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[update] Overhaul self-updater
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b31fdeed 2<div align="center">
3
e980017a 4[![YT-DLP](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/master/.github/banner.svg)](#readme)
d9d045e2 5
2fa669f7 6[![Release version](https://img.shields.io/github/v/release/yt-dlp/yt-dlp?color=brightgreen&label=Download&style=for-the-badge)](#installation "Installation")
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b31fdeed 17</div>
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c76eb41b 19
b31fdeed 20yt-dlp is a [youtube-dl](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl) fork based on the now inactive [youtube-dlc](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc). The main focus of this project is adding new features and patches while also keeping up to date with the original project
5c0e5bc4 21
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23
24<!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
034b6215 25* [NEW FEATURES](#new-features)
53ed7066 26 * [Differences in default behavior](#differences-in-default-behavior)
c76eb41b 27* [INSTALLATION](#installation)
deae7c17 28 * [Detailed instructions](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Installation)
17fa3ee2 29 * [Update](#update)
0e5927ee 30 * [Release Files](#release-files)
cf59cd4d 31 * [Dependencies](#dependencies)
17fa3ee2 32 * [Compile](#compile)
b31fdeed 33* [USAGE AND OPTIONS](#usage-and-options)
34 * [General Options](#general-options)
50865ca8 35 * [Network Options](#network-options)
b31fdeed 36 * [Geo-restriction](#geo-restriction)
50865ca8 37 * [Video Selection](#video-selection)
38 * [Download Options](#download-options)
39 * [Filesystem Options](#filesystem-options)
b31fdeed 40 * [Thumbnail Options](#thumbnail-options)
50865ca8 41 * [Internet Shortcut Options](#internet-shortcut-options)
0744a815 42 * [Verbosity and Simulation Options](#verbosity-and-simulation-options)
50865ca8 43 * [Workarounds](#workarounds)
44 * [Video Format Options](#video-format-options)
45 * [Subtitle Options](#subtitle-options)
46 * [Authentication Options](#authentication-options)
50865ca8 47 * [Post-processing Options](#post-processing-options)
7a340e0d 48 * [SponsorBlock Options](#sponsorblock-options)
50865ca8 49 * [Extractor Options](#extractor-options)
c76eb41b 50* [CONFIGURATION](#configuration)
304ad45a 51 * [Configuration file encoding](#configuration-file-encoding)
db3ad8a6 52 * [Authentication with netrc](#authentication-with-netrc)
878eac3e 53 * [Notes about environment variables](#notes-about-environment-variables)
c76eb41b 54* [OUTPUT TEMPLATE](#output-template)
50865ca8 55 * [Output template examples](#output-template-examples)
c76eb41b 56* [FORMAT SELECTION](#format-selection)
50865ca8 57 * [Filtering Formats](#filtering-formats)
58 * [Sorting Formats](#sorting-formats)
59 * [Format Selection examples](#format-selection-examples)
73cd218f 60* [MODIFYING METADATA](#modifying-metadata)
61 * [Modifying metadata examples](#modifying-metadata-examples)
5d3a0e79 62* [EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS](#extractor-arguments)
f74980cb 63* [PLUGINS](#plugins)
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64 * [Installing Plugins](#installing-plugins)
65 * [Developing Plugins](#developing-plugins)
8c6f4daa 66* [EMBEDDING YT-DLP](#embedding-yt-dlp)
43cc91ad 67 * [Embedding examples](#embedding-examples)
e167860c 68* [DEPRECATED OPTIONS](#deprecated-options)
8c6f4daa 69* [CONTRIBUTING](CONTRIBUTING.md#contributing-to-yt-dlp)
70 * [Opening an Issue](CONTRIBUTING.md#opening-an-issue)
71 * [Developer Instructions](CONTRIBUTING.md#developer-instructions)
17ffed18 72* [WIKI](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki)
deae7c17 73 * [FAQ](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/FAQ)
ec2e44fc 74<!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
50865ca8 75
76
034b6215 77# NEW FEATURES
91f071af 78
9d625406 79* Forked from [**yt-dlc@f9401f2**](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc/commit/f9401f2a91987068139c5f757b12fc711d4c0cee) and merged with [**youtube-dl@66ab08**](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/commit/66ab0814c4baa2dc79c2dd5287bc0ad61a37c5b9) ([exceptions](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/21))
034b6215 80
304ad45a 81* **[SponsorBlock Integration](#sponsorblock-options)**: You can mark/remove sponsor sections in YouTube videos by utilizing the [SponsorBlock](https://sponsor.ajay.app) API
034b6215 82
7581d246 83* **[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 than what is possible by simply using `--format` ([examples](#format-selection-examples))
034b6215 84
8e174ba7 85* **Merged with animelover1984/youtube-dl**: You get most of the features and improvements from [animelover1984/youtube-dl](https://github.com/animelover1984/youtube-dl) including `--write-comments`, `BiliBiliSearch`, `BilibiliChannel`, Embedding thumbnail in mp4/ogg/opus, playlist infojson etc. Note that NicoNico livestreams are not available. See [#31](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/pull/31) for details.
29b6000e 86
ae61d108 87* **YouTube improvements**:
c8bc203f 88 * Supports Clips, Stories (`ytstories:<channel UCID>`), Search (including filters)**\***, YouTube Music Search, Channel-specific search, Search prefixes (`ytsearch:`, `ytsearchdate:`)**\***, Mixes, and Feeds (`:ytfav`, `:ytwatchlater`, `:ytsubs`, `:ythistory`, `:ytrec`, `:ytnotif`)
ae61d108 89 * Fix for [n-sig based throttling](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/issues/29326) **\***
90 * Supports some (but not all) age-gated content without cookies
91 * Download livestreams from the start using `--live-from-start` (*experimental*)
86973308 92 * Channel URLs download all uploads of the channel, including shorts and live
f20f5fe5 93
304ad45a 94* **Cookies from browser**: Cookies can be automatically extracted from all major web browsers using `--cookies-from-browser BROWSER[+KEYRING][:PROFILE][::CONTAINER]`
245524e6 95
5ec1b6b7 96* **Download time range**: Videos can be downloaded partially based on either timestamps or chapters using `--download-sections`
97
597c1866 98* **Split video by chapters**: Videos can be split into multiple files based on chapters using `--split-chapters`
99
b31fdeed 100* **Multi-threaded fragment downloads**: Download multiple fragments of m3u8/mpd videos in parallel. Use `--concurrent-fragments` (`-N`) option to set the number of threads used
8d801631 101
b31fdeed 102* **Aria2c with HLS/DASH**: You can use `aria2c` as the external downloader for DASH(mpd) and HLS(m3u8) formats
f20f5fe5 103
e75bb0d6 104* **New and fixed extractors**: Many new extractors have been added and a lot of existing ones have been fixed. See the [changelog](Changelog.md) or the [list of supported sites](supportedsites.md)
86c1a8aa 105
56ba69e4 106* **New MSOs**: Philo, Spectrum, SlingTV, Cablevision, RCN etc.
fac98805 107
3de7c2ce 108* **Subtitle extraction from manifests**: Subtitles can be extracted from streaming media manifests. See [commit/be6202f](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/be6202f12b97858b9d716e608394b51065d0419f) for details
034b6215 109
597c1866 110* **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 using `--paths` (`-P`)
0bc0a322 111
d4ada357 112* **Portable Configuration**: Configuration files are automatically loaded from the home and root directories. See [CONFIGURATION](#configuration) for details
0bc0a322 113
418964fa 114* **Output template improvements**: Output templates can now have date-time formatting, numeric offsets, object traversal etc. See [output template](#output-template) for details. Even more advanced operations can also be done with the help of `--parse-metadata` and `--replace-in-metadata`
fac98805 115
fe2ce85a 116* **Other new options**: Many new options have been added such as `--alias`, `--print`, `--concat-playlist`, `--wait-for-video`, `--retry-sleep`, `--sleep-requests`, `--convert-thumbnails`, `--force-download-archive`, `--force-overwrites`, `--break-match-filter` etc
0bc0a322 117
08d30158 118* **Improvements**: Regex and other operators in `--format`/`--match-filter`, multiple `--postprocessor-args` and `--downloader-args`, faster archive checking, more [format selection options](#format-selection), merge multi-video/audio, multiple `--config-locations`, `--exec` at different stages, etc
c69911e4 119
86c1a8aa 120* **Plugins**: Extractors and PostProcessors can be loaded from an external file. See [plugins](#plugins) for details
b31fdeed 121
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122* **Self updater**: The releases can be updated using `yt-dlp -U`, and downgraded using `--update-to` if required
123
124* **Nightly builds**: [Automated nightly builds](#update-channels) can be used with `--update-to nightly`
aa837ddf 125
7a5c1cfe 126See [changelog](Changelog.md) or [commits](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits) for the full list of changes
a26c99ac 127
ae61d108 128Features marked with a **\*** have been back-ported to youtube-dl
129
53ed7066 130### Differences in default behavior
131
0930b11f 132Some of yt-dlp's default options are different from that of youtube-dl and youtube-dlc:
53ed7066 133
5b28cef7 134* yt-dlp supports only [Python 3.7+](## "Windows 7"), and *may* remove support for more versions as they [become EOL](https://devguide.python.org/versions/#python-release-cycle); while [youtube-dl still supports Python 2.6+ and 3.2+](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/issues/30568#issue-1118238743)
96565c7e 135* The options `--auto-number` (`-A`), `--title` (`-t`) and `--literal` (`-l`), no longer work. See [removed options](#Removed) for details
b69fd25c 136* `avconv` is not supported as an alternative to `ffmpeg`
d4ada357 137* yt-dlp stores config files in slightly different locations to youtube-dl. See [CONFIGURATION](#configuration) for a list of correct locations
96565c7e 138* The default [output template](#output-template) is `%(title)s [%(id)s].%(ext)s`. There is no real reason for this change. This was changed before yt-dlp was ever made public and now there are no plans to change it back to `%(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s`. Instead, you may use `--compat-options filename`
e4f02757 139* The default [format sorting](#sorting-formats) is different from youtube-dl and prefers higher resolution and better codecs rather than higher bitrates. You can use the `--format-sort` option to change this to any order you prefer, or use `--compat-options format-sort` to use youtube-dl's sorting order
e75bb0d6 140* The default format selector is `bv*+ba/b`. This means that if a combined video + audio format that is better than the best video-only format is found, the former will be preferred. Use `-f bv+ba/b` or `--compat-options format-spec` to revert this
28b0eb0f 141* Unlike youtube-dlc, yt-dlp does not allow merging multiple audio/video streams into one file by default (since this conflicts with the use of `-f bv*+ba`). If needed, this feature must be enabled using `--audio-multistreams` and `--video-multistreams`. You can also use `--compat-options multistreams` to enable both
08d30158 142* `--no-abort-on-error` is enabled by default. Use `--abort-on-error` or `--compat-options abort-on-error` to abort on errors instead
28b0eb0f 143* When writing metadata files such as thumbnails, description or infojson, the same information (if available) is also written for playlists. Use `--no-write-playlist-metafiles` or `--compat-options no-playlist-metafiles` to not write these files
9222c381 144* `--add-metadata` attaches the `infojson` to `mkv` files in addition to writing the metadata when used with `--write-info-json`. Use `--no-embed-info-json` or `--compat-options no-attach-info-json` to revert this
9e907ebd 145* Some metadata are embedded into different fields when using `--add-metadata` as compared to youtube-dl. Most notably, `comment` field contains the `webpage_url` and `synopsis` contains the `description`. You can [use `--parse-metadata`](#modifying-metadata) to modify this to your liking or use `--compat-options embed-metadata` to revert this
28b0eb0f 146* `playlist_index` behaves differently when used with options like `--playlist-reverse` and `--playlist-items`. See [#302](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/302) for details. You can use `--compat-options playlist-index` if you want to keep the earlier behavior
147* The output of `-F` is listed in a new format. Use `--compat-options list-formats` to revert this
b79f9e30 148* Live chats (if available) are considered as subtitles. Use `--sub-langs all,-live_chat` to download all subtitles except live chat. You can also use `--compat-options no-live-chat` to prevent any live chat/danmaku from downloading
86973308 149* YouTube channel URLs download all uploads of the channel. To download only the videos in a specific tab, pass the tab's URL. If the channel does not show the requested tab, an error will be raised. Also, `/live` URLs raise an error if there are no live videos instead of silently downloading the entire channel. You may use `--compat-options no-youtube-channel-redirect` to revert all these redirections
304ad45a 150* Unavailable videos are also listed for YouTube playlists. Use `--compat-options no-youtube-unavailable-videos` to remove this
1ff88b7a 151* The upload dates extracted from YouTube are in UTC [when available](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/89e4d86171c7b7c997c77d4714542e0383bf0db0/yt_dlp/extractor/youtube.py#L3898-L3900). Use `--compat-options no-youtube-prefer-utc-upload-date` to prefer the non-UTC upload date.
18e674b4 152* If `ffmpeg` is used as the downloader, the downloading and merging of formats happen in a single step when possible. Use `--compat-options no-direct-merge` to revert this
e858a9d6 153* Thumbnail embedding in `mp4` is done with mutagen if possible. Use `--compat-options embed-thumbnail-atomicparsley` to force the use of AtomicParsley instead
ad54c913 154* Some internal metadata such as filenames are removed by default from the infojson. Use `--no-clean-infojson` or `--compat-options no-clean-infojson` to revert this
e75bb0d6 155* When `--embed-subs` and `--write-subs` are used together, the subtitles are written to disk and also embedded in the media file. You can use just `--embed-subs` to embed the subs and automatically delete the separate file. See [#630 (comment)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/630#issuecomment-893659460) for more info. `--compat-options no-keep-subs` can be used to revert this
168bbc4f 156* `certifi` will be used for SSL root certificates, if installed. If you want to use system certificates (e.g. self-signed), use `--compat-options no-certifi`
1e4fca9a 157* yt-dlp's sanitization of invalid characters in filenames is different/smarter than in youtube-dl. You can use `--compat-options filename-sanitization` to revert to youtube-dl's behavior
ad68b16a 158* yt-dlp tries to parse the external downloader outputs into the standard progress output if possible (Currently implemented: [~~aria2c~~](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/5931)). You can use `--compat-options no-external-downloader-progress` to get the downloader output as-is
93b39cdb 159* yt-dlp versions between 2021.09.01 and 2023.01.02 applies `--match-filter` to nested playlists. This was an unintentional side-effect of [8f18ac](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/8f18aca8717bb0dd49054555af8d386e5eda3a88) and is fixed in [d7b460](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/d7b460d0e5fc710950582baed2e3fc616ed98a80). Use `--compat-options playlist-match-filter` to revert this
10025b71 160* yt-dlp versions between 2021.11.10 and 2023.06.21 estimated `filesize_approx` values for fragmented/manifest formats. This was added for convenience in [f2fe69](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/f2fe69c7b0d208bdb1f6292b4ae92bc1e1a7444a), but was reverted in [0dff8e](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/0dff8e4d1e6e9fb938f4256ea9af7d81f42fd54f) due to the potentially extreme inaccuracy of the estimated values. Use `--compat-options manifest-filesize-approx` to keep extracting the estimated values
8a8b5452 161* yt-dlp uses modern http client backends such as `requests`. Use `--compat-options prefer-legacy-http-handler` to prefer the legacy http handler (`urllib`) to be used for standard http requests.
53ed7066 162
163For ease of use, a few more compat options are available:
3d3bb168 164
8a82af35 165* `--compat-options all`: Use all compat options (Do NOT use)
93b39cdb 166* `--compat-options youtube-dl`: Same as `--compat-options all,-multistreams,-playlist-match-filter`
167* `--compat-options youtube-dlc`: Same as `--compat-options all,-no-live-chat,-no-youtube-channel-redirect,-playlist-match-filter`
2a06bb4e 168* `--compat-options 2021`: Same as `--compat-options 2022,no-certifi,filename-sanitization,no-youtube-prefer-utc-upload-date`
8a8b5452 169* `--compat-options 2022`: Same as `--compat-options playlist-match-filter,no-external-downloader-progress,prefer-legacy-http-handler`. Use this to enable all future compat options
53ed7066 170
f20f5fe5 171
d19bb9c0 172# INSTALLATION
50865ca8 173
fc5fa964 174<!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
175[![Windows](https://img.shields.io/badge/-Windows_x64-blue.svg?style=for-the-badge&logo=windows)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.exe)
17ffed18 176[![Unix](https://img.shields.io/badge/-Linux/BSD-red.svg?style=for-the-badge&logo=linux)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp)
24146491 177[![MacOS](https://img.shields.io/badge/-MacOS-lightblue.svg?style=for-the-badge&logo=apple)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_macos)
17ffed18 178[![PyPi](https://img.shields.io/badge/-PyPi-blue.svg?logo=pypi&labelColor=555555&style=for-the-badge)](https://pypi.org/project/yt-dlp)
fc5fa964 179[![Source Tarball](https://img.shields.io/badge/-Source_tar-green.svg?style=for-the-badge)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.tar.gz)
180[![Other variants](https://img.shields.io/badge/-Other-grey.svg?style=for-the-badge)](#release-files)
3d3bb168 181[![All versions](https://img.shields.io/badge/-All_Versions-lightgrey.svg?style=for-the-badge)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases)
fc5fa964 182<!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
183
c8bc203f 184You can install yt-dlp using [the binaries](#release-files), [pip](https://pypi.org/project/yt-dlp) or one using a third-party package manager. See [the wiki](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Installation) for detailed instructions
0930b11f 185
b8773e63 186
a4211baf 187## UPDATE
4815bbfc 188You can use `yt-dlp -U` to update if you are using the [release binaries](#release-files)
17ffed18 189
c8bc203f 190If you [installed with pip](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Installation#with-pip), simply re-run the same command that was used to install the program
0930b11f 191
8e174ba7 192For 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
0930b11f 193
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194<a id="update-channels"/>
195
196There are currently two release channels for binaries, `stable` and `nightly`.
