[update] Add option `--update-to`, including to nightly (#6220)

* By default, stable will only update to stable, and nightly to nightly

Authored by: Grub4K, bashonly, pukkandan

Co-authored-by: bashonly <88596187+bashonly@users.noreply.github.com>

Collaborators.md

@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ You can also find lists of all [contributors of yt-dlp](CONTRIBUTORS) and [autho
 
 ## [bashonly](https://github.com/bashonly)
 
+* `--update-to`, automated release, nightly builds
 * `--cookies-from-browser` support for Firefox containers
 * Added support for new websites Genius, Kick, NBCStations, Triller, VideoKen etc
 * Improved/fixed support for Anvato, Brightcove, Instagram, ParamountPlus, Reddit, SlidesLive, TikTok, Twitter, Vimeo etc
@@ -65,5 +66,6 @@ You can also find lists of all [contributors of yt-dlp](CONTRIBUTORS) and [autho
 
 [![ko-fi](https://img.shields.io/badge/_-Ko--fi-red.svg?logo=kofi&labelColor=555555&style=for-the-badge)](https://ko-fi.com/Grub4K) [![gh-sponsor](https://img.shields.io/badge/_-Github-red.svg?logo=github&labelColor=555555&style=for-the-badge)](https://github.com/sponsors/Grub4K)
 
+* `--update-to`, automated release, nightly builds
 * Rework internals like `traverse_obj`, various core refactors and bugs fixes
 * Helped fix crunchyroll, Twitter, wrestleuniverse, wistia, slideslive etc

README.md

@@ -120,7 +120,9 @@ yt-dlp is a [youtube-dl](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl) fork based on t
 
 * **Plugins**: Extractors and PostProcessors can be loaded from an external file. See [plugins](#plugins) for details
 
-* **Self-updater**: The releases can be updated using `yt-dlp -U`
+* **Self updater**: The releases can be updated using `yt-dlp -U`, and downgraded using `--update-to` if required
+
+* **Nightly builds**: [Automated nightly builds](#update-channels) can be used with `--update-to nightly`
 
 See [changelog](Changelog.md) or [commits](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits) for the full list of changes
 
@@ -187,6 +189,20 @@ If you [installed with PIP](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Installation#w
 
 For other third-party package managers, see [the wiki](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Installation#third-party-package-managers) or refer their documentation
 
+<a id="update-channels"/>
+
+There are currently two release channels for binaries, `stable` and `nightly`.
+`stable` releases are what the program will update to by default, and have had many of their changes tested by users of the master branch.
+`nightly` releases are built after each push to the master branch, and will have the most recent fixes and additions, but also have the potential for bugs.
+The latest `nightly` is available as a [pre-release from this repository](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/tag/nightly), and all `nightly` releases are [archived in their own repo](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp-nightly-builds/releases).
+
+When using `--update`/`-U`, a release binary will only update to its current channel.
+This release channel can be changed by using the `--update-to` option. `--update-to` can also be used to upgrade or downgrade to specific tags from a channel.
+
+Example usage:
+* `yt-dlp --update-to nightly` change to `nightly` channel and update to its latest release
+* `yt-dlp --update-to stable@2023.02.17` upgrade/downgrade to release to `stable` channel tag `2023.02.17`
+* `yt-dlp --update-to 2023.01.06` upgrade/downgrade to tag `2023.01.06` if it exists on the current channel
 
 <!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
 ## RELEASE FILES
@@ -335,6 +351,11 @@ If you fork the project on GitHub, you can run your fork's [build workflow](.git
     --version                       Print program version and exit
     -U, --update                    Update this program to the latest version
     --no-update                     Do not check for updates (default)
+    --update-to [CHANNEL]@[TAG]     Upgrade/downgrade to a specific version.
+                                    CHANNEL and TAG defaults to "stable" and
+                                    "latest" respectively if ommited; See
+                                    "UPDATE" for details. Supported channels:
+                                    stable, nightly
     -i, --ignore-errors             Ignore download and postprocessing errors.
                                     The download will be considered successful
                                     even if the postprocessing fails

yt_dlp/__init__.py

@@ -931,7 +931,7 @@ def _real_main(argv=None):
         if opts.rm_cachedir:
             ydl.cache.remove()
 
