| name | video-download |
| description | Download video and audio from YouTube and 1000+ sites using yt-dlp. No API keys needed.
Use when: (1) Downloading a video from YouTube or other sites, (2) Extracting audio from a video URL,
(3) Downloading subtitles/captions from a video, (4) Getting video metadata without downloading.
|
video-download
Download video and audio from URLs using yt-dlp directly. No wrapper scripts needed.
Prerequisites
- yt-dlp:
brew install yt-dlp or pip install yt-dlp
- ffmpeg:
brew install ffmpeg or apt install ffmpeg (required for merging video+audio streams)
Update yt-dlp periodically to keep up with site changes: yt-dlp -U or pip install -U yt-dlp.
Commands
Download best quality
yt-dlp "URL" -o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" --merge-output-format mp4
Download specific resolution
yt-dlp "URL" -f "bestvideo[height<=720]+bestaudio/best[height<=720]" --merge-output-format mp4
yt-dlp "URL" -f "bestvideo[height<=1080]+bestaudio/best[height<=1080]" --merge-output-format mp4
Audio only
yt-dlp "URL" -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 0
Download subtitles
yt-dlp "URL" --write-subs --sub-langs en --merge-output-format mp4
yt-dlp "URL" --write-subs --sub-langs "en,es,fr" --merge-output-format mp4
yt-dlp "URL" --write-subs --sub-langs en --skip-download
Get metadata (no download)
yt-dlp "URL" --dump-json --no-download
List available formats
yt-dlp "URL" -F
Specify output directory
yt-dlp "URL" -o "./downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" --merge-output-format mp4
Quality Presets
| Quality | Format flag |
|---|
| Best | -f "bestvideo+bestaudio/best" (default) |
| 1080p | -f "bestvideo[height<=1080]+bestaudio/best[height<=1080]" |
| 720p | -f "bestvideo[height<=720]+bestaudio/best[height<=720]" |
| 480p | -f "bestvideo[height<=480]+bestaudio/best[height<=480]" |
| Worst | -f "worstvideo+worstaudio/worst" |
Output Template Variables
Common variables for -o templates:
| Variable | Description |
|---|
%(title)s | Video title |
%(ext)s | File extension |
%(id)s | Video ID |
%(uploader)s | Channel/uploader name |
%(upload_date)s | Upload date (YYYYMMDD) |
%(duration)s | Duration in seconds |
%(resolution)s | Video resolution |
Tips
- Always use
--merge-output-format mp4 to avoid ending up with .webm or .mkv files.
- Use
--no-download with --dump-json for metadata-only queries -- no files written to disk.
- If a download fails with HTTP errors, update yt-dlp first (
yt-dlp -U).
- Use
-f "bestvideo[height<=720]+bestaudio" to save bandwidth when full resolution is not needed.
- yt-dlp automatically handles rate limiting and retries.
- The
--dump-json output includes title, duration, uploader, view_count, description, formats, subtitles, and much more.
Troubleshooting
- "yt-dlp: command not found": Install it (
pip install yt-dlp) and ensure your PATH includes pip's bin directory.
- "ffmpeg: command not found": Install ffmpeg. Without it, downloads fail when video and audio are separate streams (common on YouTube for HD).
- Downloads fail or return errors: Run
yt-dlp -U to update. Sites change frequently and yt-dlp ships fixes regularly.