392389b7 197`stable` is the default channel, and many of its changes have been tested by users of the nightly channel.
198The `nightly` channel has releases built after each push to the master branch, and will have the most recent fixes and additions, but also have more risk of regressions. They are available in [their own repo](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp-nightly-builds/releases).
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199
200When using `--update`/`-U`, a release binary will only update to its current channel.
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201`--update-to CHANNEL` can be used to switch to a different channel when a newer version is available. `--update-to [CHANNEL@]TAG` can also be used to upgrade or downgrade to specific tags from a channel.
202
203You may also use `--update-to <repository>` (`<owner>/<repository>`) to update to a channel on a completely different repository. Be careful with what repository you are updating to though, there is no verification done for binaries from different repositories.
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204
205Example usage:
206* `yt-dlp --update-to nightly` change to `nightly` channel and update to its latest release
207* `yt-dlp --update-to stable@2023.02.17` upgrade/downgrade to release to `stable` channel tag `2023.02.17`
208* `yt-dlp --update-to 2023.01.06` upgrade/downgrade to tag `2023.01.06` if it exists on the current channel
665472a7 209* `yt-dlp --update-to example/yt-dlp@2023.03.01` upgrade/downgrade to the release from the `example/yt-dlp` repository, tag `2023.03.01`
cf59cd4d 210
ec2e44fc 211<!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
a4211baf 212## RELEASE FILES
0e5927ee 213
733d8e8f 214#### Recommended
215
216File|Description
217:---|:---
962ffcf8 218[yt-dlp](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp)|Platform-independent [zipimport](https://docs.python.org/3/library/zipimport.html) binary. Needs Python (recommended for **Linux/BSD**)
0930b11f 219[yt-dlp.exe](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.exe)|Windows (Win7 SP1+) standalone x64 binary (recommended for **Windows**)
f2df4071 220[yt-dlp_macos](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_macos)|Universal MacOS (10.15+) standalone executable (recommended for **MacOS**)
733d8e8f 221
222#### Alternatives
223
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224File|Description
225:---|:---
0930b11f 226[yt-dlp_x86.exe](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_x86.exe)|Windows (Vista SP2+) standalone x86 (32-bit) binary
8aa0e7cd 227[yt-dlp_min.exe](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_min.exe)|Windows (Win7 SP1+) standalone x64 binary built with `py2exe`<br/> ([Not recommended](#standalone-py2exe-builds-windows))
f2df4071 228[yt-dlp_linux](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_linux)|Linux standalone x64 binary
229[yt-dlp_linux.zip](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_linux.zip)|Unpackaged Linux executable (no auto-update)
17fc3dc4
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230[yt-dlp_linux_armv7l](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_linux_armv7l)|Linux standalone armv7l (32-bit) binary
231[yt-dlp_linux_aarch64](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_linux_aarch64)|Linux standalone aarch64 (64-bit) binary
0930b11f 232[yt-dlp_win.zip](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_win.zip)|Unpackaged Windows executable (no auto-update)
233[yt-dlp_macos.zip](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_macos.zip)|Unpackaged MacOS (10.15+) executable (no auto-update)
6d916fe7 234[yt-dlp_macos_legacy](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_macos_legacy)|MacOS (10.9+) standalone x64 executable
733d8e8f 235
236#### Misc
237
238File|Description
239:---|:---
17ffed18 240[yt-dlp.tar.gz](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.tar.gz)|Source tarball
0e5927ee 241[SHA2-512SUMS](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/SHA2-512SUMS)|GNU-style SHA512 sums
12647e03 242[SHA2-512SUMS.sig](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/SHA2-512SUMS.sig)|GPG signature file for SHA512 sums
0e5927ee 243[SHA2-256SUMS](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/SHA2-256SUMS)|GNU-style SHA256 sums
12647e03 244[SHA2-256SUMS.sig](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/SHA2-256SUMS.sig)|GPG signature file for SHA256 sums
0e5927ee 245
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246The public key that can be used to verify the GPG signatures is [available here](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/master/public.key)
247Example usage:
248```
249curl -L https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/raw/master/public.key | gpg --import
250gpg --verify SHA2-256SUMS.sig SHA2-256SUMS
251gpg --verify SHA2-512SUMS.sig SHA2-512SUMS
252```
253<!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
17ffed18 254
ad54c913 255**Note**: The manpages, shell completion (autocomplete) files etc. are available inside the [source tarball](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.tar.gz)
17ffed18 256
a4211baf 257## DEPENDENCIES
eff42759 258Python versions 3.7+ (CPython and PyPy) are supported. Other versions and implementations may or may not work correctly.
b31fdeed 259
c9652aa4 260<!-- Python 3.5+ uses VC++14 and it is already embedded in the binary created
261<!x-- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=26999 --x>
cf59cd4d 262On windows, [Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 SP1 Redistributable Package (x86)](https://download.microsoft.com/download/1/6/5/165255E7-1014-4D0A-B094-B6A430A6BFFC/vcredist_x86.exe) is also necessary to run yt-dlp. You probably already have this, but if the executable throws an error due to missing `MSVCR100.dll` you need to install it manually.
c9652aa4 263-->
fac98805 264
e75bb0d6 265While all the other dependencies are optional, `ffmpeg` and `ffprobe` are highly recommended
ec2e44fc 266
8aa0e7cd 267### Strongly recommended
268
b69fd25c 269* [**ffmpeg** and **ffprobe**](https://www.ffmpeg.org) - Required for [merging separate video and audio files](#format-selection) as well as for various [post-processing](#post-processing-options) tasks. License [depends on the build](https://www.ffmpeg.org/legal.html)
8aa0e7cd 270
8e174ba7 271 There are bugs in ffmpeg that causes various issues when used alongside yt-dlp. Since ffmpeg is such an important dependency, we provide [custom builds](https://github.com/yt-dlp/FFmpeg-Builds#ffmpeg-static-auto-builds) with patches for some of these issues at [yt-dlp/FFmpeg-Builds](https://github.com/yt-dlp/FFmpeg-Builds). See [the readme](https://github.com/yt-dlp/FFmpeg-Builds#patches-applied) for details on the specific issues solved by these builds
272
273 **Important**: What you need is ffmpeg *binary*, **NOT** [the python package of the same name](https://pypi.org/project/ffmpeg)
8aa0e7cd 274
275### Networking
d5820461 276* [**certifi**](https://github.com/certifi/python-certifi)\* - Provides Mozilla's root certificate bundle. Licensed under [MPLv2](https://github.com/certifi/python-certifi/blob/master/LICENSE)
8aa0e7cd 277* [**brotli**](https://github.com/google/brotli)\* or [**brotlicffi**](https://github.com/python-hyper/brotlicffi) - [Brotli](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brotli) content encoding support. Both licensed under MIT <sup>[1](https://github.com/google/brotli/blob/master/LICENSE) [2](https://github.com/python-hyper/brotlicffi/blob/master/LICENSE) </sup>
278* [**websockets**](https://github.com/aaugustin/websockets)\* - For downloading over websocket. Licensed under [BSD-3-Clause](https://github.com/aaugustin/websockets/blob/main/LICENSE)
8a8b5452 279* [**requests**](https://github.com/psf/requests)\* - HTTP library. For HTTPS proxy and persistent connections support. Licensed under [Apache-2.0](https://github.com/psf/requests/blob/main/LICENSE)
8aa0e7cd 280
281### Metadata
282
283* [**mutagen**](https://github.com/quodlibet/mutagen)\* - For `--embed-thumbnail` in certain formats. Licensed under [GPLv2+](https://github.com/quodlibet/mutagen/blob/master/COPYING)
284* [**AtomicParsley**](https://github.com/wez/atomicparsley) - For `--embed-thumbnail` in `mp4`/`m4a` files when `mutagen`/`ffmpeg` cannot. Licensed under [GPLv2+](https://github.com/wez/atomicparsley/blob/master/COPYING)
84e26038 285* [**xattr**](https://github.com/xattr/xattr), [**pyxattr**](https://github.com/iustin/pyxattr) or [**setfattr**](http://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/attr) - For writing xattr metadata (`--xattr`) on **Mac** and **BSD**. Licensed under [MIT](https://github.com/xattr/xattr/blob/master/LICENSE.txt), [LGPL2.1](https://github.com/iustin/pyxattr/blob/master/COPYING) and [GPLv2+](http://git.savannah.nongnu.org/cgit/attr.git/tree/doc/COPYING) respectively
8aa0e7cd 286
287### Misc
288
289* [**pycryptodomex**](https://github.com/Legrandin/pycryptodome)\* - For decrypting AES-128 HLS streams and various other data. Licensed under [BSD-2-Clause](https://github.com/Legrandin/pycryptodome/blob/master/LICENSE.rst)
5d0aeac0 290* [**phantomjs**](https://github.com/ariya/phantomjs) - Used in extractors where javascript needs to be run. Licensed under [BSD-3-Clause](https://github.com/ariya/phantomjs/blob/master/LICENSE.BSD)
8aa0e7cd 291* [**secretstorage**](https://github.com/mitya57/secretstorage) - For `--cookies-from-browser` to access the **Gnome** keyring while decrypting cookies of **Chromium**-based browsers on **Linux**. Licensed under [BSD-3-Clause](https://github.com/mitya57/secretstorage/blob/master/LICENSE)
cf59cd4d 292* Any external downloader that you want to use with `--downloader`
b31fdeed 293
deae7c17 294### Deprecated
8aa0e7cd 295
296* [**avconv** and **avprobe**](https://www.libav.org) - Now **deprecated** alternative to ffmpeg. License [depends on the build](https://libav.org/legal)
297* [**sponskrub**](https://github.com/faissaloo/SponSkrub) - For using the now **deprecated** [sponskrub options](#sponskrub-options). Licensed under [GPLv3+](https://github.com/faissaloo/SponSkrub/blob/master/LICENCE.md)
998a3cae 298* [**rtmpdump**](http://rtmpdump.mplayerhq.hu) - For downloading `rtmp` streams. ffmpeg can be used instead with `--downloader ffmpeg`. Licensed under [GPLv2+](http://rtmpdump.mplayerhq.hu)
299* [**mplayer**](http://mplayerhq.hu/design7/info.html) or [**mpv**](https://mpv.io) - For downloading `rstp`/`mms` streams. ffmpeg can be used instead with `--downloader ffmpeg`. Licensed under [GPLv2+](https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/blob/master/Copyright)
8aa0e7cd 300
cf59cd4d 301To use or redistribute the dependencies, you must agree to their respective licensing terms.
302
f2df4071 303The standalone release binaries are built with the Python interpreter and the packages marked with **\*** included.
d710cc6d 304
8aa0e7cd 305If you do not have the necessary dependencies for a task you are attempting, yt-dlp will warn you. All the currently available dependencies are visible at the top of the `--verbose` output
d710cc6d 306
5f326cf5 307
a4211baf 308## COMPILE
5f326cf5 309
8aa0e7cd 310### Standalone PyInstaller Builds
115add43 311To build the standalone executable, you must have Python and `pyinstaller` (plus any of yt-dlp's [optional dependencies](#dependencies) if needed). Once you have all the necessary dependencies installed, simply run `pyinst.py`. The executable will be built for the same architecture (x86/ARM, 32/64 bit) as the Python used.
e38df8f9 312
8aa0e7cd 313 python3 -m pip install -U pyinstaller -r requirements.txt
314 python3 devscripts/make_lazy_extractors.py
315 python3 pyinst.py
316
317On some systems, you may need to use `py` or `python` instead of `python3`.
318
73ac0e6b 319`pyinst.py` accepts any arguments that can be passed to `pyinstaller`, such as `--onefile/-F` or `--onedir/-D`, which is further [documented here](https://pyinstaller.org/en/stable/usage.html#what-to-generate).
320
8e174ba7 321**Note**: Pyinstaller versions below 4.4 [do not support](https://github.com/pyinstaller/pyinstaller#requirements-and-tested-platforms) Python installed from the Windows store without using a virtual environment.
8aa0e7cd 322
323**Important**: Running `pyinstaller` directly **without** using `pyinst.py` is **not** officially supported. This may or may not work correctly.
7581d246 324
8aa0e7cd 325### Platform-independent Binary (UNIX)
deae7c17 326You will need the build tools `python` (3.7+), `zip`, `make` (GNU), `pandoc`\* and `pytest`\*.
b96a939b 327
8aa0e7cd 328After installing these, simply run `make`.
5f326cf5 329
a831c2ea 330You can also run `make yt-dlp` instead to compile only the binary without updating any of the additional files. (The build tools marked with **\*** are not needed for this)
d19bb9c0 331
8aa0e7cd 332### Standalone Py2Exe Builds (Windows)
333
334While we provide the option to build with [py2exe](https://www.py2exe.org), it is recommended to build [using PyInstaller](#standalone-pyinstaller-builds) instead since the py2exe builds **cannot contain `pycryptodomex`/`certifi` and needs VC++14** on the target computer to run.
335
336If you wish to build it anyway, install Python and py2exe, and then simply run `setup.py py2exe`
337
338 py -m pip install -U py2exe -r requirements.txt
339 py devscripts/make_lazy_extractors.py
340 py setup.py py2exe
341
342### Related scripts
343
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344* **`devscripts/update-version.py`** - Update the version number based on current date.
345* **`devscripts/set-variant.py`** - Set the build variant of the executable.
346* **`devscripts/make_changelog.py`** - Create a markdown changelog using short commit messages and update `CONTRIBUTORS` file.
8aa0e7cd 347* **`devscripts/make_lazy_extractors.py`** - Create lazy extractors. Running this before building the binaries (any variant) will improve their startup performance. Set the environment variable `YTDLP_NO_LAZY_EXTRACTORS=1` if you wish to forcefully disable lazy extractor loading.
348
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349Note: See their `--help` for more info.
350
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351### Forking the project
352If you fork the project on GitHub, you can run your fork's [build workflow](.github/workflows/build.yml) to automatically build the selected version(s) as artifacts. Alternatively, you can run the [release workflow](.github/workflows/release.yml) or enable the [nightly workflow](.github/workflows/release-nightly.yml) to create full (pre-)releases.
59a7a13e 353
b31fdeed 354# USAGE AND OPTIONS
6bcd846b 355
ec2e44fc 356<!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
7a5c1cfe 357 yt-dlp [OPTIONS] [--] URL [URL...]
b50e3bc6 358
c2b5f311 359`Ctrl+F` is your friend :D
ec2e44fc 360<!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
c2b5f311 361
ec2e44fc 362<!-- Auto generated -->
c76eb41b 363## General Options:
2dd5a2e3 364 -h, --help Print this help text and exit
365 --version Print program version and exit
70b23409 366 -U, --update Update this program to the latest version
367 --no-update Do not check for updates (default)
77df20f1 368 --update-to [CHANNEL]@[TAG] Upgrade/downgrade to a specific version.
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369 CHANNEL can be a repository as well. CHANNEL
370 and TAG default to "stable" and "latest"
371 respectively if omitted; See "UPDATE" for
372 details. Supported channels: stable, nightly
2dd5a2e3 373 -i, --ignore-errors Ignore download and postprocessing errors.
374 The download will be considered successful
375 even if the postprocessing fails
376 --no-abort-on-error Continue with next video on download errors;
377 e.g. to skip unavailable videos in a
378 playlist (default)
379 --abort-on-error Abort downloading of further videos if an
380 error occurs (Alias: --no-ignore-errors)
381 --dump-user-agent Display the current user-agent and exit
382 --list-extractors List all supported extractors and exit
383 --extractor-descriptions Output descriptions of all supported
384 extractors and exit
2516cafb 385 --use-extractors NAMES Extractor names to use separated by commas.
fe7866d0 386 You can also use regexes, "all", "default"
387 and "end" (end URL matching); e.g. --ies
388 "holodex.*,end,youtube". Prefix the name
389 with a "-" to exclude it, e.g. --ies
390 default,-generic. Use --list-extractors for
2516cafb 391 a list of extractor names. (Alias: --ies)
62b58c09 392 --default-search PREFIX Use this prefix for unqualified URLs. E.g.
2dd5a2e3 393 "gvsearch2:python" downloads two videos from
394 google videos for the search term "python".
395 Use the value "auto" to let yt-dlp guess
396 ("auto_warning" to emit a warning when
397 guessing). "error" just throws an error. The
398 default value "fixup_error" repairs broken
399 URLs, but emits an error if this is not
400 possible instead of searching
401 --ignore-config Don't load any more configuration files
402 except those given by --config-locations.
403 For backward compatibility, if this option
404 is found inside the system configuration
405 file, the user configuration is not loaded.
406 (Alias: --no-config)
407 --no-config-locations Do not load any custom configuration files
408 (default). When given inside a configuration
409 file, ignore all previous --config-locations
410 defined in the current file
411 --config-locations PATH Location of the main configuration file;
412 either the path to the config or its
6b9e832d 413 containing directory ("-" for stdin). Can be
414 used multiple times and inside other
415 configuration files
2dd5a2e3 416 --flat-playlist Do not extract the videos of a playlist,
417 only list them
c8bc203f 418 --no-flat-playlist Fully extract the videos of a playlist
419 (default)
2dd5a2e3 420 --live-from-start Download livestreams from the start.
