download-media

name	download-media
description	Download video or audio from ~1800 sites (YouTube, Vimeo, SoundCloud, Twitch, X…) with the `yt-dlp` CLI — full videos, mp3 audio, playlists, time-range clips, subtitles, capped resolutions. Use whenever the user wants to download, save, grab, or rip a video/audio/playlist from a URL, extract a song as mp3, clip a segment, or fetch subtitles — even when they just say "download this", "get the audio", or "save this playlist".
when_to_use	When the user has a media URL and wants the file on disk — video, audio-only, playlist, clip, or subtitles. Keywords — download video, yt-dlp, youtube, save video, extract audio, mp3, rip, playlist, clip, subtitles, 1080p. Skip when the user wants the transcript or text content (/markitdown), wants to loop or re-encode a local file (/video-loop, /audio-loop), or targets DRM-protected streaming services (Netflix, Disney+, Spotify…) — yt-dlp does not bypass DRM and neither does this skill.
argument-hint	[-a] [-b] [-p] [-i] [-c A-B] [-u langs] [-r height] [-d dir] <url> [yt-dlp args]
allowed-tools	Bash(bash *) Bash(yt-dlp *) Bash(command *) Read
license	MIT
metadata	{"author":"coroboros","sources":["github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp"]}

Download Media

Download video or audio from any yt-dlp-supported site using the yt-dlp CLI. The skill validates the input, composes the right flags for the intent, downloads under ~/.agents/output/<project>/download-media/<slug>/ (or a -d destination), and reports the final file paths — fully expanded, no tilde, no magic.

The deterministic work — install checks, slug derivation, destination, flag composition, final-path capture — happens in scripts/download-media.sh. The skill parses $ARGUMENTS, hands them to the script, and turns the script's RESULT: lines into a human report.

Scope

Personal and authorized use: public content, the user's own uploads, Creative Commons and licensed material. yt-dlp cannot bypass DRM and this skill never attempts to; decline requests to rip paid streaming catalogs (Netflix, Disney+, Spotify…) or to evade a site's paywall. Downloading may still be restricted by a site's terms of service and local copyright law — when a request is plainly about piracy, say so and stop.

Install

brew install yt-dlp        # macOS
pipx install yt-dlp        # any platform
brew install ffmpeg        # strongly recommended — merging, mp3 extraction, clipping

Binaries for other setups: yt-dlp releases. For full YouTube support yt-dlp also wants a JavaScript runtime (deno recommended) — see the EJS wiki. Extractors break when sites change; a failing download is often fixed by updating: brew upgrade yt-dlp or pipx upgrade yt-dlp.

Parameters

Flag	Default	Effect
-a	off	Audio only, mp3 (yt-dlp preset -t mp3; needs ffmpeg; rejects the video flags -r/-b)
-b	off	Best native quality — skip the mp4 compatibility preset
-p	off	Full playlist into a <playlist title>/ subfolder, files named (default: single video)