# YT-DLP [![Release version](https://img.shields.io/github/v/release/yt-dlp/yt-dlp?color=brightgreen&label=Release)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest) [![License: Unlicense](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-Unlicense-blue.svg)](LICENSE) [![CI Status](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/workflows/Core%20Tests/badge.svg?branch=master)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/actions) [![Discord](https://img.shields.io/discord/807245652072857610?color=blue&label=discord&logo=discord)](https://discord.gg/S75JaBna) [![Commits](https://img.shields.io/github/commit-activity/m/yt-dlp/yt-dlp?label=commits)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits) [![Last Commit](https://img.shields.io/github/last-commit/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/master)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits) [![Downloads](https://img.shields.io/github/downloads/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/total)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest) [![PyPi Downloads](https://img.shields.io/pypi/dm/yt-dlp?label=PyPi)](https://pypi.org/project/yt-dlp) [![Doc Status](https://readthedocs.org/projects/yt-dlp/badge/?version=latest)](https://yt-dlp.readthedocs.io) A command-line program to download videos from youtube.com and many other [video platforms](supportedsites.md) This is a fork of [youtube-dlc](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc) which is inturn a fork of [youtube-dl](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl) * [NEW FEATURES](#new-features) * [INSTALLATION](#installation) * [Update](#update) * [Compile](#compile) * [DESCRIPTION](#description) * [OPTIONS](#options) * [Network Options](#network-options) * [Geo Restriction](#geo-restriction) * [Video Selection](#video-selection) * [Download Options](#download-options) * [Filesystem Options](#filesystem-options) * [Thumbnail images](#thumbnail-images) * [Internet Shortcut Options](#internet-shortcut-options) * [Verbosity and Simulation Options](#verbosity-and-simulation-options) * [Workarounds](#workarounds) * [Video Format Options](#video-format-options) * [Subtitle Options](#subtitle-options) * [Authentication Options](#authentication-options) * [Adobe Pass Options](#adobe-pass-options) * [Post-processing Options](#post-processing-options) * [SponSkrub (SponsorBlock) Options](#sponskrub-sponsorblock-options) * [Extractor Options](#extractor-options) * [CONFIGURATION](#configuration) * [Authentication with .netrc file](#authentication-with-netrc-file) * [OUTPUT TEMPLATE](#output-template) * [Output template and Windows batch files](#output-template-and-windows-batch-files) * [Output template examples](#output-template-examples) * [FORMAT SELECTION](#format-selection) * [Filtering Formats](#filtering-formats) * [Sorting Formats](#sorting-formats) * [Format Selection examples](#format-selection-examples) * [PLUGINS](#plugins) * [MORE](#more) # NEW FEATURES The major new features from the latest release of [blackjack4494/yt-dlc](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc) are: * **[SponSkrub Integration](#sponskrub-sponsorblock-options)**: You can use [SponSkrub](https://github.com/yt-dlp/SponSkrub) to mark/remove sponsor sections in youtube videos by utilizing the [SponsorBlock](https://sponsor.ajay.app) API * **[Format Sorting](#sorting-formats)**: The default format sorting options have been changed so that higher resolution and better codecs will be now preferred instead of simply using larger bitrate. Furthermore, you can now specify the sort order using `-S`. This allows for much easier format selection that what is possible by simply using `--format` ([examples](#format-selection-examples)) * **Merged with youtube-dl v2021.02.22**: You get all the latest features and patches of [youtube-dl](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl) in addition to all the features of [youtube-dlc](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc) * **Merged with animelover1984/youtube-dl**: You get most of the features and improvements from [animelover1984/youtube-dl](https://github.com/animelover1984/youtube-dl) including `--get-comments`, `BiliBiliSearch`, `BilibiliChannel`, Embedding thumbnail in mp4/ogg/opus, Playlist infojson etc. Note that the NicoNico improvements are not available. See [#31](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/pull/31) for details. * **Youtube improvements**: * All Youtube Feeds (`:ytfav`, `:ytwatchlater`, `:ytsubs`, `:ythistory`, `:ytrec`) works correctly and supports downloading multiple pages of content * Youtube search (`ytsearch:`, `ytsearchdate:`) along with Search URLs works correctly * Redirect channel's home URL automatically to `/video` to preserve the old behaviour * **Aria2c with HLS/DASH**: You can use aria2c as the external downloader for DASH(mpd) and HLS(m3u8) formats. No more slow ffmpeg/native downloads * **New extractors**: AnimeLab, Philo MSO, Rcs, Gedi, bitwave.tv, mildom, audius, zee5 * **Fixed extractors**: archive.org, roosterteeth.com, skyit, instagram, itv, SouthparkDe, spreaker, Vlive, tiktok, akamai, ina, rumble, tennistv * **Plugin support**: Extractors can be loaded from an external file. See [plugins](#plugins) for details * **Multiple paths and output templates**: You can give different [output templates](#output-template) and download paths for different types of files. You can also set a temporary path where intermediary files are downloaded to. See [`--paths`](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/#:~:text=-P,%20--paths%20TYPE:PATH) for details * **Portable Configuration**: Configuration files are automatically loaded from the home and root directories. See [configuration](#configuration) for details * **Other new options**: `--parse-metadata`, `--list-formats-as-table`, `--write-link`, `--force-download-archive`, `--force-overwrites`, `--break-on-reject` etc * **Improvements**: Multiple `--postprocessor-args` and `--external-downloader-args`, Date/time formatting in `-o`, faster