421 Currently only supported for YouTube
422 (Experimental)
423 --no-live-from-start Download livestreams from the current time
424 (default)
425 --wait-for-video MIN[-MAX] Wait for scheduled streams to become
426 available. Pass the minimum number of
427 seconds (or range) to wait between retries
428 --no-wait-for-video Do not wait for scheduled streams (default)
429 --mark-watched Mark videos watched (even with --simulate)
430 --no-mark-watched Do not mark videos watched (default)
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431 --color [STREAM:]POLICY Whether to emit color codes in output,
432 optionally prefixed by the STREAM (stdout or
433 stderr) to apply the setting to. Can be one
434 of "always", "auto" (default), "never", or
435 "no_color" (use non color terminal
436 sequences). Can be used multiple times
2dd5a2e3 437 --compat-options OPTS Options that can help keep compatibility
438 with youtube-dl or youtube-dlc
439 configurations by reverting some of the
440 changes made in yt-dlp. See "Differences in
441 default behavior" for details
442 --alias ALIASES OPTIONS Create aliases for an option string. Unless
443 an alias starts with a dash "-", it is
444 prefixed with "--". Arguments are parsed
445 according to the Python string formatting
62b58c09 446 mini-language. E.g. --alias get-audio,-X
2dd5a2e3 447 "-S=aext:{0},abr -x --audio-format {0}"
448 creates options "--get-audio" and "-X" that
449 takes an argument (ARG0) and expands to
450 "-S=aext:ARG0,abr -x --audio-format ARG0".
451 All defined aliases are listed in the --help
452 output. Alias options can trigger more
962ffcf8 453 aliases; so be careful to avoid defining
2dd5a2e3 454 recursive options. As a safety measure, each
455 alias may be triggered a maximum of 100
64fa820c 456 times. This option can be used multiple times
08c1d0d3 457
149f05c7 458## Network Options:
2dd5a2e3 459 --proxy URL Use the specified HTTP/HTTPS/SOCKS proxy. To
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460 enable SOCKS proxy, specify a proper scheme,
461 e.g. socks5://user:pass@127.0.0.1:1080/.
462 Pass in an empty string (--proxy "") for
463 direct connection
2dd5a2e3 464 --socket-timeout SECONDS Time to wait before giving up, in seconds
465 --source-address IP Client-side IP address to bind to
466 -4, --force-ipv4 Make all connections via IPv4
467 -6, --force-ipv6 Make all connections via IPv6
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468 --enable-file-urls Enable file:// URLs. This is disabled by
469 default for security reasons.
8c6c88c7 470
b31fdeed 471## Geo-restriction:
2dd5a2e3 472 --geo-verification-proxy URL Use this proxy to verify the IP address for
473 some geo-restricted sites. The default proxy
474 specified by --proxy (or none, if the option
475 is not present) is used for the actual
476 downloading
c1664464 477 --xff VALUE How to fake X-Forwarded-For HTTP header to
478 try bypassing geographic restriction. One of
c8bc203f 479 "default" (only when known to be useful),
480 "never", an IP block in CIDR notation, or a
481 two-letter ISO 3166-2 country code
149f05c7 482
cfcec693 483## Video Selection:
71df9b7f 484 -I, --playlist-items ITEM_SPEC Comma separated playlist_index of the items
7e88d7d7 485 to download. You can specify a range using
486 "[START]:[STOP][:STEP]". For backward
487 compatibility, START-STOP is also supported.
488 Use negative indices to count from the right
489 and negative STEP to download in reverse
62b58c09 490 order. E.g. "-I 1:3,7,-5::2" used on a
71df9b7f 491 playlist of size 15 will download the items
7e88d7d7 492 at index 1,2,3,7,11,13,15
71df9b7f 493 --min-filesize SIZE Abort download if filesize is smaller than
494 SIZE, e.g. 50k or 44.6M
495 --max-filesize SIZE Abort download if filesize is larger than
62b58c09 496 SIZE, e.g. 50k or 44.6M
2dd5a2e3 497 --date DATE Download only videos uploaded on this date.
498 The date can be "YYYYMMDD" or in the format
499 [now|today|yesterday][-N[day|week|month|year]].
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500 E.g. "--date today-2weeks" downloads only
501 videos uploaded on the same day two weeks ago
2dd5a2e3 502 --datebefore DATE Download only videos uploaded on or before
503 this date. The date formats accepted is the
504 same as --date
505 --dateafter DATE Download only videos uploaded on or after
506 this date. The date formats accepted is the
507 same as --date
508 --match-filters FILTER Generic video filter. Any "OUTPUT TEMPLATE"
509 field can be compared with a number or a
510 string using the operators defined in
d4ada357 511 "Filtering Formats". You can also simply
2dd5a2e3 512 specify a field to match if the field is
513 present, use "!field" to check if the field
514 is not present, and "&" to check multiple
515 conditions. Use a "\" to escape "&" or
516 quotes if needed. If used multiple times,
517 the filter matches if atleast one of the
62b58c09 518 conditions are met. E.g. --match-filter
2dd5a2e3 519 !is_live --match-filter "like_count>?100 &
520 description~='(?i)\bcats \& dogs\b'" matches
521 only videos that are not live OR those that
522 have a like count more than 100 (or the like
523 field is not available) and also has a
524 description that contains the phrase "cats &
525 dogs" (caseless). Use "--match-filter -" to
526 interactively ask whether to download each
527 video
c8bc203f 528 --no-match-filters Do not use any --match-filter (default)
fe2ce85a 529 --break-match-filters FILTER Same as "--match-filters" but stops the
530 download process when a video is rejected
531 --no-break-match-filters Do not use any --break-match-filters (default)
2dd5a2e3 532 --no-playlist Download only the video, if the URL refers
533 to a video and a playlist
534 --yes-playlist Download the playlist, if the URL refers to
535 a video and a playlist
536 --age-limit YEARS Download only videos suitable for the given
537 age
538 --download-archive FILE Download only videos not listed in the
539 archive file. Record the IDs of all
540 downloaded videos in it
541 --no-download-archive Do not use archive file (default)
542 --max-downloads NUMBER Abort after downloading NUMBER files
543 --break-on-existing Stop the download process when encountering
544 a file that is in the archive
71df9b7f 545 --break-per-input Alters --max-downloads, --break-on-existing,
354d5fca 546 --break-match-filter, and autonumber to
547 reset per input URL
2dd5a2e3 548 --no-break-per-input --break-on-existing and similar options
549 terminates the entire download queue
550 --skip-playlist-after-errors N Number of allowed failures until the rest of
551 the playlist is skipped
6bcd846b 552
d5a62e4f 553## Download Options:
2dd5a2e3 554 -N, --concurrent-fragments N Number of fragments of a dash/hlsnative
555 video that should be downloaded concurrently
556 (default is 1)
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557 -r, --limit-rate RATE Maximum download rate in bytes per second,
558 e.g. 50K or 4.2M
2dd5a2e3 559 --throttled-rate RATE Minimum download rate in bytes per second
560 below which throttling is assumed and the
62b58c09 561 video data is re-extracted, e.g. 100K
2dd5a2e3 562 -R, --retries RETRIES Number of retries (default is 10), or
563 "infinite"
564 --file-access-retries RETRIES Number of times to retry on file access
565 error (default is 3), or "infinite"
566 --fragment-retries RETRIES Number of retries for a fragment (default is
567 10), or "infinite" (DASH, hlsnative and ISM)
be5c1ae8 568 --retry-sleep [TYPE:]EXPR Time to sleep between retries in seconds
569 (optionally) prefixed by the type of retry
570 (http (default), fragment, file_access,
571 extractor) to apply the sleep to. EXPR can
572 be a number, linear=START[:END[:STEP=1]] or
573 exp=START[:END[:BASE=2]]. This option can be
574 used multiple times to set the sleep for the
62b58c09 575 different retry types, e.g. --retry-sleep
2dd5a2e3 576 linear=1::2 --retry-sleep fragment:exp=1:20
577 --skip-unavailable-fragments Skip unavailable fragments for DASH,
578 hlsnative and ISM downloads (default)
8e174ba7 579 (Alias: --no-abort-on-unavailable-fragments)
580 --abort-on-unavailable-fragments
2dd5a2e3 581 Abort download if a fragment is unavailable
582 (Alias: --no-skip-unavailable-fragments)
583 --keep-fragments Keep downloaded fragments on disk after
584 downloading is finished
585 --no-keep-fragments Delete downloaded fragments after
586 downloading is finished (default)
62b58c09 587 --buffer-size SIZE Size of download buffer, e.g. 1024 or 16K
2dd5a2e3 588 (default is 1024)
589 --resize-buffer The buffer size is automatically resized
590 from an initial value of --buffer-size
591 (default)
592 --no-resize-buffer Do not automatically adjust the buffer size
593 --http-chunk-size SIZE Size of a chunk for chunk-based HTTP
62b58c09 594 downloading, e.g. 10485760 or 10M (default
2dd5a2e3 595 is disabled). May be useful for bypassing
596 bandwidth throttling imposed by a webserver
597 (experimental)
2dd5a2e3 598 --playlist-random Download playlist videos in random order
7e9a6125 599 --lazy-playlist Process entries in the playlist as they are
600 received. This disables n_entries,
601 --playlist-random and --playlist-reverse
602 --no-lazy-playlist Process videos in the playlist only after
603 the entire playlist is parsed (default)
2dd5a2e3 604 --xattr-set-filesize Set file xattribute ytdl.filesize with
605 expected file size
606 --hls-use-mpegts Use the mpegts container for HLS videos;
607 allowing some players to play the video
608 while downloading, and reducing the chance
609 of file corruption if download is
610 interrupted. This is enabled by default for
611 live streams
612 --no-hls-use-mpegts Do not use the mpegts container for HLS
613 videos. This is default when not downloading
614 live streams
b4e0d758 615 --download-sections REGEX Download only chapters that match the
616 regular expression. A "*" prefix denotes
617 time-range instead of chapter. Negative
618 timestamps are calculated from the end.
619 "*from-url" can be used to download between
620 the "start_time" and "end_time" extracted
621 from the URL. Needs ffmpeg. This option can
622 be used multiple times to download multiple
62b58c09 623 sections, e.g. --download-sections
2fa669f7 624 "*10:15-inf" --download-sections "intro"
2dd5a2e3 625 --downloader [PROTO:]NAME Name or path of the external downloader to
626 use (optionally) prefixed by the protocols
627 (http, ftp, m3u8, dash, rstp, rtmp, mms) to
628 use it for. Currently supports native,
629 aria2c, avconv, axel, curl, ffmpeg, httpie,
630 wget. You can use this option multiple times
631 to set different downloaders for different
62b58c09 632 protocols. E.g. --downloader aria2c
2dd5a2e3 633 --downloader "dash,m3u8:native" will use
634 aria2c for http/ftp downloads, and the
635 native downloader for dash/m3u8 downloads
636 (Alias: --external-downloader)
637 --downloader-args NAME:ARGS Give these arguments to the external
638 downloader. Specify the downloader name and
639 the arguments separated by a colon ":". For
640 ffmpeg, arguments can be passed to different
641 positions using the same syntax as
642 --postprocessor-args. You can use this
643 option multiple times to give different
644 arguments to different downloaders (Alias:
645 --external-downloader-args)
d5a62e4f 646
cfcec693 647## Filesystem Options:
2dd5a2e3 648 -a, --batch-file FILE File containing URLs to download ("-" for
649 stdin), one URL per line. Lines starting
650 with "#", ";" or "]" are considered as
651 comments and ignored
652 --no-batch-file Do not read URLs from batch file (default)
653 -P, --paths [TYPES:]PATH The paths where the files should be
654 downloaded. Specify the type of file and the
655 path separated by a colon ":". All the same
656 TYPES as --output are supported.
657 Additionally, you can also provide "home"
658 (default) and "temp" paths. All intermediary
659 files are first downloaded to the temp path
660 and then the final files are moved over to
661 the home path after download is finished.
662 This option is ignored if --output is an
663 absolute path
664 -o, --output [TYPES:]TEMPLATE Output filename template; see "OUTPUT
665 TEMPLATE" for details
666 --output-na-placeholder TEXT Placeholder for unavailable fields in
667 "OUTPUT TEMPLATE" (default: "NA")
668 --restrict-filenames Restrict filenames to only ASCII characters,
669 and avoid "&" and spaces in filenames
670 --no-restrict-filenames Allow Unicode characters, "&" and spaces in
671 filenames (default)
672 --windows-filenames Force filenames to be Windows-compatible
673 --no-windows-filenames Make filenames Windows-compatible only if
674 using Windows (default)
675 --trim-filenames LENGTH Limit the filename length (excluding
676 extension) to the specified number of
677 characters
678 -w, --no-overwrites Do not overwrite any files
679 --force-overwrites Overwrite all video and metadata files. This
680 option includes --no-continue
681 --no-force-overwrites Do not overwrite the video, but overwrite
682 related files (default)
683 -c, --continue Resume partially downloaded files/fragments
684 (default)
685 --no-continue Do not resume partially downloaded
686 fragments. If the file is not fragmented,
687 restart download of the entire file
688 --part Use .part files instead of writing directly
689 into output file (default)
690 --no-part Do not use .part files - write directly into
691 output file
692 --mtime Use the Last-modified header to set the file
693 modification time (default)
694 --no-mtime Do not use the Last-modified header to set
695 the file modification time
64fa820c 696 --write-description Write video description to a .description file
2dd5a2e3 697 --no-write-description Do not write video description (default)
698 --write-info-json Write video metadata to a .info.json file
699 (this may contain personal information)
700 --no-write-info-json Do not write video metadata (default)
701 --write-playlist-metafiles Write playlist metadata in addition to the
702 video metadata when using --write-info-json,
703 --write-description etc. (default)
704 --no-write-playlist-metafiles Do not write playlist metadata when using
705 --write-info-json, --write-description etc.
ad54c913 706 --clean-info-json Remove some internal metadata such as
707 filenames from the infojson (default)
2dd5a2e3 708 --no-clean-info-json Write all fields to the infojson
709 --write-comments Retrieve video comments to be placed in the
710 infojson. The comments are fetched even
711 without this option if the extraction is
712 known to be quick (Alias: --get-comments)
713 --no-write-comments Do not retrieve video comments unless the
714 extraction is known to be quick (Alias:
715 --no-get-comments)
716 --load-info-json FILE JSON file containing the video information
64fa820c 717 (created with the "--write-info-json" option)
2dd5a2e3 718 --cookies FILE Netscape formatted file to read cookies from
719 and dump cookie jar in
720 --no-cookies Do not read/dump cookies from/to file
721 (default)
825d3ce3 722 --cookies-from-browser BROWSER[+KEYRING][:PROFILE][::CONTAINER]
723 The name of the browser to load cookies
724 from. Currently supported browsers are:
725 brave, chrome, chromium, edge, firefox,
726 opera, safari, vivaldi. Optionally, the
727 KEYRING used for decrypting Chromium cookies
728 on Linux, the name/path of the PROFILE to
729 load cookies from, and the CONTAINER name
730 (if Firefox) ("none" for no container) can
731 be given with their respective seperators.
732 By default, all containers of the most
733 recently accessed profile are used.
734 Currently supported keyrings are: basictext,
2e023649 735 gnomekeyring, kwallet, kwallet5, kwallet6
2dd5a2e3 736 --no-cookies-from-browser Do not load cookies from browser (default)
17ffed18 737 --cache-dir DIR Location in the filesystem where yt-dlp can
738 store some downloaded information (such as
739 client ids and signatures) permanently. By
878eac3e 740 default ${XDG_CACHE_HOME}/yt-dlp
2dd5a2e3 741 --no-cache-dir Disable filesystem caching
742 --rm-cache-dir Delete all filesystem cache files
6bcd846b 743
b31fdeed 744## Thumbnail Options:
2dd5a2e3 745 --write-thumbnail Write thumbnail image to disk
64fa820c 746 --no-write-thumbnail Do not write thumbnail image to disk (default)
2dd5a2e3 747 --write-all-thumbnails Write all thumbnail image formats to disk
748 --list-thumbnails List available thumbnails of each video.
749 Simulate unless --no-simulate is used
2b1bd292 750
732044af 751## Internet Shortcut Options:
2dd5a2e3 752 --write-link Write an internet shortcut file, depending
753 on the current platform (.url, .webloc or
754 .desktop). The URL may be cached by the OS
755 --write-url-link Write a .url Windows internet shortcut. The
756 OS caches the URL based on the file path
757 --write-webloc-link Write a .webloc macOS internet shortcut
758 --write-desktop-link Write a .desktop Linux internet shortcut
732044af 759
0744a815 760## Verbosity and Simulation Options:
2dd5a2e3 761 -q, --quiet Activate quiet mode. If used with --verbose,
762 print the log to stderr
d669772c 763 --no-quiet Deactivate quiet mode. (Default)
2dd5a2e3 764 --no-warnings Ignore warnings
765 -s, --simulate Do not download the video and do not write
766 anything to disk
767 --no-simulate Download the video even if printing/listing
768 options are used
769 --ignore-no-formats-error Ignore "No video formats" error. Useful for
770 extracting metadata even if the videos are
771 not actually available for download
772 (experimental)
773 --no-ignore-no-formats-error Throw error when no downloadable video
774 formats are found (default)
775 --skip-download Do not download the video but write all
776 related files (Alias: --no-download)
777 -O, --print [WHEN:]TEMPLATE Field name or output template to print to
778 screen, optionally prefixed with when to
779 print it, separated by a ":". Supported
780 values of "WHEN" are the same as that of
119e40ef 781 --use-postprocessor (default: video).
2dd5a2e3 782 Implies --quiet. Implies --simulate unless
783 --no-simulate or later stages of WHEN are
784 used. This option can be used multiple times
bb66c247 785 --print-to-file [WHEN:]TEMPLATE FILE
2dd5a2e3 786 Append given template to the file. The
787 values of WHEN and TEMPLATE are same as that
788 of --print. FILE uses the same syntax as the
789 output template. This option can be used
790 multiple times
791 -j, --dump-json Quiet, but print JSON information for each
792 video. Simulate unless --no-simulate is
793 used. See "OUTPUT TEMPLATE" for a
794 description of available keys
795 -J, --dump-single-json Quiet, but print JSON information for each
796 url or infojson passed. Simulate unless
797 --no-simulate is used. If the URL refers to
798 a playlist, the whole playlist information
799 is dumped in a single line
800 --force-write-archive Force download archive entries to be written
801 as far as no errors occur, even if -s or
802 another simulation option is used (Alias:
803 --force-download-archive)
804 --newline Output progress bar as new lines
805 --no-progress Do not print progress bar
806 --progress Show progress bar, even if in quiet mode
807 --console-title Display progress in console titlebar
819e0531 808 --progress-template [TYPES:]TEMPLATE
2dd5a2e3 809 Template for progress outputs, optionally
810 prefixed with one of "download:" (default),
811 "download-title:" (the console title),
812 "postprocess:", or "postprocess-title:".