-        updater = Updater(ydl)
+        updater = Updater(ydl, opts.update_self if isinstance(opts.update_self, str) else None)
         if opts.update_self and updater.update() and actual_use:
             if updater.cmd:
                 return updater.restart()

yt_dlp/options.py

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ from .postprocessor import (
     SponsorBlockPP,
 )
 from .postprocessor.modify_chapters import DEFAULT_SPONSORBLOCK_CHAPTER_TITLE
-from .update import detect_variant, is_non_updateable
+from .update import UPDATE_SOURCES, detect_variant, is_non_updateable
 from .utils import (
     OUTTMPL_TYPES,
     POSTPROCESS_WHEN,
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ from .utils import (
     remove_end,
     write_string,
 )
-from .version import __version__
+from .version import CHANNEL, __version__
 
 
 def parseOpts(overrideArguments=None, ignore_config_files='if_override'):
@@ -326,11 +326,18 @@ def create_parser():
         action='store_true', dest='update_self',
         help=format_field(
             is_non_updateable(), None, 'Check if updates are available. %s',
-            default='Update this program to the latest version'))
+            default=f'Update this program to the latest {CHANNEL} version'))
     general.add_option(
         '--no-update',
         action='store_false', dest='update_self',
         help='Do not check for updates (default)')
+    general.add_option(
+        '--update-to',
+        action='store', dest='update_self', metavar='[CHANNEL]@[TAG]',
+        help=(
+            'Upgrade/downgrade to a specific version. CHANNEL and TAG defaults to '
+            f'"{CHANNEL}" and "latest" respectively if ommited; See "UPDATE" for details. '
+            f'Supported channels: {", ".join(UPDATE_SOURCES)}'))
     general.add_option(
         '-i', '--ignore-errors',
         action='store_true', dest='ignoreerrors',

yt_dlp/update.py

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import platform
 import re
 import subprocess
 import sys
+import urllib.error
 from zipimport import zipimporter
 
 from .compat import functools  # isort: split
@@ -16,15 +17,26 @@ from .utils import (
     cached_method,
     deprecation_warning,
     remove_end,
+    remove_start,
+    sanitized_Request,
     shell_quote,
     system_identifier,
-    traverse_obj,
     version_tuple,
 )
-from .version import UPDATE_HINT, VARIANT, __version__
+from .version import CHANNEL, UPDATE_HINT, VARIANT, __version__
 
-REPOSITORY = 'yt-dlp/yt-dlp'
+UPDATE_SOURCES = {
-API_URL = f'https://api.github.com/repos/{REPOSITORY}/releases'
+    'stable': 'yt-dlp/yt-dlp',
+    'nightly': 'yt-dlp/yt-dlp-nightly-builds',
+}
+
+_VERSION_RE = re.compile(r'(\d+\.)*\d+')
+
+API_BASE_URL = 'https://api.github.com/repos'
+
+# Backwards compatibility variables for the current channel
+REPOSITORY = UPDATE_SOURCES[CHANNEL]
+API_URL = f'{API_BASE_URL}/{REPOSITORY}/releases'
 
 
 @functools.cache
@@ -110,49 +122,99 @@ def _sha256_file(path):
 
 
 class Updater:
-    def __init__(self, ydl):
+    _exact = True
+
+    def __init__(self, ydl, target=None):
         self.ydl = ydl
 