archive checking, more [format selection options](#format-selection) etc * **Self-updater**: The releases can be updated using `yt-dlp -U` See [changelog](Changelog.md) or [commits](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits) for the full list of changes **PS**: Some of these changes are already in youtube-dlc, but are still unreleased. See [this](Changelog.md#unreleased-changes-in-blackjack4494yt-dlc) for details If you are coming from [youtube-dl](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl), the amount of changes are very large. Compare [options](#options) and [supported sites](supportedsites.md) with youtube-dl's to get an idea of the massive number of features/patches [youtube-dlc](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc) has accumulated. # INSTALLATION You can install yt-dlp using one of the following methods: * Download the binary from the [latest release](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest) (recommended method) * Use [PyPI package](https://pypi.org/project/yt-dlp): `python -m pip install --upgrade yt-dlp` * Use pip+git: `python -m pip install --upgrade git+https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp.git@release` * Install master branch: `python -m pip install --upgrade git+https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp` ### UPDATE Starting from version `2021.02.09`, you can use `yt-dlp -U` to update if you are using the provided release. If you are using `pip`, simply re-run the same command that was used to install the program. ### COMPILE **For Windows**: To build the Windows executable, you must have pyinstaller (and optionally mutagen and pycryptodome) python -m pip install --upgrade pyinstaller mutagen pycryptodome Once you have all the necessary dependancies installed, just run `py pyinst.py`. The executable will be built for the same architecture (32/64 bit) as the python used to build it. It is strongly reccomended to use python3 although python2.6+ is supported. You can also build the executable without any version info or metadata by using: pyinstaller.exe yt_dlp\__main__.py --onefile --name yt-dlp **For Unix**: You will need the required build tools: `python`, `make` (GNU), `pandoc`, `zip`, `nosetests` Then simply run `make`. You can also run `make yt-dlp` instead to compile only the binary without updating any of the additional files **Note**: In either platform, `devscripts\update-version.py` can be used to automatically update the version number # DESCRIPTION **yt-dlp** is a command-line program to download videos from youtube.com many other [video platforms](supportedsites.md). It requires the Python interpreter, version 2.6, 2.7, or 3.2+, and it is not platform specific. It should work on your Unix box, on Windows or on macOS. It is released to the public domain, which means you can modify it, redistribute it or use it however you like. yt-dlp [OPTIONS] [--] URL [URL...] # OPTIONS `Ctrl+F` is your friend :D ## General Options: -h, --help Print this help text and exit --version Print program version and exit -U, --update Update this program to latest version. Make sure that you have sufficient permissions (run with sudo if needed) -i, --ignore-errors Continue on download errors, for example to skip unavailable videos in a playlist (default) (Alias: --no-abort-on-error) --abort-on-error Abort downloading of further videos if an error occurs (Alias: --no-ignore-errors) --dump-user-agent Display the current browser identification --list-extractors List all supported extractors --extractor-descriptions Output descriptions of all supported extractors --force-generic-extractor Force extraction to use the generic extractor --default-search PREFIX Use this prefix for unqualified URLs. For example "gvsearch2:" downloads two videos from google videos for youtube-dl "large apple". Use the value "auto" to let youtube-dl guess ("auto_warning" to emit a warning when guessing). "error" just throws an error. The default value "fixup_error" repairs broken URLs, but emits an error if this is not possible instead of searching --ignore-config, --no-config Disable loading any configuration files except the one provided by --config-location. When given inside a configuration file, no further configuration files are loaded. Additionally, (for backward compatibility) if this option is found inside the system configuration file, the user configuration is not loaded --config-location PATH Location of the main configuration file; either the path to the config or its containing directory --flat-playlist Do not extract the videos of a playlist, only list them --no-flat-playlist Extract the videos of a playlist --mark-watched Mark videos watched (YouTube only) --no-mark-watched Do not mark videos watched --no-colors Do not emit color codes in output ## Network Options: --proxy URL Use the specified HTTP/HTTPS/SOCKS proxy. To enable SOCKS proxy, specify a proper scheme. For example socks5://127.0.0.1:1080/. Pass in an empty string (--proxy "") for direct connection --socket-timeout SECONDS Time to wait before giving up, in seconds --source-address IP Client-side IP address to bind to -4, --force-ipv4 Make all connections via IPv4 -6, --force-ipv6 Make all connections via IPv6 ## Geo Restriction: --geo-verification-proxy URL Use this proxy to verify the IP address for some geo-restricted sites. The default proxy specified by --proxy (or none, if the option is not present) is used for the actual downloading --geo-bypass Bypass geographic restriction via faking X-Forwarded-For HTTP header --no-geo-bypass Do not bypass geographic restriction via faking X-Forwarded-For HTTP header --geo-bypass-country CODE Force bypass geographic restriction with explicitly provided two-letter ISO 3166-2 country code --geo-bypass-ip-block IP_BLOCK Force bypass geographic restriction with explicitly provided IP block in CIDR notation ## Video Selection: --playlist-start NUMBER Playlist video to start at (default is 1) --playlist-end NUMBER Playlist video to end at (default is last) --playlist-items ITEM_SPEC Playlist video items to