813 The video's fields are accessible under the
814 "info" key and the progress attributes are
62b58c09 815 accessible under "progress" key. E.g.
2dd5a2e3 816 --console-title --progress-template
817 "download-title:%(info.id)s-%(progress.eta)s"
818 -v, --verbose Print various debugging information
819 --dump-pages Print downloaded pages encoded using base64
820 to debug problems (very verbose)
821 --write-pages Write downloaded intermediary pages to files
822 in the current directory to debug problems
823 --print-traffic Display sent and read HTTP traffic
6bcd846b 824
36f35428 825## Workarounds:
2dd5a2e3 826 --encoding ENCODING Force the specified encoding (experimental)
827 --legacy-server-connect Explicitly allow HTTPS connection to servers
828 that do not support RFC 5746 secure
829 renegotiation
830 --no-check-certificates Suppress HTTPS certificate validation
831 --prefer-insecure Use an unencrypted connection to retrieve
832 information about the video (Currently
833 supported only for YouTube)
a5387729 834 --add-headers FIELD:VALUE Specify a custom HTTP header and its value,
2dd5a2e3 835 separated by a colon ":". You can use this
836 option multiple times
837 --bidi-workaround Work around terminals that lack
838 bidirectional text support. Requires bidiv
839 or fribidi executable in PATH
840 --sleep-requests SECONDS Number of seconds to sleep between requests
841 during data extraction
842 --sleep-interval SECONDS Number of seconds to sleep before each
843 download. This is the minimum time to sleep
844 when used along with --max-sleep-interval
845 (Alias: --min-sleep-interval)
846 --max-sleep-interval SECONDS Maximum number of seconds to sleep. Can only
847 be used along with --min-sleep-interval
848 --sleep-subtitles SECONDS Number of seconds to sleep before each
849 subtitle download
36f35428 850
cfcec693 851## Video Format Options:
2dd5a2e3 852 -f, --format FORMAT Video format code, see "FORMAT SELECTION"
853 for more details
854 -S, --format-sort SORTORDER Sort the formats by the fields given, see
855 "Sorting Formats" for more details
856 --format-sort-force Force user specified sort order to have
857 precedence over all fields, see "Sorting
858 Formats" for more details (Alias: --S-force)
859 --no-format-sort-force Some fields have precedence over the user
860 specified sort order (default)
861 --video-multistreams Allow multiple video streams to be merged
862 into a single file
863 --no-video-multistreams Only one video stream is downloaded for each
864 output file (default)
865 --audio-multistreams Allow multiple audio streams to be merged
866 into a single file
867 --no-audio-multistreams Only one audio stream is downloaded for each
868 output file (default)
869 --prefer-free-formats Prefer video formats with free containers
870 over non-free ones of same quality. Use with
871 "-S ext" to strictly prefer free containers
872 irrespective of quality
873 --no-prefer-free-formats Don't give any special preference to free
874 containers (default)
875 --check-formats Make sure formats are selected only from
876 those that are actually downloadable
877 --check-all-formats Check all formats for whether they are
878 actually downloadable
879 --no-check-formats Do not check that the formats are actually
880 downloadable
881 -F, --list-formats List available formats of each video.
882 Simulate unless --no-simulate is used
fc61aff4 883 --merge-output-format FORMAT Containers that may be used when merging
62b58c09 884 formats, separated by "/", e.g. "mp4/mkv".
fc61aff4
LL
885 Ignored if no merge is required. (currently
886 supported: avi, flv, mkv, mov, mp4, webm)
8ae7be3e
PH
887
888## Subtitle Options:
2dd5a2e3 889 --write-subs Write subtitle file
890 --no-write-subs Do not write subtitle file (default)
891 --write-auto-subs Write automatically generated subtitle file
892 (Alias: --write-automatic-subs)
893 --no-write-auto-subs Do not write auto-generated subtitles
894 (default) (Alias: --no-write-automatic-subs)
895 --list-subs List available subtitles of each video.
896 Simulate unless --no-simulate is used
897 --sub-format FORMAT Subtitle format; accepts formats preference,
62b58c09 898 e.g. "srt" or "ass/srt/best"
2dd5a2e3 899 --sub-langs LANGS Languages of the subtitles to download (can
62b58c09
L
900 be regex) or "all" separated by commas, e.g.
901 --sub-langs "en.*,ja". You can prefix the
2dd5a2e3 902 language code with a "-" to exclude it from
62b58c09
L
903 the requested languages, e.g. --sub-langs
904 all,-live_chat. Use --list-subs for a list
2dd5a2e3 905 of available language tags
6bcd846b 906
cfcec693 907## Authentication Options:
2dd5a2e3 908 -u, --username USERNAME Login with this account ID
909 -p, --password PASSWORD Account password. If this option is left
910 out, yt-dlp will ask interactively
911 -2, --twofactor TWOFACTOR Two-factor authentication code
912 -n, --netrc Use .netrc authentication data
913 --netrc-location PATH Location of .netrc authentication data;
914 either the path or its containing directory.
915 Defaults to ~/.netrc
db3ad8a6 916 --netrc-cmd NETRC_CMD Command to execute to get the credentials
d1b21561 917 for an extractor.
b634ba74 918 --video-password PASSWORD Video-specific password
2dd5a2e3 919 --ap-mso MSO Adobe Pass multiple-system operator (TV
920 provider) identifier, use --ap-list-mso for
921 a list of available MSOs
922 --ap-username USERNAME Multiple-system operator account login
923 --ap-password PASSWORD Multiple-system operator account password.
924 If this option is left out, yt-dlp will ask
925 interactively
926 --ap-list-mso List all supported multiple-system operators
927 --client-certificate CERTFILE Path to client certificate file in PEM
928 format. May include the private key
929 --client-certificate-key KEYFILE
930 Path to private key file for client
931 certificate
bb58c9ed 932 --client-certificate-password PASSWORD
2dd5a2e3 933 Password for client certificate private key,
934 if encrypted. If not provided, and the key
935 is encrypted, yt-dlp will ask interactively
f5e008d1 936
c76eb41b 937## Post-Processing Options:
2dd5a2e3 938 -x, --extract-audio Convert video files to audio-only files
939 (requires ffmpeg and ffprobe)
35faefee 940 --audio-format FORMAT Format to convert the audio to when -x is
941 used. (currently supported: best (default),
8dc59305 942 aac, alac, flac, m4a, mp3, opus, vorbis,
e0ab9854 943 wav). You can specify multiple rules using
944 similar syntax as --remux-video
2dd5a2e3 945 --audio-quality QUALITY Specify ffmpeg audio quality to use when
946 converting the audio with -x. Insert a value
947 between 0 (best) and 10 (worst) for VBR or a
948 specific bitrate like 128K (default 5)
949 --remux-video FORMAT Remux the video into another container if
8dc59305 950 necessary (currently supported: avi, flv,
69f5fe45 951 gif, mkv, mov, mp4, webm, aac, aiff, alac,
952 flac, m4a, mka, mp3, ogg, opus, vorbis,
953 wav). If target container does not support
954 the video/audio codec, remuxing will fail.
955 You can specify multiple rules; e.g.
2dd5a2e3 956 "aac>m4a/mov>mp4/mkv" will remux aac to m4a,
35faefee 957 mov to mp4 and anything else to mkv
2dd5a2e3 958 --recode-video FORMAT Re-encode the video into another format if
959 necessary. The syntax and supported formats
960 are the same as --remux-video
961 --postprocessor-args NAME:ARGS Give these arguments to the postprocessors.
962 Specify the postprocessor/executable name
963 and the arguments separated by a colon ":"
964 to give the argument to the specified
965 postprocessor/executable. Supported PP are:
966 Merger, ModifyChapters, SplitChapters,
967 ExtractAudio, VideoRemuxer, VideoConvertor,
968 Metadata, EmbedSubtitle, EmbedThumbnail,
969 SubtitlesConvertor, ThumbnailsConvertor,
970 FixupStretched, FixupM4a, FixupM3u8,
971 FixupTimestamp and FixupDuration. The
972 supported executables are: AtomicParsley,
973 FFmpeg and FFprobe. You can also specify
974 "PP+EXE:ARGS" to give the arguments to the
975 specified executable only when being used by
976 the specified postprocessor. Additionally,
977 for ffmpeg/ffprobe, "_i"/"_o" can be
978 appended to the prefix optionally followed
979 by a number to pass the argument before the
62b58c09 980 specified input/output file, e.g. --ppa
2dd5a2e3 981 "Merger+ffmpeg_i1:-v quiet". You can use
982 this option multiple times to give different
983 arguments to different postprocessors.
984 (Alias: --ppa)
985 -k, --keep-video Keep the intermediate video file on disk
986 after post-processing
987 --no-keep-video Delete the intermediate video file after
988 post-processing (default)
989 --post-overwrites Overwrite post-processed files (default)
990 --no-post-overwrites Do not overwrite post-processed files
991 --embed-subs Embed subtitles in the video (only for mp4,
992 webm and mkv videos)
993 --no-embed-subs Do not embed subtitles (default)
994 --embed-thumbnail Embed thumbnail in the video as cover art
995 --no-embed-thumbnail Do not embed thumbnail (default)
996 --embed-metadata Embed metadata to the video file. Also
997 embeds chapters/infojson if present unless
998 --no-embed-chapters/--no-embed-info-json are
999 used (Alias: --add-metadata)
1000 --no-embed-metadata Do not add metadata to file (default)
1001 (Alias: --no-add-metadata)
1002 --embed-chapters Add chapter markers to the video file
1003 (Alias: --add-chapters)
1004 --no-embed-chapters Do not add chapter markers (default) (Alias:
1005 --no-add-chapters)
1006 --embed-info-json Embed the infojson as an attachment to
1007 mkv/mka video files
1008 --no-embed-info-json Do not embed the infojson as an attachment
1009 to the video file
fe74d5b5 1010 --parse-metadata [WHEN:]FROM:TO
1011 Parse additional metadata like title/artist
2dd5a2e3 1012 from other fields; see "MODIFYING METADATA"
fe74d5b5 1013 for details. Supported values of "WHEN" are
1014 the same as that of --use-postprocessor
1015 (default: pre_process)
1016 --replace-in-metadata [WHEN:]FIELDS REGEX REPLACE
2dd5a2e3 1017 Replace text in a metadata field using the
1018 given regex. This option can be used
fe74d5b5 1019 multiple times. Supported values of "WHEN"
1020 are the same as that of --use-postprocessor
1021 (default: pre_process)
2dd5a2e3 1022 --xattrs Write metadata to the video file's xattrs
1023 (using dublin core and xdg standards)
1024 --concat-playlist POLICY Concatenate videos in a playlist. One of
1025 "never", "always", or "multi_video"
1026 (default; only when the videos form a single
1027 show). All the video files must have same
1028 codecs and number of streams to be
1029 concatable. The "pl_video:" prefix can be
1030 used with "--paths" and "--output" to set
1031 the output filename for the concatenated
1032 files. See "OUTPUT TEMPLATE" for details
1033 --fixup POLICY Automatically correct known faults of the
1034 file. One of never (do nothing), warn (only
1035 emit a warning), detect_or_warn (the
1036 default; fix file if we can, warn
1037 otherwise), force (try fixing even if file
1038 already exists)
1039 --ffmpeg-location PATH Location of the ffmpeg binary; either the
64fa820c 1040 path to the binary or its containing directory
2dd5a2e3 1041 --exec [WHEN:]CMD Execute a command, optionally prefixed with
119e40ef 1042 when to execute it, separated by a ":".
1043 Supported values of "WHEN" are the same as
1044 that of --use-postprocessor (default:
1045 after_move). Same syntax as the output
1046 template can be used to pass any field as
ad54c913 1047 arguments to the command. If no fields are
1048 passed, %(filepath,_filename|)q is appended
1049 to the end of the command. This option can
1050 be used multiple times
2dd5a2e3 1051 --no-exec Remove any previously defined --exec
1052 --convert-subs FORMAT Convert the subtitles to another format
8dc59305 1053 (currently supported: ass, lrc, srt, vtt)
2dd5a2e3 1054 (Alias: --convert-subtitles)
1055 --convert-thumbnails FORMAT Convert the thumbnails to another format
00bbc5f1 1056 (currently supported: jpg, png, webp). You
1057 can specify multiple rules using similar
1058 syntax as --remux-video
2dd5a2e3 1059 --split-chapters Split video into multiple files based on
1060 internal chapters. The "chapter:" prefix can
1061 be used with "--paths" and "--output" to set
1062 the output filename for the split files. See
1063 "OUTPUT TEMPLATE" for details
64fa820c 1064 --no-split-chapters Do not split video based on chapters (default)
2dd5a2e3 1065 --remove-chapters REGEX Remove chapters whose title matches the
5ec1b6b7 1066 given regular expression. The syntax is the
1067 same as --download-sections. This option can
2dd5a2e3 1068 be used multiple times
1069 --no-remove-chapters Do not remove any chapters from the file
1070 (default)
5ec1b6b7 1071 --force-keyframes-at-cuts Force keyframes at cuts when
1072 downloading/splitting/removing sections.
1073 This is slow due to needing a re-encode, but
1074 the resulting video may have fewer artifacts
1075 around the cuts
2dd5a2e3 1076 --no-force-keyframes-at-cuts Do not force keyframes around the chapters
1077 when cutting/splitting (default)
1078 --use-postprocessor NAME[:ARGS]
1079 The (case sensitive) name of plugin
1080 postprocessors to be enabled, and
1081 (optionally) arguments to be passed to it,
1082 separated by a colon ":". ARGS are a
1083 semicolon ";" delimited list of NAME=VALUE.
1084 The "when" argument determines when the
1085 postprocessor is invoked. It can be one of
1086 "pre_process" (after video extraction),
1087 "after_filter" (after video passes filter),
119e40ef 1088 "video" (after --format; before
1089 --print/--output), "before_dl" (before each
1090 video download), "post_process" (after each
1091 video download; default), "after_move"
1092 (after moving video file to it's final
1093 locations), "after_video" (after downloading
1094 and processing all formats of a video), or
1095 "playlist" (at end of playlist). This option
1096 can be used multiple times to add different
1097 postprocessors
7a340e0d
NA
1098
1099## SponsorBlock Options:
1100Make chapter entries for, or remove various segments (sponsor,
1101 introductions, etc.) from downloaded YouTube videos using the
8a51f564 1102 [SponsorBlock API](https://sponsor.ajay.app)
1103
2dd5a2e3 1104 --sponsorblock-mark CATS SponsorBlock categories to create chapters
1105 for, separated by commas. Available
1106 categories are sponsor, intro, outro,
1107 selfpromo, preview, filler, interaction,
71df9b7f 1108 music_offtopic, poi_highlight, chapter, all
1109 and default (=all). You can prefix the
1110 category with a "-" to exclude it. See [1]
1111 for description of the categories. E.g.
2dd5a2e3 1112 --sponsorblock-mark all,-preview
1113 [1] https://wiki.sponsor.ajay.app/w/Segment_Categories
1114 --sponsorblock-remove CATS SponsorBlock categories to be removed from
1115 the video file, separated by commas. If a
1116 category is present in both mark and remove,
1117 remove takes precedence. The syntax and
1118 available categories are the same as for
1119 --sponsorblock-mark except that "default"
71df9b7f 1120 refers to "all,-filler" and poi_highlight,
63c547d7 1121 chapter are not available
7a340e0d 1122 --sponsorblock-chapter-title TEMPLATE
2dd5a2e3 1123 An output template for the title of the
1124 SponsorBlock chapters created by
1125 --sponsorblock-mark. The only available
1126 fields are start_time, end_time, category,
1127 categories, name, category_names. Defaults
1128 to "[SponsorBlock]: %(category_names)l"
1129 --no-sponsorblock Disable both --sponsorblock-mark and
1130 --sponsorblock-remove
1131 --sponsorblock-api URL SponsorBlock API location, defaults to
1132 https://sponsor.ajay.app
a9e7f546 1133
78895bd3 1134## Extractor Options:
2dd5a2e3 1135 --extractor-retries RETRIES Number of retries for known extractor errors
1136 (default is 3), or "infinite"
1137 --allow-dynamic-mpd Process dynamic DASH manifests (default)
1138 (Alias: --no-ignore-dynamic-mpd)
1139 --ignore-dynamic-mpd Do not process dynamic DASH manifests
1140 (Alias: --no-allow-dynamic-mpd)
1141 --hls-split-discontinuity Split HLS playlists to different formats at
1142 discontinuities such as ad breaks
1143 --no-hls-split-discontinuity Do not split HLS playlists to different
1144 formats at discontinuities such as ad breaks
1145 (default)
2fa669f7 1146 --extractor-args IE_KEY:ARGS Pass ARGS arguments to the IE_KEY extractor.
