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ec2e44fc 1<!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
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")
ae6a1b95 7[![PyPi](https://img.shields.io/badge/-PyPi-blue.svg?logo=pypi&labelColor=555555&style=for-the-badge)](https://pypi.org/project/yt-dlp "PyPi")
fc5fa964 8[![Donate](https://img.shields.io/badge/_-Donate-red.svg?logo=githubsponsors&labelColor=555555&style=for-the-badge)](Collaborators.md#collaborators "Donate")
ae6a1b95 9[![Matrix](https://img.shields.io/matrix/yt-dlp:matrix.org?color=brightgreen&labelColor=555555&label=&logo=element&style=for-the-badge)](https://matrix.to/#/#yt-dlp:matrix.org "Matrix")
10[![Discord](https://img.shields.io/discord/807245652072857610?color=blue&labelColor=555555&label=&logo=discord&style=for-the-badge)](https://discord.gg/H5MNcFW63r "Discord")
fc5fa964 11[![Supported Sites](https://img.shields.io/badge/-Supported_Sites-brightgreen.svg?style=for-the-badge)](supportedsites.md "Supported Sites")
ae6a1b95 12[![License: Unlicense](https://img.shields.io/badge/-Unlicense-blue.svg?style=for-the-badge)](LICENSE "License")
08e29b9f 13[![CI Status](https://img.shields.io/github/actions/workflow/status/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/core.yml?branch=master&label=Tests&style=for-the-badge)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/actions "CI Status")
fc5fa964 14[![Commits](https://img.shields.io/github/commit-activity/m/yt-dlp/yt-dlp?label=commits&style=for-the-badge)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits "Commit History")
b532a348 15[![Last Commit](https://img.shields.io/github/last-commit/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/master?label=&style=for-the-badge&display_timestamp=committer)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/pulse/monthly "Last activity")
c76eb41b 16
b31fdeed 17</div>
ec2e44fc 18<!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
c76eb41b 19
388c979a 20yt-dlp is a feature-rich command-line audio/video downloader with support for [thousands of sites](supportedsites.md). The project is a fork of [youtube-dl](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl) based on the now inactive [youtube-dlc](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc).
5c0e5bc4 21
ec2e44fc 22<!-- MANPAGE: MOVE "USAGE AND OPTIONS" SECTION HERE -->
23
24<!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
c76eb41b 25* [INSTALLATION](#installation)
deae7c17 26 * [Detailed instructions](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Installation)
0e5927ee 27 * [Release Files](#release-files)
47ab66db 28 * [Update](#update)
cf59cd4d 29 * [Dependencies](#dependencies)
17fa3ee2 30 * [Compile](#compile)
b31fdeed 31* [USAGE AND OPTIONS](#usage-and-options)
32 * [General Options](#general-options)
50865ca8 33 * [Network Options](#network-options)
b31fdeed 34 * [Geo-restriction](#geo-restriction)
50865ca8 35 * [Video Selection](#video-selection)
36 * [Download Options](#download-options)
37 * [Filesystem Options](#filesystem-options)
b31fdeed 38 * [Thumbnail Options](#thumbnail-options)
50865ca8 39 * [Internet Shortcut Options](#internet-shortcut-options)
0744a815 40 * [Verbosity and Simulation Options](#verbosity-and-simulation-options)
50865ca8 41 * [Workarounds](#workarounds)
42 * [Video Format Options](#video-format-options)
43 * [Subtitle Options](#subtitle-options)
44 * [Authentication Options](#authentication-options)
50865ca8 45 * [Post-processing Options](#post-processing-options)
7a340e0d 46 * [SponsorBlock Options](#sponsorblock-options)
50865ca8 47 * [Extractor Options](#extractor-options)
c76eb41b 48* [CONFIGURATION](#configuration)
304ad45a 49 * [Configuration file encoding](#configuration-file-encoding)
db3ad8a6 50 * [Authentication with netrc](#authentication-with-netrc)
878eac3e 51 * [Notes about environment variables](#notes-about-environment-variables)
c76eb41b 52* [OUTPUT TEMPLATE](#output-template)
50865ca8 53 * [Output template examples](#output-template-examples)
c76eb41b 54* [FORMAT SELECTION](#format-selection)
50865ca8 55 * [Filtering Formats](#filtering-formats)
56 * [Sorting Formats](#sorting-formats)
57 * [Format Selection examples](#format-selection-examples)
73cd218f 58* [MODIFYING METADATA](#modifying-metadata)
59 * [Modifying metadata examples](#modifying-metadata-examples)
5d3a0e79 60* [EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS](#extractor-arguments)
f74980cb 61* [PLUGINS](#plugins)
8e40b9d1
M
