youtube-dl is a python based command line video downloader that just works. Despite its name would suggest, youtube-dl downloads more than just youtube videos, it currently supports more than 800 online video and audio sites. If you are using a desktop app or web app to download videos now, chances are it’s using youtube-dl in the back-end. You are better off using youtube-dl instead considering you get so much more power and options with it. Here are some simple tips to get you started.
Install from the source
There are multiple options to get started with installing youtube-dl, I personally recommend installing from the source simply because how frequently its database gets updated and most OS package managers are a bit late when keeping up with the updates. The best thing about youtube-dl is that it runs on all major OS as long as you have python installed.
Windows users can download latest exe file. For Linux, MacOS users:
sudo curl -L https://yt-dl.org/latest/youtube-dl -o /usr/local/bin/youtube-dl (1) sudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/youtube-dl (2)
| 1 | Download using cURL to the proper application directory. |
| 2 | Apply proper access permission to run youtube-dl. |
Always update to the latest version
Online video players are updated frequently which can often break how youtube-dl download video files from your favorite site. So, just like browser video downloading extensions, it’s a good idea to keep it up-to-date. You could make a cronjob, but I prefer to do it manually.
Updating youtube-dl is as simple as typing youtube-dl -U:
Download specific video quality
Downloading with youtube-dl is as simple as typing youtube-dl video_url and this is how most people limit their usage, but you can also pick and choose the quality of the video. Most online video players, like youtube, stores multiple quality of video files for viewers convenience. You can list all the video files available for you to download by using this command: youtube-dl --list-formats video_url
youtube-dl --list-formats https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9D05ej8u-gU 9D05ej8u-gU: Downloading webpage 9D05ej8u-gU: Downloading video info webpage 9D05ej8u-gU: Extracting video information 9D05ej8u-gU: Downloading MPD manifest [info] Available formats for 9D05ej8u-gU: format code extension resolution note 249 webm audio only DASH audio 51k , opus @ 50k (48000Hz), 1.21MiB 250 webm audio only DASH audio 68k , opus @ 70k (48000Hz), 1.50MiB 171 webm audio only DASH audio 120k , vorbis@128k (44100Hz), 2.59MiB 140 m4a audio only DASH audio 129k , mp4a.40.2@128k (44100Hz), 3.27MiB 251 webm audio only DASH audio 131k , opus @160k (48000Hz), 2.93MiB 160 mp4 256x144 DASH video 119k , avc1.4d400c, 13fps, video only, 2.73MiB 278 webm 256x144 DASH video 131k , vp9, 13fps, video only, 2.19MiB 133 mp4 426x240 DASH video 252k , avc1.4d4015, 25fps, video only, 6.12MiB 242 webm 426x240 DASH video 271k , vp9, 25fps, video only, 2.93MiB 243 webm 640x360 DASH video 503k , vp9, 25fps, video only, 5.71MiB 134 mp4 640x360 DASH video 602k , avc1.4d401e, 25fps, video only, 6.66MiB 244 webm 854x480 DASH video 902k , vp9, 25fps, video only, 10.15MiB 135 mp4 854x480 DASH video 1104k , avc1.4d401e, 25fps, video only, 13.70MiB 247 webm 1280x720 DASH video 1797k , vp9, 25fps, video only, 21.76MiB 136 mp4 1280x720 DASH video 2206k , avc1.4d401f, 25fps, video only, 29.43MiB 212 mp4 854x480 DASH video 1957k , avc1.4d401e, 1fps, video only, 31.92MiB 17 3gp 176x144 small , mp4v.20.3, mp4a.40.2@ 24k 36 3gp 320x180 small , mp4v.20.3, mp4a.40.2 43 webm 640x360 medium , vp8.0, vorbis@128k 18 mp4 640x360 medium , avc1.42001E, mp4a.40.2@ 96k 22 mp4 1280x720 hd720 , avc1.64001F, mp4a.40.2@192k (best)
You can choose which format to download by using the format code listed like this:
youtube-dl -f 22 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9D05ej8u-gU 9D05ej8u-gU: Downloading webpage 9D05ej8u-gU: Downloading video info webpage 9D05ej8u-gU: Extracting video information 9D05ej8u-gU: Downloading MPD manifest [download] Destination: The Most Astounding Fact - Neil deGrasse Tyson-9D05ej8u-gU.mp4 [download] 100% of 41.17MiB in 01:10
Download only the mp3 audio track from youtube video
Sometimes you don’t really care about downloading the whole video, you only want the audio and it can be easily done using youtube-dl without having to download the video first and then extract the audio from it. As seen from the output of previous --list-format command youtube stores audio and video formats separately, so youtube-dl just downloads the audio file, usually in m4a or webm format and then convert it into mp3. Using this command: youtube-dl --extract-audio --audio-format mp3 video-url. You will need ffmpeg or avconv for this to work since the audio needs to be converted to your preferred mp3 format.
youtube-dl --extract-audio --audio-format mp3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9D05ej8u-gU 9D05ej8u-gU: Downloading webpage 9D05ej8u-gU: Downloading video info webpage 9D05ej8u-gU: Extracting video information 9D05ej8u-gU: Downloading MPD manifest [download] Destination: The Most Astounding Fact - Neil deGrasse Tyson-9D05ej8u-gU.webm [download] 100% of 2.93MiB in 00:02 [ffmpeg] Destination: The Most Astounding Fact - Neil deGrasse Tyson-9D05ej8u-gU.mp3 Deleting original file The Most Astounding Fact - Neil deGrasse Tyson-9D05ej8u-gU.webm (pass -k to keep)
If you don’t care about converting audio to mp3 format and want to keep the original format. You can download the specific audio format using the format code shown before.
Downloading multiple videos from a list
You can create a text list with youtube video links (or any of the other 800+ supported sites), one line at a time using youtube-dl to download a lot of videos without having to do it manually. Like this: youtube-dl -a video_links.txt.