1147 See "EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS" for details. You
1148 can use this option multiple times to give
2dd5a2e3 1149 arguments for different extractors
17cb02d0 1150
b7770046
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1151# CONFIGURATION
1152
7a5c1cfe 1153You can configure yt-dlp by placing any supported command line option to a configuration file. The configuration is loaded from the following locations:
e2e43aea 1154
878eac3e 11551. **Main Configuration**:
1156 * The file given by `--config-location`
11571. **Portable Configuration**: (Recommended for portable installations)
1158 * If using a binary, `yt-dlp.conf` in the same directory as the binary
1159 * If running from source-code, `yt-dlp.conf` in the parent directory of `yt_dlp`
11601. **Home Configuration**:
1161 * `yt-dlp.conf` in the home path given by `-P`
1162 * If `-P` is not given, the current directory is searched
e2e43aea 11631. **User Configuration**:
773c272d 1164 * `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp.conf`
878eac3e 1165 * `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp/config` (recommended on Linux/macOS)
8e40b9d1 1166 * `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp/config.txt`
773c272d 1167 * `${APPDATA}/yt-dlp.conf`
878eac3e 1168 * `${APPDATA}/yt-dlp/config` (recommended on Windows)
1169 * `${APPDATA}/yt-dlp/config.txt`
e2e43aea 1170 * `~/yt-dlp.conf`
1171 * `~/yt-dlp.conf.txt`
8e40b9d1
M
1172 * `~/.yt-dlp/config`
1173 * `~/.yt-dlp/config.txt`
3d3bb168 1174
878eac3e 1175 See also: [Notes about environment variables](#notes-about-environment-variables)
11761. **System Configuration**:
1177 * `/etc/yt-dlp.conf`
8e40b9d1
M
1178 * `/etc/yt-dlp/config`
1179 * `/etc/yt-dlp/config.txt`
b7770046 1180
62b58c09 1181E.g. 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:
b7770046
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1182```
1183# Lines starting with # are comments
1184
1185# Always extract audio
1186-x
1187
1188# Do not copy the mtime
1189--no-mtime
1190
1191# Use this proxy
1192--proxy 127.0.0.1:3128
1193
298f597b 1194# Save all videos under YouTube directory in your home directory
1195-o ~/YouTube/%(title)s.%(ext)s
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1196```
1197
8e174ba7 1198**Note**: 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`. They must also be quoted when necessary as-if it were a UNIX shell.
b7770046 1199
a4211baf 1200You 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 home, user, and system configurations. Additionally, (for backward compatibility) if `--ignore-config` is found inside the system configuration file, the user configuration is not loaded.
b7770046 1201
304ad45a 1202### Configuration file encoding
a904a7f8 1203
304ad45a 1204The configuration files are decoded according to the UTF BOM if present, and in the encoding from system locale otherwise.
a904a7f8 1205
88f60feb 1206If you want your file to be decoded differently, add `# coding: ENCODING` to the beginning of the file (e.g. `# coding: shift-jis`). There must be no characters before that, even spaces or BOM.
a904a7f8 1207
db3ad8a6 1208### Authentication with netrc
b7770046 1209
304ad45a 1210You 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 `--netrc-location` and restrict permissions to read/write by only you:
b7770046 1211```
878eac3e 1212touch ${HOME}/.netrc
1213chmod a-rwx,u+rw ${HOME}/.netrc
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1214```
1215After that you can add credentials for an extractor in the following format, where *extractor* is the name of the extractor in lowercase:
1216```
0001fcb5 1217machine <extractor> login <username> password <password>
b7770046 1218```
62b58c09 1219E.g.
b7770046
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1220```
1221machine youtube login myaccount@gmail.com password my_youtube_password
1222machine twitch login my_twitch_account_name password my_twitch_password
1223```
7a5c1cfe 1224To activate authentication with the `.netrc` file you should pass `--netrc` to yt-dlp or place it in the [configuration file](#configuration).
b7770046 1225
878eac3e 1226The default location of the .netrc file is `~` (see below).
1227
d7cd97e8 1228As an alternative to using the `.netrc` file, which has the disadvantage of keeping your passwords in a plain text file, you can configure a custom shell command to provide the credentials for an extractor. This is done by providing the `--netrc-cmd` parameter, it shall output the credentials in the netrc format and return `0` on success, other values will be treated as an error. `{}` in the command will be replaced by the name of the extractor to make it possible to select the credentials for the right extractor.
db3ad8a6
ND
1229
1230E.g. To use an encrypted `.netrc` file stored as `.authinfo.gpg`
1231```
1232yt-dlp --netrc-cmd 'gpg --decrypt ~/.authinfo.gpg' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc
1233```
1234
1235
878eac3e 1236### Notes about environment variables
1237* Environment variables are normally specified as `${VARIABLE}`/`$VARIABLE` on UNIX and `%VARIABLE%` on Windows; but is always shown as `${VARIABLE}` in this documentation
1238* yt-dlp also allow using UNIX-style variables on Windows for path-like options; e.g. `--output`, `--config-location`
1239* If unset, `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}` defaults to `~/.config` and `${XDG_CACHE_HOME}` to `~/.cache`
1240* On Windows, `~` points to `${HOME}` if present; or, `${USERPROFILE}` or `${HOMEDRIVE}${HOMEPATH}` otherwise
1241* On Windows, `${USERPROFILE}` generally points to `C:\Users\<user name>` and `${APPDATA}` to `${USERPROFILE}\AppData\Roaming`
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1242
1243# OUTPUT TEMPLATE
1244
0202b52a 1245The `-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.
b7770046 1246
ec2e44fc 1247<!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
b7770046 1248**tl;dr:** [navigate me to examples](#output-template-examples).
ec2e44fc 1249<!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
b7770046 1250
e58c22a0 1251The simplest 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"` (hard-coding file extension like this is _not_ recommended and could break some post-processing).
a439a3a4 1252
62b58c09 1253It may however also 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/3/library/stdtypes.html#printf-style-string-formatting), e.g. `%(NAME)s` or `%(NAME)05d`. To clarify, that is a percent symbol followed by a name in parentheses, followed by formatting operations.
a439a3a4 1254
1255The field names themselves (the part inside the parenthesis) can also have some special formatting:
3d3bb168 1256
07a1250e 12571. **Object traversal**: The dictionaries and lists available in metadata can be traversed by using a dot `.` separator; e.g. `%(tags.0)s`, `%(subtitles.en.-1.ext)s`. You can do Python slicing with colon `:`; E.g. `%(id.3:7:-1)s`, `%(formats.:.format_id)s`. Curly braces `{}` can be used to build dictionaries with only specific keys; e.g. `%(formats.:.{format_id,height})#j`. An empty field name `%()s` refers to the entire infodict; e.g. `%(.{id,title})s`. Note that all the fields that become available using this method are not listed below. Use `-j` to see such fields
ec2e44fc 1258
62b58c09 12591. **Addition**: Addition and subtraction of numeric fields can be done using `+` and `-` respectively. E.g. `%(playlist_index+10)03d`, `%(n_entries+1-playlist_index)d`
ec2e44fc 1260
62b58c09 12611. **Date/time Formatting**: Date/time fields can be formatted according to [strftime formatting](https://docs.python.org/3/library/datetime.html#strftime-and-strptime-format-codes) by specifying it separated from the field name using a `>`. E.g. `%(duration>%H-%M-%S)s`, `%(upload_date>%Y-%m-%d)s`, `%(epoch-3600>%H-%M-%S)s`
ec2e44fc 1262
62b58c09 12631. **Alternatives**: Alternate fields can be specified separated with a `,`. E.g. `%(release_date>%Y,upload_date>%Y|Unknown)s`
ec2e44fc 1264
ec9311c4 12651. **Replacement**: A replacement value can be specified using a `&` separator according to the [`str.format` mini-language](https://docs.python.org/3/library/string.html#format-specification-mini-language). If the field is *not* empty, this replacement value will be used instead of the actual field content. This is done after alternate fields are considered; thus the replacement is used if *any* of the alternative fields is *not* empty. E.g. `%(chapters&has chapters|no chapters)s`, `%(title&TITLE={:>20}|NO TITLE)s`
e978789f 1266
17ffed18 12671. **Default**: A literal default value can be specified for when the field is empty using a `|` separator. This overrides `--output-na-placeholder`. E.g. `%(uploader|Unknown)s`
ec2e44fc 1268
9b9dad11 12691. **More Conversions**: In addition to the normal format types `diouxXeEfFgGcrs`, yt-dlp additionally supports converting to `B` = **B**ytes, `j` = **j**son (flag `#` for pretty-printing, `+` for Unicode), `h` = HTML escaping, `l` = a comma separated **l**ist (flag `#` for `\n` newline-separated), `q` = a string **q**uoted for the terminal (flag `#` to split a list into different arguments), `D` = add **D**ecimal suffixes (e.g. 10M) (flag `#` to use 1024 as factor), and `S` = **S**anitize as filename (flag `#` for restricted)
ec2e44fc 1270
d5d1df8a 12711. **Unicode normalization**: The format type `U` can be used for NFC [Unicode normalization](https://docs.python.org/3/library/unicodedata.html#unicodedata.normalize). The alternate form flag (`#`) changes the normalization to NFD and the conversion flag `+` can be used for NFKC/NFKD compatibility equivalence normalization. E.g. `%(title)+.100U` is NFKC
a439a3a4 1272
1273To summarize, the general syntax for a field is:
1274```
e978789f 1275%(name[.keys][addition][>strf][,alternate][&replacement][|default])[flags][width][.precision][length]type
a439a3a4 1276```
de6000d9 1277
62b58c09 1278Additionally, you can set different output templates for the various metadata files separately from the general output template by specifying the type of file followed by the template separated by a colon `:`. The different file types supported are `subtitle`, `thumbnail`, `description`, `annotation` (deprecated), `infojson`, `link`, `pl_thumbnail`, `pl_description`, `pl_infojson`, `chapter`, `pl_video`. E.g. `-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. If any of the templates is empty, that type of file will not be written. E.g. `--write-thumbnail -o "thumbnail:"` will write thumbnails only for playlists and not for video.
e29663c6 1279
4815bbfc 1280<a id="outtmpl-postprocess-note"/>
7aaf4cd2 1281
8e174ba7 1282**Note**: Due to post-processing (i.e. merging etc.), the actual output filename might differ. Use `--print after_move:filepath` to get the name after all post-processing is complete.
7aaf4cd2 1283
e29663c6 1284The available fields are:
b7770046
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1285
1286 - `id` (string): Video identifier
1287 - `title` (string): Video title
455a15e2 1288 - `fulltitle` (string): Video title ignoring live timestamp and generic title
b7770046
U
1289 - `ext` (string): Video filename extension
1290 - `alt_title` (string): A secondary title of the video
597c1866 1291 - `description` (string): The description of the video
b7770046
U
1292 - `display_id` (string): An alternative identifier for the video
1293 - `uploader` (string): Full name of the video uploader
1294 - `license` (string): License name the video is licensed under
1295 - `creator` (string): The creator of the video
b7770046 1296 - `timestamp` (numeric): UNIX timestamp of the moment the video became available
ae6a1b95 1297 - `upload_date` (string): Video upload date in UTC (YYYYMMDD)
e6f21b3d 1298 - `release_timestamp` (numeric): UNIX timestamp of the moment the video was released
ae6a1b95 1299 - `release_date` (string): The date (YYYYMMDD) when the video was released in UTC
f0d785d3 1300 - `modified_timestamp` (numeric): UNIX timestamp of the moment the video was last modified
ae6a1b95 1301 - `modified_date` (string): The date (YYYYMMDD) when the video was last modified in UTC
b7770046
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1302 - `uploader_id` (string): Nickname or id of the video uploader
1303 - `channel` (string): Full name of the channel the video is uploaded on
1304 - `channel_id` (string): Id of the channel
6c73052c 1305 - `channel_follower_count` (numeric): Number of followers of the channel
8213ce28 1306 - `channel_is_verified` (boolean): Whether the channel is verified on the platform
b7770046
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1307 - `location` (string): Physical location where the video was filmed
1308 - `duration` (numeric): Length of the video in seconds
53c18592 1309 - `duration_string` (string): Length of the video (HH:mm:ss)
b7770046 1310 - `view_count` (numeric): How many users have watched the video on the platform
867c66ff 1311 - `concurrent_view_count` (numeric): How many users are currently watching the video on the platform.
b7770046
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1312 - `like_count` (numeric): Number of positive ratings of the video
1313 - `dislike_count` (numeric): Number of negative ratings of the video
1314 - `repost_count` (numeric): Number of reposts of the video
1315 - `average_rating` (numeric): Average rating give by users, the scale used depends on the webpage
277d6ff5 1316 - `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)
b7770046 1317 - `age_limit` (numeric): Age restriction for the video (years)
e325a21a 1318 - `live_status` (string): One of "not_live", "is_live", "is_upcoming", "was_live", "post_live" (was live, but VOD is not yet processed)
b7770046 1319 - `is_live` (boolean): Whether this video is a live stream or a fixed-length video
f76ede8e 1320 - `was_live` (boolean): Whether this video was originally a live stream
6cfda058 1321 - `playable_in_embed` (string): Whether this video is allowed to play in embedded players on other sites
940a67a3 1322 - `availability` (string): Whether the video is "private", "premium_only", "subscriber_only", "needs_auth", "unlisted" or "public"
b7770046
U
1323 - `start_time` (numeric): Time in seconds where the reproduction should start, as specified in the URL
1324 - `end_time` (numeric): Time in seconds where the reproduction should end, as specified in the URL
b7770046
U
1325 - `extractor` (string): Name of the extractor
1326 - `extractor_key` (string): Key name of the extractor
455a15e2 1327 - `epoch` (numeric): Unix epoch of when the information extraction was completed
b532a348 1328 - `autonumber` (numeric): Number that will be increased with each download, starting at `--autonumber-start`, padded with leading zeros to 5 digits
9c906919 1329 - `video_autonumber` (numeric): Number that will be increased with each video
e6f21b3d 1330 - `n_entries` (numeric): Total number of extracted items in the playlist
455a15e2 1331 - `playlist_id` (string): Identifier of the playlist that contains the video
1332 - `playlist_title` (string): Name of the playlist that contains the video
1333 - `playlist` (string): `playlist_id` or `playlist_title`
f0d785d3 1334 - `playlist_count` (numeric): Total number of items in the playlist. May not be known if entire playlist is not extracted
e6f21b3d 1335 - `playlist_index` (numeric): Index of the video in the playlist padded with leading zeros according the final index
1336 - `playlist_autonumber` (numeric): Position of the video in the playlist download queue padded with leading zeros according to the total length of the playlist
b7770046
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1337 - `playlist_uploader` (string): Full name of the playlist uploader
1338 - `playlist_uploader_id` (string): Nickname or id of the playlist uploader
bd99f6e6 1339 - `webpage_url` (string): A URL to the video webpage which if given to yt-dlp should allow to get the same result again
0bb322b9 1340 - `webpage_url_basename` (string): The basename of the webpage URL
1341 - `webpage_url_domain` (string): The domain of the webpage URL
bd99f6e6 1342 - `original_url` (string): The URL given by the user (or same as `webpage_url` for playlist entries)
d2c8aadf 1343
1344All the fields in [Filtering Formats](#filtering-formats) can also be used
b7770046
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1345
1346Available for the video that belongs to some logical chapter or section:
1347
1348 - `chapter` (string): Name or title of the chapter the video belongs to
1349 - `chapter_number` (numeric): Number of the chapter the video belongs to
1350 - `chapter_id` (string): Id of the chapter the video belongs to
1351
1352Available for the video that is an episode of some series or programme:
1353
1354 - `series` (string): Title of the series or programme the video episode belongs to
1355 - `season` (string): Title of the season the video episode belongs to
1356 - `season_number` (numeric): Number of the season the video episode belongs to
1357 - `season_id` (string): Id of the season the video episode belongs to
1358 - `episode` (string): Title of the video episode
1359 - `episode_number` (numeric): Number of the video episode within a season
1360 - `episode_id` (string): Id of the video episode
1361
1362Available for the media that is a track or a part of a music album:
1363
1364 - `track` (string): Title of the track
1365 - `track_number` (numeric): Number of the track within an album or a disc
1366 - `track_id` (string): Id of the track
1367 - `artist` (string): Artist(s) of the track
1368 - `genre` (string): Genre(s) of the track
1369 - `album` (string): Title of the album the track belongs to
1370 - `album_type` (string): Type of the album
1371 - `album_artist` (string): List of all artists appeared on the album
1372 - `disc_number` (numeric): Number of the disc or other physical medium the track belongs to
1373 - `release_year` (numeric): Year (YYYY) when the album was released
1374
5ec1b6b7 1375Available only when using `--download-sections` and for `chapter:` prefix when using `--split-chapters` for videos with internal chapters:
72755351 1376
1377 - `section_title` (string): Title of the chapter
1378 - `section_number` (numeric): Number of the chapter within the file
1379 - `section_start` (numeric): Start time of the chapter in seconds
1380 - `section_end` (numeric): End time of the chapter in seconds
1381
53c18592 1382Available only when used in `--print`:
1383
1384 - `urls` (string): The URLs of all requested formats, one in each line
7aaf4cd2 1385 - `filename` (string): Name of the video file. Note that the [actual filename may differ](#outtmpl-postprocess-note)
ed5835b4 1386 - `formats_table` (table): The video format table as printed by `--list-formats`
1387 - `thumbnails_table` (table): The thumbnail format table as printed by `--list-thumbnails`
1388 - `subtitles_table` (table): The subtitle format table as printed by `--list-subs`
1389 - `automatic_captions_table` (table): The automatic subtitle format table as printed by `--list-subs`
1390
ad54c913 1391 Available only after the video is downloaded (`post_process`/`after_move`):
7a340e0d 1392
ad54c913 1393 - `filepath`: Actual path of downloaded video file
1394
7a340e0d
NA
1395Available only in `--sponsorblock-chapter-title`:
1396
1397 - `start_time` (numeric): Start time of the chapter in seconds
1398 - `end_time` (numeric): End time of the chapter in seconds
1338ae3b 1399 - `categories` (list): The [SponsorBlock categories](https://wiki.sponsor.ajay.app/w/Types#Category) the chapter belongs to
7a340e0d
NA
1400 - `category` (string): The smallest SponsorBlock category the chapter belongs to
1401 - `category_names` (list): Friendly names of the categories
1402 - `name` (string): Friendly name of the smallest category
1338ae3b 1403 - `type` (string): The [SponsorBlock action type](https://wiki.sponsor.ajay.app/w/Types#Action_Type) of the chapter
53c18592 1404
62b58c09 1405Each aforementioned sequence when referenced in an output template will be replaced by the actual value corresponding to the sequence name. E.g. for `-o %(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s` and an mp4 video with title `yt-dlp test video` and id `BaW_jenozKc`, this will result in a `yt-dlp test video-BaW_jenozKc.mp4` file created in the current directory.