62 * [Installing Plugins](#installing-plugins)
63 * [Developing Plugins](#developing-plugins)
8c6f4daa 64* [EMBEDDING YT-DLP](#embedding-yt-dlp)
43cc91ad 65 * [Embedding examples](#embedding-examples)
47ab66db 66* [CHANGES FROM YOUTUBE-DL](#changes-from-youtube-dl)
67 * [New features](#new-features)
68 * [Differences in default behavior](#differences-in-default-behavior)
69 * [Deprecated options](#deprecated-options)
8c6f4daa 70* [CONTRIBUTING](CONTRIBUTING.md#contributing-to-yt-dlp)
71 * [Opening an Issue](CONTRIBUTING.md#opening-an-issue)
72 * [Developer Instructions](CONTRIBUTING.md#developer-instructions)
17ffed18 73* [WIKI](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki)
deae7c17 74 * [FAQ](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/FAQ)
ec2e44fc 75<!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
50865ca8 76
77
d19bb9c0 78# INSTALLATION
50865ca8 79
fc5fa964 80<!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
81[![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 82[![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 83[![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 84[![PyPi](https://img.shields.io/badge/-PyPi-blue.svg?logo=pypi&labelColor=555555&style=for-the-badge)](https://pypi.org/project/yt-dlp)
fc5fa964 85[![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)
86[![Other variants](https://img.shields.io/badge/-Other-grey.svg?style=for-the-badge)](#release-files)
3d3bb168 87[![All versions](https://img.shields.io/badge/-All_Versions-lightgrey.svg?style=for-the-badge)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases)
fc5fa964 88<!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
89
c8bc203f 90You 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 91
b8773e63 92
ec2e44fc 93<!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
a4211baf 94## RELEASE FILES
0e5927ee 95
733d8e8f 96#### Recommended
97
98File|Description
99:---|:---
962ffcf8 100[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 101[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 102[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 103
104#### Alternatives
105
0e5927ee
R
106File|Description
107:---|:---
47ab66db 108[yt-dlp_x86.exe](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_x86.exe)|Windows (Win7 SP1+) standalone x86 (32-bit) binary
8aa0e7cd 109[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 110[yt-dlp_linux](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_linux)|Linux standalone x64 binary
111[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
M
112[yt-dlp_linux_armv7l](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_linux_armv7l)|Linux standalone armv7l (32-bit) binary
113[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 114[yt-dlp_win.zip](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_win.zip)|Unpackaged Windows executable (no auto-update)
115[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 116[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 117
118#### Misc
119
120File|Description
121:---|:---
17ffed18 122[yt-dlp.tar.gz](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.tar.gz)|Source tarball
0e5927ee 123[SHA2-512SUMS](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/SHA2-512SUMS)|GNU-style SHA512 sums
12647e03 124[SHA2-512SUMS.sig](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/SHA2-512SUMS.sig)|GPG signature file for SHA512 sums
0e5927ee 125[SHA2-256SUMS](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/SHA2-256SUMS)|GNU-style SHA256 sums
12647e03 126[SHA2-256SUMS.sig](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/SHA2-256SUMS.sig)|GPG signature file for SHA256 sums
0e5927ee 127
12647e03
SS
128The 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)
129Example usage:
130```
131curl -L https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/raw/master/public.key | gpg --import
132gpg --verify SHA2-256SUMS.sig SHA2-256SUMS
133gpg --verify SHA2-512SUMS.sig SHA2-512SUMS
134```
135<!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
17ffed18 136
ad54c913 137**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 138
47ab66db 139
140## UPDATE
141You can use `yt-dlp -U` to update if you are using the [release binaries](#release-files)
142
143If 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
144
145For 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
146
147<a id="update-channels"></a>
148
149There are currently three release channels for binaries: `stable`, `nightly` and `master`.