download. Specify indices of the videos in the playlist separated by commas like: "--playlist-items 1,2,5,8" if you want to download videos indexed 1, 2, 5, 8 in the playlist. You can specify range: "--playlist-items 1-3,7,10-13", it will download the videos at index 1, 2, 3, 7, 10, 11, 12 and 13 --match-title REGEX Download only matching titles (regex or caseless sub-string) --reject-title REGEX Skip download for matching titles (regex or caseless sub-string) --max-downloads NUMBER Abort after downloading NUMBER files --min-filesize SIZE Do not download any videos smaller than SIZE (e.g. 50k or 44.6m) --max-filesize SIZE Do not download any videos larger than SIZE (e.g. 50k or 44.6m) --date DATE Download only videos uploaded in this date. The date can be "YYYYMMDD" or in the format "(now|today)[+-][0-9](day|week|month|year)(s)?" --datebefore DATE Download only videos uploaded on or before this date. The date formats accepted is the same as --date --dateafter DATE Download only videos uploaded on or after this date. The date formats accepted is the same as --date --min-views COUNT Do not download any videos with less than COUNT views --max-views COUNT Do not download any videos with more than COUNT views --match-filter FILTER Generic video filter. Specify any key (see "OUTPUT TEMPLATE" for a list of available keys) to match if the key is present, !key to check if the key is not present, key>NUMBER (like "view_count > 12", also works with >=, <, <=, !=, =) to compare against a number, key = 'LITERAL' (like "uploader = 'Mike Smith'", also works with !=) to match against a string literal and & to require multiple matches. Values which are not known are excluded unless you put a question mark (?) after the operator. For example, to only match videos that have been liked more than 100 times and disliked less than 50 times (or the dislike functionality is not available at the given service), but who also have a description, use --match-filter "like_count > 100 & dislike_count m4a/mov>mp4/mkv" will remux aac to m4a, mov to mp4 and anything else to mkv. --recode-video FORMAT Re-encode the video into another format if re-encoding is necessary. The supported formats are the same as --remux-video --postprocessor-args NAME:ARGS Give these arguments to the postprocessors. Specify the postprocessor/executable name and the arguments separated by a colon ":" to give the argument to the specified postprocessor/executable. Supported postprocessors are: SponSkrub, ExtractAudio, VideoRemuxer, VideoConvertor, EmbedSubtitle, Metadata, Merger, FixupStretched, FixupM4a, FixupM3u8, SubtitlesConvertor and EmbedThumbnail. The supported executables are: SponSkrub, FFmpeg, FFprobe, and AtomicParsley. You can also specify "PP+EXE:ARGS" to give the arguments to the specified executable only when being used by the specified postprocessor. Additionally, for ffmpeg/ffprobe, a number can be appended to the exe name seperated by "_i" to pass the argument before the specified input file. Eg: --ppa "Merger+ffmpeg_i1:-v quiet". You can use this option multiple times to give different arguments to different postprocessors. (Alias: --ppa) -k, --keep-video Keep the intermediate video file on disk after post-processing --no-keep-video Delete the intermediate video file after post-processing (default) --post-overwrites Overwrite post-processed files (default) --no-post-overwrites Do not overwrite post-processed files --embed-subs Embed subtitles in the video (only for mp4, webm and mkv videos) --no-embed-subs Do not embed subtitles (default) --embed-thumbnail Embed thumbnail in the audio as cover art --no-embed-thumbnail Do not embed thumbnail (default) --add-metadata Write metadata to the video file --no-add-metadata Do not write metadata (default) --parse-metadata FIELD:FORMAT Parse additional metadata like title/artist from other fields. Give field name to extract data from, and format of the field seperated by a ":". Either regular expression with named capture groups or a similar syntax to the output template can also be used. The parsed parameters replace any existing values and can be use in output template. This option can be used multiple times. Example: --parse-metadata "title:%(artist)s - %(title)s" matches a title like "Coldplay - Paradise". Example (regex): --parse-metadata "description:Artist - (?P.+?)" --xattrs Write metadata to the video file's xattrs (using dublin core and xdg standards) --fixup POLICY Automatically correct known faults of the file. One of never (do nothing), warn (only emit a warning), detect_or_warn (the default; fix file if we can, warn otherwise) --ffmpeg-location PATH Location of the ffmpeg binary; either the path to the binary or its containing directory --exec CMD Execute a command on the file after downloading and post-processing, similar to find's -exec syntax. Example: --exec 'adb push {} /sdcard/Music/ && rm {}' --convert-subs FORMAT Convert the subtitles to other format (currently supported: srt|ass|vtt|lrc) ## SponSkrub (SponsorBlock) Options: [SponSkrub](https://github.com/yt-dlp/SponSkrub) is a utility to mark/remove sponsor segments from downloaded YouTube videos using [SponsorBlock API](https://sponsor.ajay.app) --sponskrub Use sponskrub to mark sponsored sections. This is enabled by default if the sponskrub binary exists (Youtube only) --no-sponskrub Do not use sponskrub --sponskrub-cut Cut out the sponsor sections instead of simply marking them --no-sponskrub-cut Simply mark the sponsor sections, not cut them out (default) --sponskrub-force Run sponskrub even if the video was already downloaded --no-sponskrub-force Do not cut out the sponsor sections if the video was already downloaded (default) --sponskrub-location PATH Location of the sponskrub binary; either the path to the binary or its containing directory ## Extractor Options: --extractor-retries RETRIES Number of retries for known extractor errors (default is 3), or "infinite" --allow-dynamic-mpd Process dynamic DASH manifests (default) (Alias: --no-ignore-dynamic-mpd) --ignore-dynamic-mpd Do not process dynamic DASH manifests (Alias: --no-allow-dynamic-mpd) --hls-split-discontinuity Split HLS playlists to different formats at discontinuities such as ad breaks --no-hls-split-discontinuity Do not split HLS playlists to different formats at discontinuities such as ad breaks (default) --youtube-include-dash-manifest Download the DASH manifests and related data on YouTube videos (default) (Alias: --no-youtube-skip-dash-manifest) --youtube-skip-dash-manifest Do not download the DASH manifests and related data on YouTube videos (Alias: --no-youtube-include-dash-manifest) --youtube-include-hls-manifest Download the HLS manifests and related data on YouTube videos (default) (Alias: --no-youtube-skip-hls-manifest) --youtube-skip-hls-manifest Do not download the HLS manifests and related data on YouTube videos (Alias: --no-youtube-include-hls-manifest) # CONFIGURATION You can configure yt-dlp by placing any supported command line option to a configuration file. The configuration is loaded from the following locations: 1. **Main Configuration**: The file given by `--config-location` 1. **Portable Configuration**: `yt-dlp.conf` in the same directory as the bundled binary. If you are running from source-code (`/yt_dlp/__main__.py`), the root directory is used instead. 1. **Home Configuration**: `yt-dlp.conf` in the home path given by `-P "home:"`, or in the current directory if no such path is given 1. **User Configuration**: * `%XDG_CONFIG_HOME%/yt-dlp/config` (recommended on Linux/macOS) * `%XDG_CONFIG_HOME%/yt-dlp.conf` * `%APPDATA%/yt-dlp/config` (recommended on Windows) * `%APPDATA%/yt-dlp/config.txt` * `~/yt-dlp.conf` * `~/yt-dlp.conf.txt` Note that `~` points to `C:\Users\` on windows. Also, `%XDG_CONFIG_HOME%` defaults to `~/.config` if undefined 1. **System Configuration**: `/etc/yt-dlp.conf` or `/etc/yt-dlp.conf` For example, with the following configuration file yt-dlp will always extract the audio, not copy the mtime, use a proxy and save all videos under `YouTube` directory in your home directory: ``` # Lines starting with # are comments # Always extract audio -x # Do not copy the mtime --no-mtime # Use this proxy --proxy 127.0.0.1:3128 # Save all videos under YouTube directory in your home directory -o ~/YouTube/%(title)s.%(ext)s ``` Note that options in configuration file are just the same options aka switches used in regular command line calls; thus there **must be no whitespace** after `-` or `--`, e.g. `-o` or `--proxy` but not `- o` or `-- proxy`. You can use `--ignore-config` if you want to disable all configuration files for a particular yt-dlp run. If `--ignore-config` is found inside any configuration file, no further configuration will be loaded. For example, having the option in the portable configuration file prevents loading of user and system configurations. Additionally, (for backward compatibility) if `--ignore-config` is found inside the system configuration file, the user configuration is not loaded. ### Authentication with `.netrc` file You may also want to configure automatic credentials storage for extractors that support authentication (by providing login and password with `--username` and `--password`) in order not to pass credentials as command line arguments on every yt-dlp execution and prevent tracking plain text passwords in the shell command history. You can achieve this using a [`.netrc` file](https://stackoverflow.com/tags/.netrc/info) on a per extractor basis. For that you will need to create a `.netrc` file in your `$HOME` and restrict permissions to read/write by only you: ``` touch $HOME/.netrc chmod a-rwx,u+rw $HOME/.netrc ``` After that you can add credentials for an extractor in the following format, where *extractor* is the name of the extractor in lowercase: ``` machine login password ``` For example: ``` machine youtube login myaccount@gmail.com password my_youtube_password machine twitch login my_twitch_account_name password my_twitch_password ``` To activate authentication with the `.netrc` file you should pass `--netrc` to yt-dlp or place it in the [configuration file](#configuration). On Windows you may also need to setup the `%HOME%` environment variable manually. For example: ``` set HOME=%USERPROFILE% ``` # OUTPUT TEMPLATE The `-o` option is used to indicate a template for the output file names while `-P` option is used to specify the path each type of file should be saved to. **tl;dr:** [navigate me to examples](#output-template-examples). The basic usage of `-o` is not to set any template arguments when downloading a single file, like in `yt-dlp -o funny_video.flv "https://some/video"`. However, it may contain special sequences that will be replaced when downloading each video. The special sequences may be formatted according to [python string formatting operations](https://docs.python.org/2/library/stdtypes.html#string-formatting). For example, `%(NAME)s` or `%(NAME)05d`. To clarify, that is a percent symbol followed by a name in parentheses, followed by formatting operations. Date/time fields can also be formatted according to [strftime formatting](https://docs.python.org/3/library/datetime.html#strftime-and-strptime-format-codes) by specifying it inside the parantheses seperated from the field name using a `>`. For example, `%(duration>%H-%M-%S)s`. Additionally, you can set different output templates for the various metadata files seperately from the general output template by specifying the type of file followed by the template seperated by a colon ":". The different filetypes supported are `subtitle|thumbnail|description|annotation|infojson|pl_description|pl_infojson`. For example, `-o '%(title)s.%(ext)s' -o 'thumbnail:%(title)s\%(title)s.