49a57e70 1406
8e174ba7 1407**Note**: 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).
b7770046 1408
0930b11f 1409**Tip**: Look at the `-j` output to identify which fields are available for the particular URL
b7770046 1410
62b58c09 1411For numeric sequences you can use [numeric related formatting](https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#printf-style-string-formatting); e.g. `%(view_count)05d` will result in a string with view count padded with zeros up to 5 characters, like in `00042`.
b7770046 1412
940a67a3 1413Output 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.
b7770046
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1414
1415To use percent literals in an output template use `%%`. To output to stdout use `-o -`.
1416
91ebc640 1417The current default template is `%(title)s [%(id)s].%(ext)s`.
b7770046 1418
f304da8a 1419In 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.
b7770046 1420
b7770046
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1421#### Output template examples
1422
b7770046 1423```bash
d2c8aadf 1424$ yt-dlp --print filename -o "test video.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc
9222c381 1425test video.webm # Literal name with correct extension
1426
d2c8aadf 1427$ yt-dlp --print filename -o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc
9222c381 1428youtube-dl test video ''_ä↭𝕐.webm # All kinds of weird characters
b7770046 1429
d2c8aadf 1430$ yt-dlp --print filename -o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc --restrict-filenames
9222c381 1431youtube-dl_test_video_.webm # Restricted file name
b7770046
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1432
1433# Download YouTube playlist videos in separate directory indexed by video order in a playlist
940a67a3 1434$ yt-dlp -o "%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s" "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwiyx1dc3P2JR9N8gQaQN_BCvlSlap7re"
b7770046 1435
b050d210 1436# Download YouTube playlist videos in separate directories according to their uploaded year
940a67a3 1437$ yt-dlp -o "%(upload_date>%Y)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwiyx1dc3P2JR9N8gQaQN_BCvlSlap7re"
e29663c6 1438
e978789f 1439# Prefix playlist index with " - " separator, but only if it is available
ad54c913 1440$ yt-dlp -o "%(playlist_index&{} - |)s%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc "https://www.youtube.com/user/TheLinuxFoundation/playlists"
e978789f 1441
b7770046 1442# Download all playlists of YouTube channel/user keeping each playlist in separate directory:
940a67a3 1443$ yt-dlp -o "%(uploader)s/%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s" "https://www.youtube.com/user/TheLinuxFoundation/playlists"
b7770046
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1444
1445# Download Udemy course keeping each chapter in separate directory under MyVideos directory in your home
940a67a3 1446$ 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"
b7770046
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1447
1448# Download entire series season keeping each series and each season in separate directory under C:/MyVideos
940a67a3 1449$ 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"
b7770046 1450
6a34813a 1451# Download video as "C:\MyVideos\uploader\title.ext", subtitles as "C:\MyVideos\subs\uploader\title.ext"
1452# and put all temporary files in "C:\MyVideos\tmp"
1453$ yt-dlp -P "C:/MyVideos" -P "temp:tmp" -P "subtitle:subs" -o "%(uploader)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenoz --write-subs
1454
1455# Download video as "C:\MyVideos\uploader\title.ext" and subtitles as "C:\MyVideos\uploader\subs\title.ext"
1456$ yt-dlp -P "C:/MyVideos" -o "%(uploader)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s" -o "subtitle:%(uploader)s/subs/%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc --write-subs
1457
b7770046 1458# Stream the video being downloaded to stdout
7a5c1cfe 1459$ yt-dlp -o - BaW_jenozKc
b7770046
U
1460```
1461
1462# FORMAT SELECTION
1463
7a5c1cfe
P
1464By default, yt-dlp tries to download the best available quality if you **don't** pass any options.
1465This 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`.
b7770046 1466
c111cefa 1467**Deprecation warning**: Latest versions of yt-dlp can stream multiple formats to the stdout simultaneously using ffmpeg. So, in future versions, the default for this will be set to `-f bv*+ba/b` similar to normal downloads. If you want to preserve the `-f b/bv+ba` setting, it is recommended to explicitly specify it in the configuration options.
1468
eff63539 1469The 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.
b7770046 1470
ec2e44fc 1471<!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
b7770046 1472**tl;dr:** [navigate me to examples](#format-selection-examples).
ec2e44fc 1473<!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
b7770046 1474
62b58c09 1475The simplest case is requesting a specific format; e.g. 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.
b7770046
U
1476
1477You 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.
1478
fa9f30b8 1479You can use `-f -` to interactively provide the format selector *for each video*
1480
b7770046
U
1481You can also use special names to select particular edge case formats:
1482
59a7a13e 1483 - `all`: Select **all formats** separately
1484 - `mergeall`: Select and **merge all formats** (Must be used with `--audio-multistreams`, `--video-multistreams` or both)
30389593 1485 - `b*`, `best*`: Select the best quality format that **contains either** a video or an audio or both (ie; `vcodec!=none or acodec!=none`)
59a7a13e 1486 - `b`, `best`: Select the best quality format that **contains both** video and audio. Equivalent to `best*[vcodec!=none][acodec!=none]`
1487 - `bv`, `bestvideo`: Select the best quality **video-only** format. Equivalent to `best*[acodec=none]`
1488 - `bv*`, `bestvideo*`: Select the best quality format that **contains video**. It may also contain audio. Equivalent to `best*[vcodec!=none]`
1489 - `ba`, `bestaudio`: Select the best quality **audio-only** format. Equivalent to `best*[vcodec=none]`
ae6a1b95 1490 - `ba*`, `bestaudio*`: Select the best quality format that **contains audio**. It may also contain video. Equivalent to `best*[acodec!=none]` ([Do not use!](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/979#issuecomment-919629354))
59a7a13e 1491 - `w*`, `worst*`: Select the worst quality format that contains either a video or an audio
909d24dd 1492 - `w`, `worst`: Select the worst quality format that contains both video and audio. Equivalent to `worst*[vcodec!=none][acodec!=none]`
909d24dd 1493 - `wv`, `worstvideo`: Select the worst quality video-only format. Equivalent to `worst*[acodec=none]`
909d24dd 1494 - `wv*`, `worstvideo*`: Select the worst quality format that contains video. It may also contain audio. Equivalent to `worst*[vcodec!=none]`
909d24dd 1495 - `wa`, `worstaudio`: Select the worst quality audio-only format. Equivalent to `worst*[vcodec=none]`
909d24dd 1496 - `wa*`, `worstaudio*`: Select the worst quality format that contains audio. It may also contain video. Equivalent to `worst*[acodec!=none]`
b7770046 1497
d4ada357 1498For example, to download the worst quality video-only format you can use `-f worstvideo`. It is however recommended not to 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 `-S +size` or more rigorously, `-S +size,+br,+res,+fps` instead of `-f worst`. See [Sorting Formats](#sorting-formats) for more details.
eff63539 1499
1500You can select the n'th best format of a type by using `best<type>.<n>`. For example, `best.2` will select the 2nd best combined format. Similarly, `bv*.3` will select the 3rd best format that contains a video stream.
b7770046 1501
304ad45a 1502If 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; e.g. `-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.
b7770046
U
1503
1504If 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`.
1505
62b58c09 1506You can merge the video and audio of multiple formats into a single file using `-f <format1>+<format2>+...` (requires ffmpeg installed); e.g. `-f bestvideo+bestaudio` will download the best video-only format, the best audio-only format and mux them together with ffmpeg.
d806c9fd 1507
1508**Deprecation warning**: Since the *below* described behavior is complex and counter-intuitive, this will be removed and multistreams will be enabled by default in the future. A new operator will be instead added to limit formats to single audio/video
1509
304ad45a 1510Unless `--video-multistreams` is used, all formats with a video stream except the first one are ignored. Similarly, unless `--audio-multistreams` is used, all formats with an audio stream except the first one are ignored. E.g. `-f bestvideo+best+bestaudio --video-multistreams --audio-multistreams` 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 only `best` while `-f bestaudio+best --no-audio-multistreams` will ignore `best` and download only `bestaudio`.
eb8a4433 1511
1512## Filtering Formats
1513
b532a348 1514You can also filter the video formats by putting a condition in brackets, as in `-f "best[height=720]"` (or `-f "[filesize>10M]"` since filters without a selector are interpreted as `best`).
b7770046
U
1515
1516The following numeric meta fields can be used with comparisons `<`, `<=`, `>`, `>=`, `=` (equals), `!=` (not equals):
1517
1518 - `filesize`: The number of bytes, if known in advance
d2c8aadf 1519 - `filesize_approx`: An estimate for the number of bytes
b7770046
U
1520 - `width`: Width of the video, if known
1521 - `height`: Height of the video, if known
105bfd90 1522 - `aspect_ratio`: Aspect ratio of the video, if known
b7770046
U
1523 - `tbr`: Average bitrate of audio and video in KBit/s
1524 - `abr`: Average audio bitrate in KBit/s
1525 - `vbr`: Average video bitrate in KBit/s
1526 - `asr`: Audio sampling rate in Hertz
1527 - `fps`: Frame rate
d2c8aadf 1528 - `audio_channels`: The number of audio channels
1529 - `stretched_ratio`: `width:height` of the video's pixels, if not square
b7770046 1530
1ce9a3cb 1531Also filtering work for comparisons `=` (equals), `^=` (starts with), `$=` (ends with), `*=` (contains), `~=` (matches regex) and following string meta fields:
b7770046 1532
d2c8aadf 1533 - `url`: Video URL
b7770046
U
1534 - `ext`: File extension
1535 - `acodec`: Name of the audio codec in use
1536 - `vcodec`: Name of the video codec in use
1537 - `container`: Name of the container format
1538 - `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`)
29f7c58a 1539 - `language`: Language code
d2c8aadf 1540 - `dynamic_range`: The dynamic range of the video
1541 - `format_id`: A short description of the format
1542 - `format`: A human-readable description of the format
1543 - `format_note`: Additional info about the format
1544 - `resolution`: Textual description of width and height
b7770046 1545
1ce9a3cb 1546Any string comparison may be prefixed with negation `!` in order to produce an opposite comparison, e.g. `!*=` (does not contain). The comparand of a string comparison needs to be quoted with either double or single quotes if it contains spaces or special characters other than `._-`.
b7770046 1547
8e174ba7 1548**Note**: 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 website. Any other field made available by the extractor can also be used for filtering.
b7770046 1549
b532a348 1550Formats 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 "bv[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, e.g. `-f "all[vcodec=none]"` selects all audio-only formats.
b7770046 1551
62b58c09 1552Format selectors can also be grouped using parentheses; e.g. `-f "(mp4,webm)[height<480]"` will download the best pre-merged mp4 and webm formats with a height lower than 480.
b7770046 1553
eb8a4433 1554## Sorting Formats
1555
2e7781a9 1556You can change the criteria for being considered the `best` by using `-S` (`--format-sort`). The general format for this is `--format-sort field1,field2...`.
1557
1558The available fields are:
eb8a4433 1559
304ad45a 1560 - `hasvid`: Gives priority to formats that have a video stream
1561 - `hasaud`: Gives priority to formats that have an audio stream
ed8d87f9 1562 - `ie_pref`: The format preference
1563 - `lang`: The language preference
1564 - `quality`: The quality of the format
1565 - `source`: The preference of the source
d80d98e7 1566 - `proto`: Protocol used for download (`https`/`ftps` > `http`/`ftp` > `m3u8_native`/`m3u8` > `http_dash_segments`> `websocket_frag` > `mms`/`rtsp` > `f4f`/`f4m`)
1567 - `vcodec`: Video Codec (`av01` > `vp9.2` > `vp9` > `h265` > `h264` > `vp8` > `h263` > `theora` > other)
a5387729 1568 - `acodec`: Audio Codec (`flac`/`alac` > `wav`/`aiff` > `opus` > `vorbis` > `aac` > `mp4a` > `mp3` > `ac4` > `eac3` > `ac3` > `dts` > other)
eb8a4433 1569 - `codec`: Equivalent to `vcodec,acodec`
29ca4082 1570 - `vext`: Video Extension (`mp4` > `mov` > `webm` > `flv` > other). If `--prefer-free-formats` is used, `webm` is preferred.
f2e9fa3e 1571 - `aext`: Audio Extension (`m4a` > `aac` > `mp3` > `ogg` > `opus` > `webm` > other). If `--prefer-free-formats` is used, the order changes to `ogg` > `opus` > `webm` > `mp3` > `m4a` > `aac`
63be1aab 1572 - `ext`: Equivalent to `vext,aext`
0930b11f 1573 - `filesize`: Exact filesize, if known in advance
62b5c94c 1574 - `fs_approx`: Approximate filesize
63be1aab 1575 - `size`: Exact filesize if available, otherwise approximate filesize
eb8a4433 1576 - `height`: Height of video
1577 - `width`: Width of video
63be1aab 1578 - `res`: Video resolution, calculated as the smallest dimension.
1579 - `fps`: Framerate of video
49a57e70 1580 - `hdr`: The dynamic range of the video (`DV` > `HDR12` > `HDR10+` > `HDR10` > `HLG` > `SDR`)
b8ed0f15 1581 - `channels`: The number of audio channels
63be1aab 1582 - `tbr`: Total average bitrate in KBit/s
1583 - `vbr`: Average video bitrate in KBit/s
1584 - `abr`: Average audio bitrate in KBit/s
62b5c94c 1585 - `br`: Average bitrate in KBit/s, `tbr`/`vbr`/`abr`
63be1aab 1586 - `asr`: Audio sample rate in Hz
d806c9fd 1587
1588**Deprecation warning**: Many of these fields have (currently undocumented) aliases, that may be removed in a future version. It is recommended to use only the documented field names.
eb8a4433 1589
62b58c09 1590All fields, unless specified otherwise, are sorted in descending order. To reverse this, prefix the field with a `+`. E.g. `+res` prefers format with the smallest resolution. Additionally, you can suffix a preferred value for the fields, separated by a `:`. E.g. `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 preferred values, the first for video and the second for audio. E.g. `+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. E.g. `filesize~1G` prefers the format with filesize closest to 1 GiB.
9ee4f0bb 1591
7e798d72 1592The fields `hasvid` and `ie_pref` are always given highest priority in sorting, irrespective of the user-defined order. This behaviour can be changed by using `--format-sort-force`. Apart from these, the default order used is: `lang,quality,res,fps,hdr:12,vcodec:vp9.2,channels,acodec,size,br,asr,proto,ext,hasaud,source,id`. The extractors may override this default order, but they cannot override the user-provided order.
eb8a4433 1593
7e798d72 1594Note that the default has `vcodec:vp9.2`; i.e. `av1` is not preferred. Similarly, the default for hdr is `hdr:12`; i.e. dolby vision is not preferred. These choices are made since DV and AV1 formats are not yet fully compatible with most devices. This may be changed in the future as more devices become capable of smoothly playing back these formats.
eb8a4433 1595
e58c22a0 1596If your format selector is `worst`, the last item is selected after sorting. This means it will select the format that is worst in all respects. 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`.
eb8a4433 1597
1598**Tip**: You can use the `-v -F` to see how the formats have been sorted (worst to best).
1599
eb8a4433 1600## Format Selection examples
b7770046 1601
b7770046 1602```bash
e58c22a0 1603# Download and merge the best video-only format and the best audio-only format,
909d24dd 1604# or download the best combined format if video-only format is not available
940a67a3 1605$ yt-dlp -f "bv+ba/b"
909d24dd 1606
1607# Download best format that contains video,
1608# and if it doesn't already have an audio stream, merge it with best audio-only format
940a67a3 1609$ yt-dlp -f "bv*+ba/b"
2af884ff 1610
1611# Same as above
7a5c1cfe 1612$ yt-dlp
909d24dd 1613
6fd35a11 1614# Download the best video-only format and the best audio-only format without merging them
1615# For this case, an output template should be used since
1616# by default, bestvideo and bestaudio will have the same file name.
940a67a3 1617$ yt-dlp -f "bv,ba" -o "%(title)s.f%(format_id)s.%(ext)s"
909d24dd 1618
f8d4ad9a 1619# Download and merge the best format that has a video stream,
1620# and all audio-only formats into one file
940a67a3 1621$ yt-dlp -f "bv*+mergeall[vcodec=none]" --audio-multistreams
f8d4ad9a 1622
1623# Download and merge the best format that has a video stream,
1624# and the best 2 audio-only formats into one file
940a67a3 1625$ yt-dlp -f "bv*+ba+ba.2" --audio-multistreams
909d24dd 1626
6fd35a11 1627
1628# The following examples show the old method (without -S) of format selection
f8d4ad9a 1629# and how to use -S to achieve a similar but (generally) better result
6fd35a11 1630
1631# Download the worst video available (old method)
940a67a3 1632$ yt-dlp -f "wv*+wa/w"
eb8a4433 1633
1634# Download the best video available but with the smallest resolution
940a67a3 1635$ yt-dlp -S "+res"
eb8a4433 1636
1637# Download the smallest video available
940a67a3 1638$ yt-dlp -S "+size,+br"
eb8a4433 1639
1640
909d24dd 1641
eb8a4433 1642# Download the best mp4 video available, or the best video if no mp4 available
940a67a3 1643$ yt-dlp -f "bv*[ext=mp4]+ba[ext=m4a]/b[ext=mp4] / bv*+ba/b"
eb8a4433 1644
1645# Download the best video with the best extension
29ca4082 1646# (For video, mp4 > mov > webm > flv. For audio, m4a > aac > mp3 ...)