150
151* `stable` is the default channel, and many of its changes have been tested by users of the `nightly` and `master` channels.
152* The `nightly` channel has releases scheduled to build every day around midnight UTC, for a snapshot of the project's new patches and changes. This is the **recommended channel for regular users** of yt-dlp. The `nightly` releases are available from [yt-dlp/yt-dlp-nightly-builds](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp-nightly-builds/releases) or as development releases of the `yt-dlp` PyPI package (which can be installed with pip's `--pre` flag).
153* The `master` channel features releases that are built after each push to the master branch, and these will have the very latest fixes and additions, but may also be more prone to regressions. They are available from [yt-dlp/yt-dlp-master-builds](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp-master-builds/releases).
154
155When using `--update`/`-U`, a release binary will only update to its current channel.
156`--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.
157
158You 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.
159
160Example usage:
161* `yt-dlp --update-to master` switch to the `master` channel and update to its latest release
162* `yt-dlp --update-to stable@2023.07.06` upgrade/downgrade to release to `stable` channel tag `2023.07.06`
163* `yt-dlp --update-to 2023.10.07` upgrade/downgrade to tag `2023.10.07` if it exists on the current channel
164* `yt-dlp --update-to example/yt-dlp@2023.09.24` upgrade/downgrade to the release from the `example/yt-dlp` repository, tag `2023.09.24`
165
166**Important**: Any user experiencing an issue with the `stable` release should install or update to the `nightly` release before submitting a bug report:
167```
168# To update to nightly from stable executable/binary:
169yt-dlp --update-to nightly
170
171# To install nightly with pip:
172python3 -m pip install -U --pre yt-dlp[default]
173```
174
a4211baf 175## DEPENDENCIES
f4b95aca 176Python versions 3.8+ (CPython and PyPy) are supported. Other versions and implementations may or may not work correctly.
b31fdeed 177
c9652aa4 178<!-- Python 3.5+ uses VC++14 and it is already embedded in the binary created
179<!x-- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=26999 --x>
cf59cd4d 180On 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 181-->
fac98805 182
e75bb0d6 183While all the other dependencies are optional, `ffmpeg` and `ffprobe` are highly recommended
ec2e44fc 184
8aa0e7cd 185### Strongly recommended
186
b69fd25c 187* [**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 188
292d60b1 189 There are bugs in ffmpeg that cause 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
8e174ba7 190
47ab66db 191 **Important**: What you need is ffmpeg *binary*, **NOT** [the Python package of the same name](https://pypi.org/project/ffmpeg)
8aa0e7cd 192
193### Networking
d5820461 194* [**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 195* [**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>
196* [**websockets**](https://github.com/aaugustin/websockets)\* - For downloading over websocket. Licensed under [BSD-3-Clause](https://github.com/aaugustin/websockets/blob/main/LICENSE)
8a8b5452 197* [**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 198
52f5be1f 199#### Impersonation
200
201The following provide support for impersonating browser requests. This may be required for some sites that employ TLS fingerprinting.
202
203* [**curl_cffi**](https://github.com/yifeikong/curl_cffi) (recommended) - Python binding for [curl-impersonate](https://github.com/lwthiker/curl-impersonate). Provides impersonation targets for Chrome, Edge and Safari. Licensed under [MIT](https://github.com/yifeikong/curl_cffi/blob/main/LICENSE)
204 * Can be installed with the `curl_cffi` group, e.g. `pip install yt-dlp[default,curl_cffi]`
205 * Only included in `yt-dlp.exe`, `yt-dlp_macos` and `yt-dlp_macos_legacy` builds
206
207
8aa0e7cd 208### Metadata
209
210* [**mutagen**](https://github.com/quodlibet/mutagen)\* - For `--embed-thumbnail` in certain formats. Licensed under [GPLv2+](https://github.com/quodlibet/mutagen/blob/master/COPYING)
211* [**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 212* [**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 213
214### Misc
215
216* [**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 217* [**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)
f9fb3ce8 218* [**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 219* Any external downloader that you want to use with `--downloader`
b31fdeed 220
deae7c17 221### Deprecated
8aa0e7cd 222
223* [**avconv** and **avprobe**](https://www.libav.org) - Now **deprecated** alternative to ffmpeg. License [depends on the build](https://libav.org/legal)
224* [**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 225* [**rtmpdump**](http://rtmpdump.mplayerhq.hu) - For downloading `rtmp` streams. ffmpeg can be used instead with `--downloader ffmpeg`. Licensed under [GPLv2+](http://rtmpdump.mplayerhq.hu)
226* [**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 227
cf59cd4d 228To use or redistribute the dependencies, you must agree to their respective licensing terms.