+        self.target_channel, sep, self.target_tag = (target or CHANNEL).rpartition('@')
+        if not sep and self.target_tag in UPDATE_SOURCES:  # stable => stable@latest
+            self.target_channel, self.target_tag = self.target_tag, None
+        elif not self.target_channel:
+            self.target_channel = CHANNEL
+
+        if not self.target_tag:
+            self.target_tag, self._exact = 'latest', False
+        elif self.target_tag != 'latest':
+            self.target_tag = f'tags/{self.target_tag}'
+
+    @property
+    def _target_repo(self):
+        try:
+            return UPDATE_SOURCES[self.target_channel]
+        except KeyError:
+            return self._report_error(
+                f'Invalid update channel {self.target_channel!r} requested. '
+                f'Valid channels are {", ".join(UPDATE_SOURCES)}', True)
+
+    def _version_compare(self, a, b, channel=CHANNEL):
+        if channel != self.target_channel:
+            return False
+
+        if _VERSION_RE.fullmatch(f'{a}.{b}'):
+            a, b = version_tuple(a), version_tuple(b)
+            return a == b if self._exact else a >= b
+        return a == b
+
     @functools.cached_property
     def _tag(self):
-        if version_tuple(__version__) >= version_tuple(self.latest_version):
+        if self._version_compare(self.current_version, self.latest_version):
-            return 'latest'
+            return self.target_tag
 
-        identifier = f'{detect_variant()} {system_identifier()}'
+        identifier = f'{detect_variant()} {self.target_channel} {system_identifier()}'
         for line in self._download('_update_spec', 'latest').decode().splitlines():
             if not line.startswith('lock '):
                 continue
             _, tag, pattern = line.split(' ', 2)
             if re.match(pattern, identifier):
-                return f'tags/{tag}'
+                if not self._exact:
-        return 'latest'
+                    return f'tags/{tag}'
+                elif self.target_tag == 'latest' or not self._version_compare(
+                        tag, self.target_tag[5:], channel=self.target_channel):
+                    self._report_error(
+                        f'yt-dlp cannot be updated above {tag} since you are on an older Python version', True)
+                    return f'tags/{self.current_version}'
+        return self.target_tag
 
     @cached_method
     def _get_version_info(self, tag):
-        self.ydl.write_debug(f'Fetching release info: {API_URL}/{tag}')
+        url = f'{API_BASE_URL}/{self._target_repo}/releases/{tag}'
-        return json.loads(self.ydl.urlopen(f'{API_URL}/{tag}').read().decode())
+        self.ydl.write_debug(f'Fetching release info: {url}')
+        return json.loads(self.ydl.urlopen(sanitized_Request(url, headers={
+            'Accept': 'application/vnd.github+json',
+            'User-Agent': 'yt-dlp',
+            'X-GitHub-Api-Version': '2022-11-28',
+        })).read().decode())
 
     @property
     def current_version(self):
         """Current version"""
         return __version__
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def _label(channel, tag):
+        """Label for a given channel and tag"""
+        return f'{channel}@{remove_start(tag, "tags/")}'
+
+    def _get_actual_tag(self, tag):
+        if tag.startswith('tags/'):
+            return tag[5:]
+        return self._get_version_info(tag)['tag_name']
+
     @property
     def new_version(self):
         """Version of the latest release we can update to"""
-        if self._tag.startswith('tags/'):
+        return self._get_actual_tag(self._tag)
-            return self._tag[5:]
-        return self._get_version_info(self._tag)['tag_name']
 
     @property
     def latest_version(self):
-        """Version of the latest release"""
+        """Version of the target release"""
-        return self._get_version_info('latest')['tag_name']
+        return self._get_actual_tag(self.target_tag)
 
     @property
     def has_update(self):
         """Whether there is an update available"""
-        return version_tuple(__version__) < version_tuple(self.new_version)
+        return not self._version_compare(self.current_version, self.new_version)
 
     @functools.cached_property
     def filename(self):
@@ -160,10 +222,8 @@ class Updater:
         return compat_realpath(_get_variant_and_executable_path()[1])
 
     def _download(self, name, tag):
-        url = traverse_obj(self._get_version_info(tag), (
+        slug = 'latest/download' if tag == 'latest' else f'download/{tag[5:]}'
-            'assets', lambda _, v: v['name'] == name, 'browser_download_url'), get_all=False)
+        url = f'https://github.com/{self._target_repo}/releases/{slug}/{name}'
-        if not url:
-            raise Exception('Unable to find download URL')
         self.ydl.write_debug(f'Downloading {name} from {url}')
         return self.ydl.urlopen(url).read()
 