940a67a3 1647$ yt-dlp -S "ext"
eb8a4433 1648
1649
909d24dd 1650
eb8a4433 1651# Download the best video available but no better than 480p,
1652# or the worst video if there is no video under 480p
940a67a3 1653$ yt-dlp -f "bv*[height<=480]+ba/b[height<=480] / wv*+ba/w"
b7770046 1654
eb8a4433 1655# Download the best video available with the largest height but no better than 480p,
1656# or the best video with the smallest resolution if there is no video under 480p
940a67a3 1657$ yt-dlp -S "height:480"
b7770046 1658
eb8a4433 1659# Download the best video available with the largest resolution but no better than 480p,
1660# or the best video with the smallest resolution if there is no video under 480p
1661# Resolution is determined by using the smallest dimension.
1662# So this works correctly for vertical videos as well
940a67a3 1663$ yt-dlp -S "res:480"
b7770046 1664
b7770046 1665
909d24dd 1666
eb8a4433 1667# Download the best video (that also has audio) but no bigger than 50 MB,
1668# or the worst video (that also has audio) if there is no video under 50 MB
940a67a3 1669$ yt-dlp -f "b[filesize<50M] / w"
eb8a4433 1670
1671# Download largest video (that also has audio) but no bigger than 50 MB,
1672# or the smallest video (that also has audio) if there is no video under 50 MB
940a67a3 1673$ yt-dlp -f "b" -S "filesize:50M"
eb8a4433 1674
1675# Download best video (that also has audio) that is closest in size to 50 MB
940a67a3 1676$ yt-dlp -f "b" -S "filesize~50M"
eb8a4433 1677
1678
909d24dd 1679
eb8a4433 1680# Download best video available via direct link over HTTP/HTTPS protocol,
1681# or the best video available via any protocol if there is no such video
940a67a3 1682$ yt-dlp -f "(bv*+ba/b)[protocol^=http][protocol!*=dash] / (bv*+ba/b)"
eb8a4433 1683
1684# Download best video available via the best protocol
1685# (https/ftps > http/ftp > m3u8_native > m3u8 > http_dash_segments ...)
940a67a3 1686$ yt-dlp -S "proto"
eb8a4433 1687
1688
909d24dd 1689
1ce9a3cb
LF
1690# Download the best video with either h264 or h265 codec,
1691# or the best video if there is no such video
1692$ yt-dlp -f "(bv*[vcodec~='^((he|a)vc|h26[45])']+ba) / (bv*+ba/b)"
eb8a4433 1693
1694# Download the best video with best codec no better than h264,
1695# or the best video with worst codec if there is no such video
940a67a3 1696$ yt-dlp -S "codec:h264"
eb8a4433 1697
1698# Download the best video with worst codec no worse than h264,
1699# or the best video with best codec if there is no such video
940a67a3 1700$ yt-dlp -S "+codec:h264"
eb8a4433 1701
1702
1703
1704# More complex examples
1705
e58c22a0 1706# Download the best video no better than 720p preferring framerate greater than 30,
1707# or the worst video (still preferring framerate greater than 30) if there is no such video
940a67a3 1708$ yt-dlp -f "((bv*[fps>30]/bv*)[height<=720]/(wv*[fps>30]/wv*)) + ba / (b[fps>30]/b)[height<=720]/(w[fps>30]/w)"
eb8a4433 1709
1710# Download the video with the largest resolution no better than 720p,
f8d4ad9a 1711# or the video with the smallest resolution available if there is no such video,
e58c22a0 1712# preferring larger framerate for formats with the same resolution
940a67a3 1713$ yt-dlp -S "res:720,fps"
eb8a4433 1714
1715
909d24dd 1716
eb8a4433 1717# Download the video with smallest resolution no worse than 480p,
1718# or the video with the largest resolution available if there is no such video,
e58c22a0 1719# preferring better codec and then larger total bitrate for the same resolution
940a67a3 1720$ yt-dlp -S "+res:480,codec,br"
b7770046 1721```
eb8a4433 1722
73cd218f 1723# MODIFYING METADATA
1724
a4211baf 1725The metadata obtained by the extractors can be modified by using `--parse-metadata` and `--replace-in-metadata`
e9f4ccd1 1726
418964fa 1727`--replace-in-metadata FIELDS REGEX REPLACE` is used to replace text in any metadata field using [python regular expression](https://docs.python.org/3/library/re.html#regular-expression-syntax). [Backreferences](https://docs.python.org/3/library/re.html?highlight=backreferences#re.sub) can be used in the replace string for advanced use.
e9f4ccd1 1728
46d09f87 1729The general syntax of `--parse-metadata FROM:TO` is to give the name of a field or an [output template](#output-template) to extract data from, and the format to interpret it as, separated by a colon `:`. Either a [python regular expression](https://docs.python.org/3/library/re.html#regular-expression-syntax) with named capture groups, a single field name, or a similar syntax to the [output template](#output-template) (only `%(field)s` formatting is supported) can be used for `TO`. The option can be used multiple times to parse and modify various fields.
73cd218f 1730
46d09f87 1731Note that these options preserve their relative order, allowing replacements to be made in parsed fields and viceversa. Also, any field thus created can be used in the [output template](#output-template) and will also affect the media file's metadata added when using `--embed-metadata`.
73cd218f 1732
9c2b75b5 1733This option also has a few special uses:
3d3bb168 1734
c8bc203f 1735* You can download an additional URL based on the metadata of the currently downloaded video. To do this, set the field `additional_urls` to the URL that you want to download. E.g. `--parse-metadata "description:(?P<additional_urls>https?://www\.vimeo\.com/\d+)"` will download the first vimeo video found in the description
3d3bb168 1736
62b58c09 1737* You can use this to change the metadata that is embedded in the media file. To do this, set the value of the corresponding field with a `meta_` prefix. For example, any value you set to `meta_description` field will be added to the `description` field in the file - you can use this to set a different "description" and "synopsis". To modify the metadata of individual streams, use the `meta<n>_` prefix (e.g. `meta1_language`). Any value set to the `meta_` field will overwrite all default values.
c31be5b0 1738
08d30158 1739**Note**: Metadata modification happens before format selection, post-extraction and other post-processing operations. Some fields may be added or changed during these steps, overriding your changes.
1740
c31be5b0 1741For reference, these are the fields yt-dlp adds by default to the file metadata:
1742
08d30158 1743Metadata fields | From
1744:--------------------------|:------------------------------------------------
1745`title` | `track` or `title`
1746`date` | `upload_date`
1747`description`, `synopsis` | `description`
1748`purl`, `comment` | `webpage_url`
1749`track` | `track_number`
1750`artist` | `artist`, `creator`, `uploader` or `uploader_id`
1751`genre` | `genre`
1752`album` | `album`
1753`album_artist` | `album_artist`
1754`disc` | `disc_number`
1755`show` | `series`
1756`season_number` | `season_number`
1757`episode_id` | `episode` or `episode_id`
1758`episode_sort` | `episode_number`
1759`language` of each stream | the format's `language`
1760
c31be5b0 1761**Note**: The file format may not support some of these fields
1762
73cd218f 1763
1764## Modifying metadata examples
1765
73cd218f 1766```bash
1767# Interpret the title as "Artist - Title"
940a67a3 1768$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "title:%(artist)s - %(title)s"
73cd218f 1769
1770# Regex example
940a67a3 1771$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "description:Artist - (?P<artist>.+)"
73cd218f 1772
1773# Set title as "Series name S01E05"
940a67a3 1774$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "%(series)s S%(season_number)02dE%(episode_number)02d:%(title)s"
73cd218f 1775
a44ca5a4 1776# Prioritize uploader as the "artist" field in video metadata
2fa669f7 1777$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "%(uploader|)s:%(meta_artist)s" --embed-metadata
a44ca5a4 1778
1779# Set "comment" field in video metadata using description instead of webpage_url,
1780# handling multiple lines correctly
2fa669f7 1781$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "description:(?s)(?P<meta_comment>.+)" --embed-metadata
73cd218f 1782
8aa0e7cd 1783# Do not set any "synopsis" in the video metadata
1784$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata ":(?P<meta_synopsis>)"
1785
0930b11f 1786# Remove "formats" field from the infojson by setting it to an empty string
7f9c6a63 1787$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "video::(?P<formats>)" --write-info-json
0930b11f 1788
e9f4ccd1 1789# Replace all spaces and "_" in title and uploader with a `-`
940a67a3 1790$ yt-dlp --replace-in-metadata "title,uploader" "[ _]" "-"
e9f4ccd1 1791
73cd218f 1792```
1793
5d3a0e79 1794# EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS
1795
62b58c09 1796Some extractors accept additional arguments which can be passed using `--extractor-args KEY:ARGS`. `ARGS` is a `;` (semicolon) separated string of `ARG=VAL1,VAL2`. E.g. `--extractor-args "youtube:player-client=android_embedded,web;include_live_dash" --extractor-args "funimation:version=uncut"`
5d3a0e79 1797
a5387729 1798Note: In CLI, `ARG` can use `-` instead of `_`; e.g. `youtube:player-client"` becomes `youtube:player_client"`
1799
5d3a0e79 1800The following extractors use this feature:
96565c7e 1801
1802#### youtube
8e174ba7 1803* `lang`: Prefer translated metadata (`title`, `description` etc) of this language code (case-sensitive). By default, the video primary language metadata is preferred, with a fallback to `en` translated. See [youtube.py](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/c26f9b991a0681fd3ea548d535919cec1fbbd430/yt_dlp/extractor/youtube.py#L381-L390) for list of supported content language codes
8aa0e7cd 1804* `skip`: One or more of `hls`, `dash` or `translated_subs` to skip extraction of the m3u8 manifests, dash manifests and [auto-translated subtitles](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/4090#issuecomment-1158102032) respectively
fd8fcf8f 1805* `player_client`: Clients to extract video data from. The main clients are `web`, `android` and `ios` with variants `_music`, `_embedded`, `_embedscreen`, `_creator` (e.g. `web_embedded`); and `mweb`, `mweb_embedscreen` and `tv_embedded` (agegate bypass) with no variants. By default, `ios,android,web` is used, but `tv_embedded` and `creator` variants are added as required for age-gated videos. Similarly, the music variants are added for `music.youtube.com` urls. You can use `all` to use all the clients, and `default` for the default clients.
96565c7e 1806* `player_skip`: Skip some network requests that are generally needed for robust extraction. One or more of `configs` (skip client configs), `webpage` (skip initial webpage), `js` (skip js player). While these options can help reduce the number of requests needed or avoid some rate-limiting, they could cause some issues. See [#860](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/pull/860) for more details
ba06d77a 1807* `player_params`: YouTube player parameters to use for player requests. Will overwrite any default ones set by yt-dlp.
96565c7e 1808* `comment_sort`: `top` or `new` (default) - choose comment sorting mode (on YouTube's side)
a44ca5a4 1809* `max_comments`: Limit the amount of comments to gather. Comma-separated list of integers representing `max-comments,max-parents,max-replies,max-replies-per-thread`. Default is `all,all,all,all`
1810 * E.g. `all,all,1000,10` will get a maximum of 1000 replies total, with up to 10 replies per thread. `1000,all,100` will get a maximum of 1000 comments, with a maximum of 100 replies total
b532a348 1811* `formats`: Change the types of formats to return. `dashy` (convert HTTP to DASH), `duplicate` (identical content but different URLs or protocol; includes `dashy`), `incomplete` (cannot be downloaded completely - live dash and post-live m3u8)
1e4fca9a 1812* `innertube_host`: Innertube API host to use for all API requests; e.g. `studio.youtube.com`, `youtubei.googleapis.com`. Note that cookies exported from one subdomain will not work on others
2ae778b8 1813* `innertube_key`: Innertube API key to use for all API requests
eb5bdbfa 1814* `raise_incomplete_data`: `Incomplete Data Received` raises an error instead of reporting a warning
96565c7e 1815
1816#### youtubetab (YouTube playlists, channels, feeds, etc.)
1817* `skip`: One or more of `webpage` (skip initial webpage download), `authcheck` (allow the download of playlists requiring authentication when no initial webpage is downloaded. This may cause unwanted behavior, see [#1122](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/pull/1122) for more details)
5225df50 1818* `approximate_date`: Extract approximate `upload_date` and `timestamp` in flat-playlist. This may cause date-based filters to be slightly off
96565c7e 1819
3b021eac 1820#### generic
5cc0a8fd 1821* `fragment_query`: Passthrough any query in mpd/m3u8 manifest URLs to their fragments if no value is provided, or else apply the query string given as `fragment_query=VALUE`. Does not apply to ffmpeg
1822* `variant_query`: Passthrough the master m3u8 URL query to its variant playlist URLs if no value is provided, or else apply the query string given as `variant_query=VALUE`
c2e0fc40 1823* `hls_key`: An HLS AES-128 key URI *or* key (as hex), and optionally the IV (as hex), in the form of `(URI|KEY)[,IV]`; e.g. `generic:hls_key=ABCDEF1234567980,0xFEDCBA0987654321`. Passing any of these values will force usage of the native HLS downloader and override the corresponding values found in the m3u8 playlist
93e7c699 1824* `is_live`: Bypass live HLS detection and manually set `live_status` - a value of `false` will set `not_live`, any other value (or no value) will set `is_live`
3b021eac 1825
96565c7e 1826#### funimation
304ad45a 1827* `language`: Audio languages to extract, e.g. `funimation:language=english,japanese`
96565c7e 1828* `version`: The video version to extract - `uncut` or `simulcast`
1829
cb1553e9 1830#### crunchyrollbeta (Crunchyroll)
62b58c09 1831* `format`: Which stream type(s) to extract (default: `adaptive_hls`). Potentially useful values include `adaptive_hls`, `adaptive_dash`, `vo_adaptive_hls`, `vo_adaptive_dash`, `download_hls`, `download_dash`, `multitrack_adaptive_hls_v2`
dfea94f8 1832* `hardsub`: Preference order for which hardsub versions to extract, or `all` (default: `None` = no hardsubs), e.g. `crunchyrollbeta:hardsub=en-US,None`
706dfe44 1833
96565c7e 1834#### vikichannel
1835* `video_types`: Types of videos to download - one or more of `episodes`, `movies`, `clips`, `trailers`
73d829c1 1836
7bdcb4a4
LNO
1837#### niconico
1838* `segment_duration`: Segment duration in milliseconds for HLS-DMC formats. Use it at your own risk since this feature **may result in your account termination.**
1839
aa4b0545 1840#### youtubewebarchive
1841* `check_all`: Try to check more at the cost of more requests. One or more of `thumbnails`, `captures`
1842
d43de682
M
1843#### gamejolt
1844* `comment_sort`: `hot` (default), `you` (cookies needed), `top`, `new` - choose comment sorting mode (on GameJolt's side)
1845
26f2aa3d
AG
1846#### hotstar
1847* `res`: resolution to ignore - one or more of `sd`, `hd`, `fhd`
1848* `vcodec`: vcodec to ignore - one or more of `h264`, `h265`, `dvh265`
1849* `dr`: dynamic range to ignore - one or more of `sdr`, `hdr10`, `dv`
1850
698beb9a
M
1851#### niconicochannelplus
1852* `max_comments`: Maximum number of comments to extract - default is `120`
1853
046cab39 1854#### tiktok
c4cbd3be 1855* `api_hostname`: Hostname to use for mobile API requests, e.g. `api-h2.tiktokv.com`
62b58c09
L
1856* `app_version`: App version to call mobile APIs with - should be set along with `manifest_app_version`, e.g. `20.2.1`
1857* `manifest_app_version`: Numeric app version to call mobile APIs with, e.g. `221`
046cab39 1858
7eaf7f9a 1859#### rokfinchannel
62b58c09 1860* `tab`: Which tab to download - one of `new`, `top`, `videos`, `podcasts`, `streams`, `stacks`
7eaf7f9a 1861
b03fa783 1862#### twitter
a006ce2b 1863* `api`: Select one of `graphql` (default), `legacy` or `syndication` as the API for tweet extraction. Has no effect if logged in
b03fa783 1864
af1fd12f 1865#### stacommu, wrestleuniverse
ef8fb7f0 1866* `device_id`: UUID value assigned by the website and used to enforce device limits for paid livestream content. Can be found in browser local storage
1867
7f9c6a63 1868#### twitch
1869* `client_id`: Client ID value to be sent with GraphQL requests, e.g. `twitch:client_id=kimne78kx3ncx6brgo4mv6wki5h1ko`
01231feb 1870
81c8b9bd 1871#### nhkradirulive (NHK らじる★らじる LIVE)
1872* `area`: Which regional variation to extract. Valid areas are: `sapporo`, `sendai`, `tokyo`, `nagoya`, `osaka`, `hiroshima`, `matsuyama`, `fukuoka`. Defaults to `tokyo`
1873
1eaca74b 1874#### nflplusreplay
1875* `type`: Type(s) of game replays to extract. Valid types are: `full_game`, `full_game_spanish`, `condensed_game` and `all_22`. You can use `all` to extract all available replay types, which is the default
1876
8e174ba7 1877**Note**: These options may be changed/removed in the future without concern for backward compatibility
5d3a0e79 1878
ec2e44fc 1879<!-- MANPAGE: MOVE "INSTALLATION" SECTION HERE -->
1880
3acf6d38 1881
f74980cb 1882# PLUGINS
b7770046 1883
8e40b9d1 1884Note that **all** plugins are imported even if not invoked, and that **there are no checks** performed on plugin code. **Use plugins at your own risk and only if you trust the code!**
3ae5e797 1885
8e40b9d1
M
1886Plugins can be of `<type>`s `extractor` or `postprocessor`.
1887- Extractor plugins do not need to be enabled from the CLI and are automatically invoked when the input URL is suitable for it.
1888- Extractor plugins take priority over builtin extractors.
1889- Postprocessor plugins can be invoked using `--use-postprocessor NAME`.
3ae5e797 1890
3ae5e797 1891
8e40b9d1 1892Plugins are loaded from the namespace packages `yt_dlp_plugins.extractor` and `yt_dlp_plugins.postprocessor`.