%(ext)s'` will put the thumbnails in a folder with the same name as the video. The available fields are: - `id` (string): Video identifier - `title` (string): Video title - `url` (string): Video URL - `ext` (string): Video filename extension - `alt_title` (string): A secondary title of the video - `display_id` (string): An alternative identifier for the video - `uploader` (string): Full name of the video uploader - `license` (string): License name the video is licensed under - `creator` (string): The creator of the video - `release_date` (string): The date (YYYYMMDD) when the video was released - `timestamp` (numeric): UNIX timestamp of the moment the video became available - `upload_date` (string): Video upload date (YYYYMMDD) - `uploader_id` (string): Nickname or id of the video uploader - `channel` (string): Full name of the channel the video is uploaded on - `channel_id` (string): Id of the channel - `location` (string): Physical location where the video was filmed - `duration` (numeric): Length of the video in seconds - `duration_string` (string): Length of the video (HH-mm-ss) - `view_count` (numeric): How many users have watched the video on the platform - `like_count` (numeric): Number of positive ratings of the video - `dislike_count` (numeric): Number of negative ratings of the video - `repost_count` (numeric): Number of reposts of the video - `average_rating` (numeric): Average rating give by users, the scale used depends on the webpage - `comment_count` (numeric): Number of comments on the video (For some extractors, comments are only downloaded at the end, and so this field cannot be used) - `age_limit` (numeric): Age restriction for the video (years) - `is_live` (boolean): Whether this video is a live stream or a fixed-length video - `was_live` (boolean): Whether this video was originally a live stream - `playable_in_embed` (string): Whether this video is allowed to play in embedded players on other sites - `start_time` (numeric): Time in seconds where the reproduction should start, as specified in the URL - `end_time` (numeric): Time in seconds where the reproduction should end, as specified in the URL - `format` (string): A human-readable description of the format - `format_id` (string): Format code specified by `--format` - `format_note` (string): Additional info about the format - `width` (numeric): Width of the video - `height` (numeric): Height of the video - `resolution` (string): Textual description of width and height - `tbr` (numeric): Average bitrate of audio and video in KBit/s - `abr` (numeric): Average audio bitrate in KBit/s - `acodec` (string): Name of the audio codec in use - `asr` (numeric): Audio sampling rate in Hertz - `vbr` (numeric): Average video bitrate in KBit/s - `fps` (numeric): Frame rate - `vcodec` (string): Name of the video codec in use - `container` (string): Name of the container format - `filesize` (numeric): The number of bytes, if known in advance - `filesize_approx` (numeric): An estimate for the number of bytes - `protocol` (string): The protocol that will be used for the actual download - `extractor` (string): Name of the extractor - `extractor_key` (string): Key name of the extractor - `epoch` (numeric): Unix epoch when creating the file - `autonumber` (numeric): Number that will be increased with each download, starting at `--autonumber-start` - `playlist` (string): Name or id of the playlist that contains the video - `playlist_index` (numeric): Index of the video in the playlist padded with leading zeros according to the total length of the playlist - `playlist_id` (string): Playlist identifier - `playlist_title` (string): Playlist title - `playlist_uploader` (string): Full name of the playlist uploader - `playlist_uploader_id` (string): Nickname or id of the playlist uploader Available for the video that belongs to some logical chapter or section: - `chapter` (string): Name or title of the chapter the video belongs to - `chapter_number` (numeric): Number of the chapter the video belongs to - `chapter_id` (string): Id of the chapter the video belongs to Available for the video that is an episode of some series or programme: - `series` (string): Title of the series or programme the video episode belongs to - `season` (string): Title of the season the video episode belongs to - `season_number` (numeric): Number of the season the video episode belongs to - `season_id` (string): Id of the season the video episode belongs to - `episode` (string): Title of the video episode - `episode_number` (numeric): Number of the video episode within a season - `episode_id` (string): Id of the video episode Available for the media that is a track or a part of a music album: - `track` (string): Title of the track - `track_number` (numeric): Number of the track within an album or a disc - `track_id` (string): Id of the track - `artist` (string): Artist(s) of the track - `genre` (string): Genre(s) of the track - `album` (string): Title of the album the track belongs to - `album_type` (string): Type of the album - `album_artist` (string): List of all artists appeared on the album - `disc_number` (numeric): Number of the disc or other physical medium the track belongs to - `release_year` (numeric): Year (YYYY) when the album was released Each aforementioned sequence when referenced in an output template will be replaced by the actual value corresponding to the sequence name. Note that some of the sequences are not guaranteed to be present since they depend on the metadata obtained by a particular extractor. Such sequences will be replaced with placeholder value provided with `--output-na-placeholder` (`NA` by default). For example for `-o %(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s` and an mp4 video with title `yt-dlp test video` and id `BaW_jenozKcj`, this will result in a `yt-dlp test video-BaW_jenozKcj.mp4` file created in the current directory. For numeric sequences you can use numeric related formatting, for example, `%(view_count)05d` will result in a string with view count padded with zeros up to 5 characters, like in `00042`. Output templates can also contain arbitrary hierarchical path, e.g. `-o '%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s'` which will result in downloading each video in a directory corresponding to this path template. Any missing directory will be automatically created for you. To use percent literals in an output template use `%%`. To output to stdout use `-o -`. The current default template is `%(title)s [%(id)s].