yt-dlp

yt-dlp is a feature-rich command-line audio/video downloader supporting thousands of sites. It's a fork of youtube-dl with enhanced features and active maintenance.

Key Features

• Download videos and audio from 1000+ sites including YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok
• Format selection and quality control
• SponsorBlock integration to skip sponsored segments
• Playlist and channel downloading
• Subtitle extraction and embedding
• Post-processing with FFmpeg integration
• Extensive output templating and metadata handling
• Plugin system for extensibility

Installation

Using pip:

pip install yt-dlp

Pre-built binaries:

• Windows: Download yt-dlp.exe from releases
• Linux/BSD: Download yt-dlp binary
• macOS: Download yt-dlp_macos

Basic Usage

Download a video:

yt-dlp "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"

Extract audio only:

yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"

Download best quality under 720p:

yt-dlp -f "best[height<=720]" "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"

Download entire playlist:

yt-dlp "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxxxxxx"

Notable Details

• License: Unlicense (public domain)
• Language: Python
• Community: 152k+ GitHub stars, active Discord server
• Maintenance: Actively developed with frequent releases
• Dependencies: Optional FFmpeg for post-processing