3ae5e797 1893
8e40b9d1
M
1894In other words, the file structure on the disk looks something like:
1895
1896 yt_dlp_plugins/
1897 extractor/
1898 myplugin.py
1899 postprocessor/
1900 myplugin.py
1901
1902yt-dlp looks for these `yt_dlp_plugins` namespace folders in many locations (see below) and loads in plugins from **all** of them.
b7770046 1903
deae7c17 1904See the [wiki for some known plugins](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Plugins)
1905
8e40b9d1
M
1906## Installing Plugins
1907
1908Plugins can be installed using various methods and locations.
1909
19101. **Configuration directories**:
1911 Plugin packages (containing a `yt_dlp_plugins` namespace folder) can be dropped into the following standard [configuration locations](#configuration):
1912 * **User Plugins**
1913 * `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp/plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/` (recommended on Linux/macOS)
1914 * `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1915 * `${APPDATA}/yt-dlp/plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/` (recommended on Windows)
773c272d 1916 * `${APPDATA}/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
8e40b9d1
M
1917 * `~/.yt-dlp/plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1918 * `~/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1919 * **System Plugins**
1920 * `/etc/yt-dlp/plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1921 * `/etc/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
c8bc203f 19222. **Executable location**: Plugin packages can similarly be installed in a `yt-dlp-plugins` directory under the executable location (recommended for portable installations):
8e40b9d1
M
1923 * Binary: where `<root-dir>/yt-dlp.exe`, `<root-dir>/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1924 * Source: where `<root-dir>/yt_dlp/__main__.py`, `<root-dir>/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1925
19263. **pip and other locations in `PYTHONPATH`**
e756f45b 1927 * Plugin packages can be installed and managed using `pip`. See [yt-dlp-sample-plugins](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp-sample-plugins) for an example.
8e174ba7 1928 * Note: plugin files between plugin packages installed with pip must have unique filenames.
8e40b9d1
M
1929 * Any path in `PYTHONPATH` is searched in for the `yt_dlp_plugins` namespace folder.
1930 * Note: This does not apply for Pyinstaller/py2exe builds.
1931
1932
8e174ba7 1933`.zip`, `.egg` and `.whl` archives containing a `yt_dlp_plugins` namespace folder in their root are also supported as plugin packages.
1934* e.g. `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp/plugins/mypluginpkg.zip` where `mypluginpkg.zip` contains `yt_dlp_plugins/<type>/myplugin.py`
8e40b9d1 1935
8e174ba7 1936Run yt-dlp with `--verbose` to check if the plugin has been loaded.
8e40b9d1
M
1937
1938## Developing Plugins
1939
8e174ba7 1940See the [yt-dlp-sample-plugins](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp-sample-plugins) repo for a template plugin package and the [Plugin Development](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Plugin-Development) section of the wiki for a plugin development guide.
8e40b9d1 1941
8e174ba7 1942All public classes with a name ending in `IE`/`PP` are imported from each file for extractors and postprocessors repectively. This respects underscore prefix (e.g. `_MyBasePluginIE` is private) and `__all__`. Modules can similarly be excluded by prefixing the module name with an underscore (e.g. `_myplugin.py`).
e756f45b 1943
773c272d 1944To replace an existing extractor with a subclass of one, set the `plugin_name` class keyword argument (e.g. `class MyPluginIE(ABuiltInIE, plugin_name='myplugin')` will replace `ABuiltInIE` with `MyPluginIE`). Since the extractor replaces the parent, you should exclude the subclass extractor from being imported separately by making it private using one of the methods described above.
8e40b9d1 1945
8e174ba7 1946If you are a plugin author, add [yt-dlp-plugins](https://github.com/topics/yt-dlp-plugins) as a topic to your repository for discoverability.
b7770046 1947
8e40b9d1 1948See the [Developer Instructions](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md#developer-instructions) on how to write and test an extractor.
8c6f4daa 1949
1950# EMBEDDING YT-DLP
1951
1952yt-dlp makes the best effort to be a good command-line program, and thus should be callable from any programming language.
1953
1954Your program should avoid parsing the normal stdout since they may change in future versions. Instead they should use options such as `-J`, `--print`, `--progress-template`, `--exec` etc to create console output that you can reliably reproduce and parse.
1955
1956From a Python program, you can embed yt-dlp in a more powerful fashion, like this:
1957
1958```python
59a7a13e 1959from yt_dlp import YoutubeDL
8c6f4daa 1960
3d3bb168 1961URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
1962with YoutubeDL() as ydl:
1963 ydl.download(URLS)
8c6f4daa 1964```
1965
b532a348 1966Most likely, you'll want to use various options. For a list of options available, have a look at [`yt_dlp/YoutubeDL.py`](yt_dlp/YoutubeDL.py#L183) or `help(yt_dlp.YoutubeDL)` in a Python shell. If you are already familiar with the CLI, you can use [`devscripts/cli_to_api.py`](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/master/devscripts/cli_to_api.py) to translate any CLI switches to `YoutubeDL` params.
8c6f4daa 1967
43cc91ad 1968**Tip**: If you are porting your code from youtube-dl to yt-dlp, one important point to look out for is that we do not guarantee the return value of `YoutubeDL.extract_info` to be json serializable, or even be a dictionary. It will be dictionary-like, but if you want to ensure it is a serializable dictionary, pass it through `YoutubeDL.sanitize_info` as shown in the [example below](#extracting-information)
3d3bb168 1969
1970## Embedding examples
1971
43cc91ad 1972#### Extracting information
8c6f4daa 1973
1974```python
1975import json
8c6f4daa 1976import yt_dlp
8c6f4daa 1977
3d3bb168 1978URL = 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc'
1979
1980# ℹ️ See help(yt_dlp.YoutubeDL) for a list of available options and public functions
1981ydl_opts = {}
1982with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
1983 info = ydl.extract_info(URL, download=False)
1984
1985 # ℹ️ ydl.sanitize_info makes the info json-serializable
1986 print(json.dumps(ydl.sanitize_info(info)))
1987```
43cc91ad 1988#### Download using an info-json
3d3bb168 1989
1990```python
1991import yt_dlp
1992
1993INFO_FILE = 'path/to/video.info.json'
1994
1995with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL() as ydl:
1996 error_code = ydl.download_with_info_file(INFO_FILE)
1997
1998print('Some videos failed to download' if error_code
1999 else 'All videos successfully downloaded')
2000```
2001
43cc91ad 2002#### Extract audio
3d3bb168 2003
2004```python
2005import yt_dlp
2006
2007URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
2008
2009ydl_opts = {
0a41f331 2010 'format': 'm4a/bestaudio/best',
3d3bb168 2011 # ℹ️ See help(yt_dlp.postprocessor) for a list of available Postprocessors and their arguments
2012 'postprocessors': [{ # Extract audio using ffmpeg
2013 'key': 'FFmpegExtractAudio',
2014 'preferredcodec': 'm4a',
2015 }]
2016}
2017
2018with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
2019 error_code = ydl.download(URLS)
2020```
0a41f331 2021
2022#### Filter videos
2023
2024```python
2025import yt_dlp
2026
2027URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
2028
2029def longer_than_a_minute(info, *, incomplete):
2030 """Download only videos longer than a minute (or with unknown duration)"""
2031 duration = info.get('duration')
2032 if duration and duration < 60:
2033 return 'The video is too short'
2034
2035ydl_opts = {
2036 'match_filter': longer_than_a_minute,
2037}
2038
2039with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
2040 error_code = ydl.download(URLS)
2041```
2042
43cc91ad 2043#### Adding logger and progress hook
3d3bb168 2044
2045```python
2046import yt_dlp
2047
2048URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
8c6f4daa 2049
2050class MyLogger:
2051 def debug(self, msg):
e75bb0d6 2052 # For compatibility with youtube-dl, both debug and info are passed into debug
8c6f4daa 2053 # You can distinguish them by the prefix '[debug] '
2054 if msg.startswith('[debug] '):
2055 pass
2056 else:
2057 self.info(msg)
2058
2059 def info(self, msg):
2060 pass
2061
2062 def warning(self, msg):
2063 pass
2064
2065 def error(self, msg):
2066 print(msg)
2067
2068
3d3bb168 2069# ℹ️ See "progress_hooks" in help(yt_dlp.YoutubeDL)
2070def my_hook(d):
2071 if d['status'] == 'finished':
2072 print('Done downloading, now post-processing ...')
2073
2074
2075ydl_opts = {
2076 'logger': MyLogger(),
2077 'progress_hooks': [my_hook],
2078}
2079
2080with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
2081 ydl.download(URLS)
2082```
2083
43cc91ad 2084#### Add a custom PostProcessor
3d3bb168 2085
2086```python
2087import yt_dlp
2088
2089URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
2090
2091# ℹ️ See help(yt_dlp.postprocessor.PostProcessor)
59a7a13e 2092class MyCustomPP(yt_dlp.postprocessor.PostProcessor):
8c6f4daa 2093 def run(self, info):
2094 self.to_screen('Doing stuff')
2095 return [], info
2096
2097
3d3bb168 2098with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL() as ydl:
8aa0e7cd 2099 # ℹ️ "when" can take any value in yt_dlp.utils.POSTPROCESS_WHEN
2100 ydl.add_post_processor(MyCustomPP(), when='pre_process')
3d3bb168 2101 ydl.download(URLS)
2102```
8c6f4daa 2103
2104
43cc91ad 2105#### Use a custom format selector
3d3bb168 2106
2107```python
2108import yt_dlp
2109
c8bc203f 2110URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
3d3bb168 2111
093a1710 2112def format_selector(ctx):
2113 """ Select the best video and the best audio that won't result in an mkv.
3d3bb168 2114 NOTE: This is just an example and does not handle all cases """
093a1710 2115
2116 # formats are already sorted worst to best
2117 formats = ctx.get('formats')[::-1]
2118
2119 # acodec='none' means there is no audio
2120 best_video = next(f for f in formats
2121 if f['vcodec'] != 'none' and f['acodec'] == 'none')
2122
2123 # find compatible audio extension
2124 audio_ext = {'mp4': 'm4a', 'webm': 'webm'}[best_video['ext']]
2125 # vcodec='none' means there is no video
2126 best_audio = next(f for f in formats if (
2127 f['acodec'] != 'none' and f['vcodec'] == 'none' and f['ext'] == audio_ext))
2128
3d3bb168 2129 # These are the minimum required fields for a merged format
093a1710 2130 yield {
093a1710 2131 'format_id': f'{best_video["format_id"]}+{best_audio["format_id"]}',
2132 'ext': best_video['ext'],
2133 'requested_formats': [best_video, best_audio],
e75bb0d6 2134 # Must be + separated list of protocols
093a1710 2135 'protocol': f'{best_video["protocol"]}+{best_audio["protocol"]}'
2136 }
2137
2138
8c6f4daa 2139ydl_opts = {
093a1710 2140 'format': format_selector,
8c6f4daa 2141}
2142
2143with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
3d3bb168 2144 ydl.download(URLS)
8c6f4daa 2145```
2146
ec2e44fc 2147<!-- MANPAGE: MOVE "NEW FEATURES" SECTION HERE -->
2148
e167860c 2149# DEPRECATED OPTIONS
2150
2151These are all the deprecated options and the current alternative to achieve the same effect
2152
8130779d 2153#### Almost redundant options
2154While these options are almost the same as their new counterparts, there are some differences that prevents them being redundant
2155
2156 -j, --dump-json --print "%()j"
2157 -F, --list-formats --print formats_table
0bfc53d0 2158 --list-thumbnails --print thumbnails_table --print playlist:thumbnails_table
8130779d 2159 --list-subs --print automatic_captions_table --print subtitles_table
2160
6ccf351a 2161#### Redundant options
2162While these options are redundant, they are still expected to be used due to their ease of use
f4536226 2163
53c18592 2164 --get-description --print description
2165 --get-duration --print duration_string
2166 --get-filename --print filename
2167 --get-format --print format
2168 --get-id --print id
2169 --get-thumbnail --print thumbnail
2170 -e, --get-title --print title
2171 -g, --get-url --print urls
8f18aca8 2172 --match-title REGEX --match-filter "title ~= (?i)REGEX"
2173 --reject-title REGEX --match-filter "title !~= (?i)REGEX"
2174 --min-views COUNT --match-filter "view_count >=? COUNT"
2175 --max-views COUNT --match-filter "view_count <=? COUNT"
fe2ce85a 2176 --break-on-reject Use --break-match-filter
8b7539d2 2177 --user-agent UA --add-header "User-Agent:UA"
2178 --referer URL --add-header "Referer:URL"
7e88d7d7 2179 --playlist-start NUMBER -I NUMBER:
2180 --playlist-end NUMBER -I :NUMBER
2181 --playlist-reverse -I ::-1
2182 --no-playlist-reverse Default
8417f26b 2183 --no-colors --color no_color
6ccf351a 2184
2185
2186#### Not recommended
2187While these options still work, their use is not recommended since there are other alternatives to achieve the same
2188
fe7866d0 2189 --force-generic-extractor --ies generic,default
1e43a6f7 2190 --exec-before-download CMD --exec "before_dl:CMD"
2191 --no-exec-before-download --no-exec
d9aa2332 2192 --all-formats -f all
c32b0aab 2193 --all-subs --sub-langs all --write-subs
b7b04c78 2194 --print-json -j --no-simulate
62b58c09 2195 --autonumber-size NUMBER Use string formatting, e.g. %(autonumber)03d
a439a3a4 2196 --autonumber-start NUMBER Use internal field formatting like %(autonumber+NUMBER)s
19b824f6 2197 --id -o "%(id)s.%(ext)s"
73cd218f 2198 --metadata-from-title FORMAT --parse-metadata "%(title)s:FORMAT"
52a8a1e1 2199 --hls-prefer-native --downloader "m3u8:native"
2200 --hls-prefer-ffmpeg --downloader "m3u8:ffmpeg"
53ed7066 2201 --list-formats-old --compat-options list-formats (Alias: --no-list-formats-as-table)
2202 --list-formats-as-table --compat-options -list-formats [Default] (Alias: --no-list-formats-old)
5d3a0e79 2203 --youtube-skip-dash-manifest --extractor-args "youtube:skip=dash" (Alias: --no-youtube-include-dash-manifest)
2204 --youtube-skip-hls-manifest --extractor-args "youtube:skip=hls" (Alias: --no-youtube-include-hls-manifest)
2205 --youtube-include-dash-manifest Default (Alias: --no-youtube-skip-dash-manifest)
2206 --youtube-include-hls-manifest Default (Alias: --no-youtube-skip-hls-manifest)
c1664464 2207 --geo-bypass --xff "default"
2208 --no-geo-bypass --xff "never"
2209 --geo-bypass-country CODE --xff CODE
2210 --geo-bypass-ip-block IP_BLOCK --xff IP_BLOCK
6ccf351a 2211
2212
2213#### Developer options
2214These options are not intended to be used by the end-user
2215
34488702 2216 --test Download only part of video for testing extractors
f95b9dee 2217 --load-pages Load pages dumped by --write-pages
6ccf351a 2218 --youtube-print-sig-code For testing youtube signatures
88acdbc2 2219 --allow-unplayable-formats List unplayable formats also
2220 --no-allow-unplayable-formats Default
f4536226 2221
2222
2223#### Old aliases
2224These are aliases that are no longer documented for various reasons
2225
2226 --avconv-location --ffmpeg-location
3856407a 2227 --clean-infojson --clean-info-json
f4536226 2228 --cn-verification-proxy URL --geo-verification-proxy URL
2229 --dump-headers --print-traffic
2230 --dump-intermediate-pages --dump-pages
2231 --force-write-download-archive --force-write-archive
2232 --load-info --load-info-json
3856407a 2233 --no-clean-infojson --no-clean-info-json
f4536226 2234 --no-split-tracks --no-split-chapters
e167860c 2235 --no-write-srt --no-write-subs
e167860c 2236 --prefer-unsecure --prefer-insecure
2237 --rate-limit RATE --limit-rate RATE
f4536226 2238 --split-tracks --split-chapters
2239 --srt-lang LANGS --sub-langs LANGS
e167860c 2240 --trim-file-names LENGTH --trim-filenames LENGTH
f4536226 2241 --write-srt --write-subs
e167860c 2242 --yes-overwrites --force-overwrites
f4536226 2243
7a340e0d 2244#### Sponskrub Options
f304da8a 2245Support for [SponSkrub](https://github.com/faissaloo/SponSkrub) has been deprecated in favor of the `--sponsorblock` options
7a340e0d
NA
2246
2247 --sponskrub --sponsorblock-mark all
2248 --no-sponskrub --no-sponsorblock
2249 --sponskrub-cut --sponsorblock-remove all
2250 --no-sponskrub-cut --sponsorblock-remove -all
2251 --sponskrub-force Not applicable
2252 --no-sponskrub-force Not applicable
2253 --sponskrub-location Not applicable
2254 --sponskrub-args Not applicable
2255
f4536226 2256#### No longer supported
2257These options may no longer work as intended
2258
2259 --prefer-avconv avconv is not officially supported by yt-dlp (Alias: --no-prefer-ffmpeg)
2260 --prefer-ffmpeg Default (Alias: --no-prefer-avconv)
2261 -C, --call-home Not implemented
2262 --no-call-home Default
2263 --include-ads No longer supported
2264 --no-include-ads Default
0bb1bc1b 2265 --write-annotations No supported site has annotations now
2266 --no-write-annotations Default
1e8fe57e 2267 --compat-options seperate-video-versions No longer needed
486fb179 2268
2269#### Removed
2270These options were deprecated since 2014 and have now been entirely removed
2271
f4536226 2272 -A, --auto-number -o "%(autonumber)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s"
3d3bb168 2273 -t, -l, --title, --literal -o "%(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s"
f4536226 2274
8c6f4daa 2275# CONTRIBUTING
2276See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md#contributing-to-yt-dlp) for instructions on [Opening an Issue](CONTRIBUTING.md#opening-an-issue) and [Contributing code to the project](CONTRIBUTING.md#developer-instructions)
e167860c 2277
17ffed18 2278# WIKI
2279See the [Wiki](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki) for more information