%(ext)s`. In some cases, you don't want special characters such as 中, spaces, or &, such as when transferring the downloaded filename to a Windows system or the filename through an 8bit-unsafe channel. In these cases, add the `--restrict-filenames` flag to get a shorter title: #### Output template and Windows batch files If you are using an output template inside a Windows batch file then you must escape plain percent characters (`%`) by doubling, so that `-o "%(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s"` should become `-o "%%(title)s-%%(id)s.%%(ext)s"`. However you should not touch `%`'s that are not plain characters, e.g. environment variables for expansion should stay intact: `-o "C:\%HOMEPATH%\Desktop\%%(title)s.%%(ext)s"`. #### Output template examples Note that on Windows you need to use double quotes instead of single. ```bash $ yt-dlp --get-filename -o '%(title)s.%(ext)s' BaW_jenozKc youtube-dl test video ''_ä↭𝕐.mp4 # All kinds of weird characters $ yt-dlp --get-filename -o '%(title)s.%(ext)s' BaW_jenozKc --restrict-filenames youtube-dl_test_video_.mp4 # A simple file name # Download YouTube playlist videos in separate directory indexed by video order in a playlist $ yt-dlp -o '%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s' https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwiyx1dc3P2JR9N8gQaQN_BCvlSlap7re # Download YouTube playlist videos in seperate directories according to their uploaded year $ yt-dlp -o '%(upload_date>%Y)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s' https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwiyx1dc3P2JR9N8gQaQN_BCvlSlap7re # Download all playlists of YouTube channel/user keeping each playlist in separate directory: $ yt-dlp -o '%(uploader)s/%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s' https://www.youtube.com/user/TheLinuxFoundation/playlists # Download Udemy course keeping each chapter in separate directory under MyVideos directory in your home $ yt-dlp -u user -p password -P '~/MyVideos' -o '%(playlist)s/%(chapter_number)s - %(chapter)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s' https://www.udemy.com/java-tutorial/ # Download entire series season keeping each series and each season in separate directory under C:/MyVideos $ yt-dlp -P "C:/MyVideos" -o "%(series)s/%(season_number)s - %(season)s/%(episode_number)s - %(episode)s.%(ext)s" https://videomore.ru/kino_v_detalayah/5_sezon/367617 # Stream the video being downloaded to stdout $ yt-dlp -o - BaW_jenozKc ``` # FORMAT SELECTION By default, yt-dlp tries to download the best available quality if you **don't** pass any options. This is generally equivalent to using `-f bestvideo*+bestaudio/best`. However, if multiple audiostreams is enabled (`--audio-multistreams`), the default format changes to `-f bestvideo+bestaudio/best`. Similarly, if ffmpeg is unavailable, or if you use yt-dlp to stream to `stdout` (`-o -`), the default becomes `-f best/bestvideo+bestaudio`. The general syntax for format selection is `--f FORMAT` (or `--format FORMAT`) where `FORMAT` is a *selector expression*, i.e. an expression that describes format or formats you would like to download. **tl;dr:** [navigate me to examples](#format-selection-examples). The simplest case is requesting a specific format, for example with `-f 22` you can download the format with format code equal to 22. You can get the list of available format codes for particular video using `--list-formats` or `-F`. Note that these format codes are extractor specific. You can also use a file extension (currently `3gp`, `aac`, `flv`, `m4a`, `mp3`, `mp4`, `ogg`, `wav`, `webm` are supported) to download the best quality format of a particular file extension served as a single file, e.g. `-f webm` will download the best quality format with the `webm` extension served as a single file. You can also use special names to select particular edge case formats: - `all`: Select all formats - `b*`, `best*`: Select the best quality format irrespective of whether it contains video or audio. - `w*`, `worst*`: Select the worst quality format irrespective of whether it contains video or audio. - `b`, `best`: Select the best quality format that contains both video and audio. Equivalent to `best*[vcodec!=none][acodec!=none]` - `w`, `worst`: Select the worst quality format that contains both video and audio. Equivalent to `worst*[vcodec!=none][acodec!=none]` - `bv`, `bestvideo`: Select the best quality video-only format. Equivalent to `best*[acodec=none]` - `wv`, `worstvideo`: Select the worst quality video-only format. Equivalent to `worst*[acodec=none]` - `bv*`, `bestvideo*`: Select the best quality format that contains video. It may also contain audio. Equivalent to `best*[vcodec!=none]` - `wv*`, `worstvideo*`: Select the worst quality format that contains video. It may also contain audio. Equivalent to `worst*[vcodec!=none]` - `ba`, `bestaudio`: Select the best quality audio-only format. Equivalent to `best*[vcodec=none]` - `wa`, `worstaudio`: Select the worst quality audio-only format. Equivalent to `worst*[vcodec=none]` - `ba*`, `bestaudio*`: Select the best quality format that contains audio. It may also contain video. Equivalent to `best*[acodec!=none]` - `wa*`, `worstaudio*`: Select the worst quality format that contains audio. It may also contain video. Equivalent to `worst*[acodec!=none]` For example, to download the worst quality video-only format you can use `-f worstvideo`. It is however recomended to never actually use `worst` and related options. When your format selector is `worst`, the format which is worst in all respects is selected. Most of the time, what you actually want is the video with the smallest filesize instead. So it is generally better to use `-f best -S +size,+br,+res,+fps` instead of `-f worst`. See [sorting formats](#sorting-formats) for more details. If you want to download multiple videos and they don't have the same formats available, you can specify the order of preference using slashes. Note that formats on the left hand side are preferred, for example `-f 22/17/18` will download format 22 if it's available, otherwise it will download format 17 if it's available, otherwise it will download format 18 if it's available, otherwise it will complain that no suitable formats are available for download. If you want to download several formats of the same video use a comma as a separator, e.g. `-f 22,17,18` will download all these three formats, of course if they are available. Or a more sophisticated example combined with the precedence feature: `-f 136/137/mp4/bestvideo,140/m4a/bestaudio`. You can merge the video and audio of multiple formats into a single file using `-f ++...