229
f2df4071 230The standalone release binaries are built with the Python interpreter and the packages marked with **\*** included.
d710cc6d 231
8aa0e7cd 232If 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 233
5f326cf5 234
a4211baf 235## COMPILE
5f326cf5 236
8aa0e7cd 237### Standalone PyInstaller Builds
47ab66db 238To build the standalone executable, you must have Python and `pyinstaller` (plus any of yt-dlp's [optional dependencies](#dependencies) if needed). The executable will be built for the same CPU architecture as the Python used.
239
240You can run the following commands:
e38df8f9 241
a1b77842 242```
b8a433aa 243python3 devscripts/install_deps.py --include pyinstaller
a1b77842 244python3 devscripts/make_lazy_extractors.py
245python3 -m bundle.pyinstaller
246```
8aa0e7cd 247
248On some systems, you may need to use `py` or `python` instead of `python3`.
249
47ab66db 250`python -m bundle.pyinstaller` 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).
73ac0e6b 251
8e174ba7 252**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 253
47ab66db 254**Important**: Running `pyinstaller` directly **instead of** using `python -m bundle.pyinstaller` is **not** officially supported. This may or may not work correctly.
7581d246 255
8aa0e7cd 256### Platform-independent Binary (UNIX)
f4b95aca 257You will need the build tools `python` (3.8+), `zip`, `make` (GNU), `pandoc`\* and `pytest`\*.
b96a939b 258
8aa0e7cd 259After installing these, simply run `make`.
5f326cf5 260
a831c2ea 261You 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 262
8aa0e7cd 263### Standalone Py2Exe Builds (Windows)
264
265While 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.
266
a1b77842 267If you wish to build it anyway, install Python (if it is not already installed) and you can run the following commands:
8aa0e7cd 268
a1b77842 269```
b8a433aa 270py devscripts/install_deps.py --include py2exe
a1b77842 271py devscripts/make_lazy_extractors.py
272py -m bundle.py2exe
273```
8aa0e7cd 274
275### Related scripts
276
b8a433aa 277* **`devscripts/install_deps.py`** - Install dependencies for yt-dlp.
d400e261
SS
278* **`devscripts/update-version.py`** - Update the version number based on current date.
279* **`devscripts/set-variant.py`** - Set the build variant of the executable.
280* **`devscripts/make_changelog.py`** - Create a markdown changelog using short commit messages and update `CONTRIBUTORS` file.
8aa0e7cd 281* **`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.
282
d400e261
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283Note: See their `--help` for more info.
284
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285### Forking the project
286If 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 287
b31fdeed 288# USAGE AND OPTIONS
6bcd846b 289
ec2e44fc 290<!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
7a5c1cfe 291 yt-dlp [OPTIONS] [--] URL [URL...]
b50e3bc6 292
c2b5f311 293`Ctrl+F` is your friend :D
ec2e44fc 294<!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
c2b5f311 295
ec2e44fc 296<!-- Auto generated -->
c76eb41b 297## General Options:
2dd5a2e3 298 -h, --help Print this help text and exit
299 --version Print program version and exit
70b23409 300 -U, --update Update this program to the latest version
301 --no-update Do not check for updates (default)
77df20f1 302 --update-to [CHANNEL]@[TAG] Upgrade/downgrade to a specific version.
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303 CHANNEL can be a repository as well. CHANNEL
304 and TAG default to "stable" and "latest"
305 respectively if omitted; See "UPDATE" for
5d3a3cd4 306 details. Supported channels: stable,
307 nightly, master
2dd5a2e3 308 -i, --ignore-errors Ignore download and postprocessing errors.
