youtube-downloader

# YouTube Downloader via CDP + PoToken When yt-dlp fails with "Sign in to confirm you're not a bot" or DPAPI errors, this skill provides a reliable fallback: extract live authentication cookies from a pre-configured Chrome profile via CDP, combine with bgutil PoToken provider, and download with yt-dlp. ## Prerequisites - **Chrome** with a pre-configured profile that is logged into YouTube - **bgutil PoToken server** running on port 4416 (see Step 0) - **yt-dlp** installed and configured with bgutil plugin - **websocket-client** Python package (`pip install websocket-client`) ## Workflow ### Step 0: Ensure bgutil server is running The bgutil PoToken provider MUST be running for yt-dlp to bypass bot detection. Check and start if needed: ```bash bgutil-start ``` This script (at `E:\tools\bin\bgutil-start.cmd`) checks if the server is already running on port 4416, and starts it if not. The bgutil HTTP plugin (`bgutil:http`) auto-registers with yt-dlp. ### Step 1: Launch Chrome with CDP Launch Chrome using a pre-configured profile that is **already logged into YouTube**. The profile path is configurable; default is `G:\chrome_data\remote_debug`. **Command (Windows PowerShell):** ```powershell # Kill existing Chrome first if needed Get-Process chrome -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Stop-Process -Force Start-Sleep 2 # Launch with remote debugging $chromePath = "C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" $profilePath = $env:CDP_CHROME_PROFILE ?? "G:\chrome_data\remote_debug" Start-Process $chromePath -ArgumentList ` "--remote-debugging-port=9223", "--user-data-dir=`"$profilePath`"", "--remote-allow-origins=*", "about:blank" Start-Sleep 4 # Verify CDP is responding Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "http://127.0.0.1:9223/json/version" -UseBasicParsing ``` **Important**: The profile must already be logged into YouTube. YouTube's bot detection blocks login attempts from automated browsers, so you cannot log in through CDP — the login session must already exist. ### Step 2: Extract cookies via CDP Use the bundled script `scripts/extract_cookies.py` to pull live YouTube cookies through CDP's `Network.getCookies` API: ```bash python scripts/extract_cookies.py \ --port 9223 \ --output G:\cookies\youtube_cdp.txt \ --domain youtube.com ``` **What this script does:** 1. Connects to Chrome CDP WebSocket 2. Navigates to YouTube to ensure the cookie jar is populated 3. Calls `Network.getCookies` for youtube.com 4. Converts to Netscape format (compatible with yt-dlp `--cookies`) 5. Saves to the specified output file ### Step 3: Download with yt-dlp With cookies extracted and bgutil running, yt-dlp should succeed: ```bash yt-dlp "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID" \ -o "output.mp4" \ --no-playlist \ -f "best[ext=mp4]/best" \ --cookies "G:\cookies\youtube_cdp.txt" ``` The bgutil HTTP plugin (`bgutil:http`) is auto-detected by yt-dlp when the plugin is installed in `%APPDATA%\yt-dlp\plugins\extractor\`. It connects to `http://127.0.0.1:4416` for PoToken generation. ## Configuration | Environment Variable | Default | Description | |---|---|---| | `CDP_CHROME_PROFILE` | `G:\chrome_data\remote_debug` | Chrome profile path with YouTube login | | `CDP_PORT` | `9223` | Chrome DevTools Protocol port | ## Troubleshooting ### "Chrome CDP not responding" - Ensure no other Chrome instance is using the same profile - Kill all Chrome processes and retry - Verify the profile path exists and contains a valid Chrome session ### "bgutil server not available" - Run `bgutil-start` to check/start the server - Verify `http://127.0.0.1:4416/ping` returns JSON - Check the plugin is installed: `%APPDATA%\yt-dlp\plugins\extractor\getpot_bgutil_http.py` ### "Cookies expired / not authenticated" - The Chrome profile's YouTube login session may have expired - Open Chrome normally with that profile, log into YouTube, then close Chrome - Re-run from Step 1 ### "Sign in to confirm you're not a bot" (despite cookies) - Ensure bgutil server IS running (Step 0 was skipped?) - Try `--extractor-args "youtube:player-client=mweb"` for different client - The IP may be rate-limited; wait a few minutes ## Why This Works 1. **Cookies via CDP** bypasses Chrome's App-Bound Encryption (v20 cookies) which prevents yt-dlp's `--cookies-from-browser` from decrypting cookies 2. **Pre-logged-in profile** avoids YouTube's automated-browser detection (we only extract existing cookies, never attempt login via CDP) 3. **bgutil PoToken** provides the GVS PO Token that modern YouTube clients require, complementing the authentication cookies 4. **Netscape format** is the standard cookie format yt-dlp expects