` (requires ffmpeg installed), for example `-f bestvideo+bestaudio` will download the best video-only format, the best audio-only format and mux them together with ffmpeg. If `--no-video-multistreams` is used, all formats with a video stream except the first one are ignored. Similarly, if `--no-audio-multistreams` is used, all formats with an audio stream except the first one are ignored. For example, `-f bestvideo+best+bestaudio` will download and merge all 3 given formats. The resulting file will have 2 video streams and 2 audio streams. But `-f bestvideo+best+bestaudio --no-video-multistreams` will download and merge only `bestvideo` and `bestaudio`. `best` is ignored since another format containing a video stream (`bestvideo`) has already been selected. The order of the formats is therefore important. `-f best+bestaudio --no-audio-multistreams` will download and merge both formats while `-f bestaudio+best --no-audio-multistreams` will ignore `best` and download only `bestaudio`. ## Filtering Formats You can also filter the video formats by putting a condition in brackets, as in `-f "best[height=720]"` (or `-f "[filesize>10M]"`). The following numeric meta fields can be used with comparisons `<`, `<=`, `>`, `>=`, `=` (equals), `!=` (not equals): - `filesize`: The number of bytes, if known in advance - `width`: Width of the video, if known - `height`: Height of the video, if known - `tbr`: Average bitrate of audio and video in KBit/s - `abr`: Average audio bitrate in KBit/s - `vbr`: Average video bitrate in KBit/s - `asr`: Audio sampling rate in Hertz - `fps`: Frame rate Also filtering work for comparisons `=` (equals), `^=` (starts with), `$=` (ends with), `*=` (contains) and following string meta fields: - `ext`: File extension - `acodec`: Name of the audio codec in use - `vcodec`: Name of the video codec in use - `container`: Name of the container format - `protocol`: The protocol that will be used for the actual download, lower-case (`http`, `https`, `rtsp`, `rtmp`, `rtmpe`, `mms`, `f4m`, `ism`, `http_dash_segments`, `m3u8`, or `m3u8_native`) - `format_id`: A short description of the format - `language`: Language code Any string comparison may be prefixed with negation `!` in order to produce an opposite comparison, e.g. `!*=` (does not contain). Note that none of the aforementioned meta fields are guaranteed to be present since this solely depends on the metadata obtained by particular extractor, i.e. the metadata offered by the video hoster. Any other field made available by the extractor can also be used for filtering. Formats for which the value is not known are excluded unless you put a question mark (`?`) after the operator. You can combine format filters, so `-f "[height<=?720][tbr>500]"` selects up to 720p videos (or videos where the height is not known) with a bitrate of at least 500 KBit/s. You can also use the filters with `all` to download all formats that satisfy the filter. For example, `-f "all[vcodec=none]"` selects all audio-only formats. Format selectors can also be grouped using parentheses, for example if you want to download the best mp4 and webm formats with a height lower than 480 you can use `-f '(mp4,webm)[height<480]'`. ## Sorting Formats You can change the criteria for being considered the `best` by using `-S` (`--format-sort`). The general format for this is `--format-sort field1,field2...`. The available fields are: - `hasvid`: Gives priority to formats that has a video stream - `hasaud`: Gives priority to formats that has a audio stream - `ie_pref`: The format preference as given by the extractor - `lang`: Language preference as given by the extractor - `quality`: The quality of the format as given by the extractor - `source`: Preference of the source as given by the extractor - `proto`: Protocol used for download (`https`/`ftps` > `http`/`ftp` > `m3u8-native` > `m3u8` > `http-dash-segments` > other > `mms`/`rtsp` > unknown > `f4f`/`f4m`) - `vcodec`: Video Codec (`av01` > `vp9.2` > `vp9` > `h265` > `h264` > `vp8` > `h263` > `theora` > other > unknown) - `acodec`: Audio Codec (`opus` > `vorbis` > `aac` > `mp4a` > `mp3` > `ac3` > `dts` > other > unknown) - `codec`: Equivalent to `vcodec,acodec` - `vext`: Video Extension (`mp4` > `webm` > `flv` > other > unknown). If `--prefer-free-formats` is used, `webm` is prefered. - `aext`: Audio Extension (`m4a` > `aac` > `mp3` > `ogg` > `opus` > `webm` > other > unknown). If `--prefer-free-formats` is used, the order changes to `opus` > `ogg` > `webm` > `m4a` > `mp3` > `aac`. - `ext`: Equivalent to `vext,aext` - `filesize`: Exact filesize, if know in advance. This will be unavailable for mu38 and DASH formats. - `fs_approx`: Approximate filesize calculated from the manifests - `size`: Exact filesize if available, otherwise approximate filesize - `height`: Height of video - `width`: Width of video - `res`: Video resolution, calculated as the smallest dimension. - `fps`: Framerate of video - `tbr`: Total average bitrate in KBit/s - `vbr`: Average video bitrate in KBit/s - `abr`: Average audio bitrate in KBit/s - `br`: Equivalent to using `tbr,vbr,abr` - `asr`: Audio sample rate in Hz Note that any other **numerical** field made available by the extractor can also be used. All fields, unless specified otherwise, are sorted in decending order. To reverse this, prefix the field with a `+`. Eg: `+res` prefers format with the smallest resolution. Additionally, you can suffix a prefered value for the fields, seperated by a `:`. Eg: `res:720` prefers larger videos, but