JSON)
• Auto-generated subtitles are often available even when manual ones aren't
• Use --dump-json to explore all available metadata fields