309 The download will be considered successful
310 even if the postprocessing fails
311 --no-abort-on-error Continue with next video on download errors;
312 e.g. to skip unavailable videos in a
313 playlist (default)
314 --abort-on-error Abort downloading of further videos if an
315 error occurs (Alias: --no-ignore-errors)
316 --dump-user-agent Display the current user-agent and exit
317 --list-extractors List all supported extractors and exit
318 --extractor-descriptions Output descriptions of all supported
319 extractors and exit
2516cafb 320 --use-extractors NAMES Extractor names to use separated by commas.
fe7866d0 321 You can also use regexes, "all", "default"
322 and "end" (end URL matching); e.g. --ies
323 "holodex.*,end,youtube". Prefix the name
324 with a "-" to exclude it, e.g. --ies
325 default,-generic. Use --list-extractors for
2516cafb 326 a list of extractor names. (Alias: --ies)
62b58c09 327 --default-search PREFIX Use this prefix for unqualified URLs. E.g.
2dd5a2e3 328 "gvsearch2:python" downloads two videos from
329 google videos for the search term "python".
330 Use the value "auto" to let yt-dlp guess
331 ("auto_warning" to emit a warning when
332 guessing). "error" just throws an error. The
333 default value "fixup_error" repairs broken
334 URLs, but emits an error if this is not
335 possible instead of searching
336 --ignore-config Don't load any more configuration files
47ab66db 337 except those given to --config-locations.
2dd5a2e3 338 For backward compatibility, if this option
339 is found inside the system configuration
340 file, the user configuration is not loaded.
341 (Alias: --no-config)
342 --no-config-locations Do not load any custom configuration files
343 (default). When given inside a configuration
344 file, ignore all previous --config-locations
345 defined in the current file
346 --config-locations PATH Location of the main configuration file;
347 either the path to the config or its
6b9e832d 348 containing directory ("-" for stdin). Can be
349 used multiple times and inside other
350 configuration files
2dd5a2e3 351 --flat-playlist Do not extract the videos of a playlist,
352 only list them
c8bc203f 353 --no-flat-playlist Fully extract the videos of a playlist
354 (default)
2dd5a2e3 355 --live-from-start Download livestreams from the start.
356 Currently only supported for YouTube
357 (Experimental)
358 --no-live-from-start Download livestreams from the current time
359 (default)
360 --wait-for-video MIN[-MAX] Wait for scheduled streams to become
361 available. Pass the minimum number of
362 seconds (or range) to wait between retries
363 --no-wait-for-video Do not wait for scheduled streams (default)
364 --mark-watched Mark videos watched (even with --simulate)
365 --no-mark-watched Do not mark videos watched (default)
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366 --color [STREAM:]POLICY Whether to emit color codes in output,
367 optionally prefixed by the STREAM (stdout or
368 stderr) to apply the setting to. Can be one
369 of "always", "auto" (default), "never", or
370 "no_color" (use non color terminal
371 sequences). Can be used multiple times
2dd5a2e3 372 --compat-options OPTS Options that can help keep compatibility
373 with youtube-dl or youtube-dlc
374 configurations by reverting some of the
375 changes made in yt-dlp. See "Differences in
376 default behavior" for details
377 --alias ALIASES OPTIONS Create aliases for an option string. Unless
378 an alias starts with a dash "-", it is
379 prefixed with "--". Arguments are parsed
380 according to the Python string formatting
62b58c09 381 mini-language. E.g. --alias get-audio,-X
2dd5a2e3 382 "-S=aext:{0},abr -x --audio-format {0}"
383 creates options "--get-audio" and "-X" that
384 takes an argument (ARG0) and expands to
385 "-S=aext:ARG0,abr -x --audio-format ARG0".