@@ -186,24 +246,32 @@ class Updater:
         self._report_error(f'Unable to write to {file}; Try running as administrator', True)
 
     def _report_network_error(self, action, delim=';'):
-        self._report_error(f'Unable to {action}{delim} Visit  https://github.com/{REPOSITORY}/releases/latest', True)
+        self._report_error(
+            f'Unable to {action}{delim} visit  '
+            f'https://github.com/{self._target_repo}/releases/{self.target_tag.replace("tags/", "tag/")}', True)
 
     def check_update(self):
         """Report whether there is an update available"""
+        if not self._target_repo:
+            return False
         try:
-            self.ydl.to_screen(
+            self.ydl.to_screen((
-                f'Latest version: {self.latest_version}, Current version: {self.current_version}')
+                f'Available version: {self._label(self.target_channel, self.latest_version)}, ' if self.target_tag == 'latest' else ''
-            if not self.has_update:
+            ) + f'Current version: {self._label(CHANNEL, self.current_version)}')
-                if self._tag == 'latest':
-                    return self.ydl.to_screen(f'yt-dlp is up to date ({__version__})')
-                return self.ydl.report_warning(
-                    'yt-dlp cannot be updated any further since you are on an older Python version')
         except Exception:
             return self._report_network_error('obtain version info', delim='; Please try again later or')
 
         if not is_non_updateable():
-            self.ydl.to_screen(f'Current Build Hash {_sha256_file(self.filename)}')
+            self.ydl.to_screen(f'Current Build Hash: {_sha256_file(self.filename)}')
-        return True
+
+        if self.has_update:
+            return True
+
+        if self.target_tag == self._tag:
+            self.ydl.to_screen(f'yt-dlp is up to date ({self._label(CHANNEL, self.current_version)})')
+        elif not self._exact:
+            self.ydl.report_warning('yt-dlp cannot be updated any further since you are on an older Python version')
+        return False
 
     def update(self):
         """Update yt-dlp executable to the latest version"""
@@ -212,7 +280,10 @@ class Updater:
         err = is_non_updateable()
         if err:
             return self._report_error(err, True)
-        self.ydl.to_screen(f'Updating to version {self.new_version} ...')
+        self.ydl.to_screen(f'Updating to {self._label(self.target_channel, self.new_version)} ...')
+        if (_VERSION_RE.fullmatch(self.target_tag[5:])
+                and version_tuple(self.target_tag[5:]) < (2023, 3, 2)):
+            self.ydl.report_warning('You are downgrading to a version without --update-to')
 
         directory = os.path.dirname(self.filename)
         if not os.access(self.filename, os.W_OK):
@@ -232,10 +303,11 @@ class Updater:
 
         try:
             newcontent = self._download(self.release_name, self._tag)
-        except OSError:
+        except Exception as e:
-            return self._report_network_error('download latest version')
+            if isinstance(e, urllib.error.HTTPError) and e.code == 404:
-        except Exception:
+                return self._report_error(
-            return self._report_network_error('fetch updates')
+                    f'The requested tag {self._label(self.target_channel, self.target_tag)} does not exist', True)
+            return self._report_network_error(f'fetch updates: {e}')
 
         try:
             expected_hash = self.release_hash
@@ -280,7 +352,7 @@ class Updater:
                 return self._report_error(
                     f'Unable to set permissions. Run: sudo chmod a+rx {compat_shlex_quote(self.filename)}')
 
-        self.ydl.to_screen(f'Updated yt-dlp to version {self.new_version}')
+        self.ydl.to_screen(f'Updated yt-dlp to {self._label(self.target_channel, self.new_version)}')
         return True
 
     @functools.cached_property
@@ -346,3 +418,6 @@ def update_self(to_screen, verbose, opener):
             return opener.open(url)
 
     return run_update(FakeYDL())
+
+
+__all__ = ['Updater']

yt_dlp/version.py

@@ -7,3 +7,5 @@ RELEASE_GIT_HEAD = 'a0a7c0154'
 VARIANT = None
 
 UPDATE_HINT = None
+
+CHANNEL = 'stable'