no larger than 720p and the smallest video if there are no videos less than 720p. For `codec` and `ext`, you can provide two prefered values, the first for video and the second for audio. Eg: `+codec:avc:m4a` (equivalent to `+vcodec:avc,+acodec:m4a`) sets the video codec preference to `h264` > `h265` > `vp9` > `vp9.2` > `av01` > `vp8` > `h263` > `theora` and audio codec preference to `mp4a` > `aac` > `vorbis` > `opus` > `mp3` > `ac3` > `dts`. You can also make the sorting prefer the nearest values to the provided by using `~` as the delimiter. Eg: `filesize~1G` prefers the format with filesize closest to 1 GiB. The fields `hasvid`, `ie_pref`, `lang` are always given highest priority in sorting, irrespective of the user-defined order. This behaviour can be changed by using `--force-format-sort`. Apart from these, the default order used is: `quality,res,fps,codec:vp9.2,size,br,asr,proto,ext,hasaud,source,id`. Note that the extractors may override this default order, but they cannot override the user-provided order. If your format selector is `worst`, the last item is selected after sorting. This means it will select the format that is worst in all repects. Most of the time, what you actually want is the video with the smallest filesize instead. So it is generally better to use `-f best -S +size,+br,+res,+fps`. **Tip**: You can use the `-v -F` to see how the formats have been sorted (worst to best). ## Format Selection examples Note that on Windows you may need to use double quotes instead of single. ```bash # Download and merge the best best video-only format and the best audio-only format, # or download the best combined format if video-only format is not available $ yt-dlp -f 'bv+ba/b' # Download best format that contains video, # and if it doesn't already have an audio stream, merge it with best audio-only format $ yt-dlp -f 'bv*+ba/b' # Same as above $ yt-dlp # Download the best video-only format and the best audio-only format without merging them # For this case, an output template should be used since # by default, bestvideo and bestaudio will have the same file name. $ yt-dlp -f 'bv,ba' -o '%(title)s.f%(format_id)s.%(ext)s' # The following examples show the old method (without -S) of format selection # and how to use -S to achieve a similar but better result # Download the worst video available (old method) $ yt-dlp -f 'wv*+wa/w' # Download the best video available but with the smallest resolution $ yt-dlp -S '+res' # Download the smallest video available $ yt-dlp -S '+size,+br' # Download the best mp4 video available, or the best video if no mp4 available $ yt-dlp -f 'bv*[ext=mp4]+ba[ext=m4a]/b[ext=mp4] / bv*+ba/b' # Download the best video with the best extension # (For video, mp4 > webm > flv. For audio, m4a > aac > mp3 ...) $ yt-dlp -S 'ext' # Download the best video available but no better than 480p, # or the worst video if there is no video under 480p $ yt-dlp -f 'bv*[height<=480]+ba/b[height<=480] / wv*+ba/w' # Download the best video available with the largest height but no better than 480p, # or the best video with the smallest resolution if there is no video under 480p $ yt-dlp -S 'height:480' # Download the best video available with the largest resolution but no better than 480p, # or the best video with the smallest resolution if there is no video under 480p # Resolution is determined by using the smallest dimension. # So this works correctly for vertical videos as well $ yt-dlp -S 'res:480' # Download the best video (that also has audio) but no bigger than 50 MB, # or the worst video (that also has audio) if there is no video under 50 MB $ yt-dlp -f 'b[filesize<50M] / w' # Download largest video (that also has audio) but no bigger than 50 MB, # or the smallest video (that also has audio) if there is no video under 50 MB $ yt-dlp -f 'b' -S 'filesize:50M' # Download best video (that also has audio) that is closest in size to 50 MB $ yt-dlp -f 'b' -S 'filesize~50M' # Download best video available via direct link over HTTP/HTTPS protocol, # or the best video available via any protocol if there is no such video $ yt-dlp -f '(bv*+ba/b)[protocol^=http][protocol!*=dash] / (bv*+ba/b)' # Download best video available via the best protocol # (https/ftps > http/ftp > m3u8_native > m3u8 > http_dash_segments ...) $ yt-dlp -S 'proto' # Download the best video with h264 codec, or the best video if there is no such video $ yt-dlp -f '(bv*+ba/b)[vcodec^=avc1] / (bv*+ba/b)' # Download the best video with best codec no better than h264, # or the best video with worst codec if there is no such video $ yt-dlp -S 'codec:h264' # Download the best video with worst codec no worse than h264, # or the best video with best codec if there is no such video $ yt-dlp -S '+codec:h264' # More complex examples # Download the best video no better than 720p prefering framerate greater than 30, # or the worst video (still prefering framerate greater than 30) if there is no such video $ yt-dlp -f '((bv*[fps>30]/bv*)[height<=720]/(wv*[fps>30]/wv*)) + ba / (b[fps>30]/b)[height<=720]/(w[fps>30]/w)' # Download the video with the largest resolution no better than 720p, # or the video with the smallest resolution available if there is no such video, # prefering larger framerate for formats with the same resolution $ yt-dlp -S 'res:720,fps' # Download the video with smallest resolution no worse than 480p, # or the video with the largest resolution available if there is no such video, # prefering better codec and then larger total bitrate for the same resolution $ yt-dlp -S '+res:480,codec,br' ``` # PLUGINS Plugins are loaded from `/ytdlp_plugins//__init__.py`. Currently only `extractor` plugins are supported. Support for `downloader` and `postprocessor` plugins may be added in the future. See [ytdlp_plugins](ytdlp_plugins) for example. **Note**: `` is the directory of the binary (`/yt-dlp`), or the root directory of the module if you are running directly from source-code (`/yt_dlp/__main__.py`) # MORE For FAQ, Developer Instructions etc., see the [original README](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl#faq)