386 All defined aliases are listed in the --help
387 output. Alias options can trigger more
962ffcf8 388 aliases; so be careful to avoid defining
2dd5a2e3 389 recursive options. As a safety measure, each
390 alias may be triggered a maximum of 100
64fa820c 391 times. This option can be used multiple times
08c1d0d3 392
149f05c7 393## Network Options:
2dd5a2e3 394 --proxy URL Use the specified HTTP/HTTPS/SOCKS proxy. To
62b58c09
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395 enable SOCKS proxy, specify a proper scheme,
396 e.g. socks5://user:pass@127.0.0.1:1080/.
397 Pass in an empty string (--proxy "") for
398 direct connection
2dd5a2e3 399 --socket-timeout SECONDS Time to wait before giving up, in seconds
400 --source-address IP Client-side IP address to bind to
0b81d4d2 401 --impersonate CLIENT[:OS] Client to impersonate for requests. E.g.
402 chrome, chrome-110, chrome:windows-10. Pass
403 --impersonate="" to impersonate any client.
404 --list-impersonate-targets List available clients to impersonate.
2dd5a2e3 405 -4, --force-ipv4 Make all connections via IPv4
406 -6, --force-ipv6 Make all connections via IPv6
8300774c
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407 --enable-file-urls Enable file:// URLs. This is disabled by
408 default for security reasons.
8c6c88c7 409
b31fdeed 410## Geo-restriction:
2dd5a2e3 411 --geo-verification-proxy URL Use this proxy to verify the IP address for
412 some geo-restricted sites. The default proxy
413 specified by --proxy (or none, if the option
414 is not present) is used for the actual
415 downloading
c1664464 416 --xff VALUE How to fake X-Forwarded-For HTTP header to
417 try bypassing geographic restriction. One of
c8bc203f 418 "default" (only when known to be useful),
419 "never", an IP block in CIDR notation, or a
420 two-letter ISO 3166-2 country code
149f05c7 421
cfcec693 422## Video Selection:
71df9b7f 423 -I, --playlist-items ITEM_SPEC Comma separated playlist_index of the items
7e88d7d7 424 to download. You can specify a range using
425 "[START]:[STOP][:STEP]". For backward
426 compatibility, START-STOP is also supported.
427 Use negative indices to count from the right
428 and negative STEP to download in reverse
62b58c09 429 order. E.g. "-I 1:3,7,-5::2" used on a
71df9b7f 430 playlist of size 15 will download the items
7e88d7d7 431 at index 1,2,3,7,11,13,15
71df9b7f 432 --min-filesize SIZE Abort download if filesize is smaller than
433 SIZE, e.g. 50k or 44.6M
434 --max-filesize SIZE Abort download if filesize is larger than
62b58c09 435 SIZE, e.g. 50k or 44.6M
2dd5a2e3 436 --date DATE Download only videos uploaded on this date.
437 The date can be "YYYYMMDD" or in the format
438 [now|today|yesterday][-N[day|week|month|year]].
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439 E.g. "--date today-2weeks" downloads only
440 videos uploaded on the same day two weeks ago
2dd5a2e3 441 --datebefore DATE Download only videos uploaded on or before
442 this date. The date formats accepted is the
443 same as --date
444 --dateafter DATE Download only videos uploaded on or after
445 this date. The date formats accepted is the
446 same as --date
447 --match-filters FILTER Generic video filter. Any "OUTPUT TEMPLATE"
448 field can be compared with a number or a
449 string using the operators defined in
d4ada357 450 "Filtering Formats". You can also simply
2dd5a2e3 451 specify a field to match if the field is
452 present, use "!field" to check if the field
453 is not present, and "&" to check multiple
454 conditions. Use a "\" to escape "&" or
455 quotes if needed. If used multiple times,
456 the filter matches if atleast one of the
62b58c09 457 conditions are met. E.g. --match-filter
2dd5a2e3 458 !is_live --match-filter "like_count>?100 &
459 description~='(?i)\bcats \& dogs\b'" matches
460 only videos that are not live OR those that
461 have a like count more than 100 (or the like
462 field is not available) and also has a
463 description that contains the phrase "cats &
464 dogs" (caseless). Use "--match-filter -" to
465 interactively ask whether to download each
466 video
c8bc203f 467 --no-match-filters Do not use any --match-filter (default)
fe2ce85a 468 --break-match-filters FILTER Same as "--match-filters" but stops the
469 download process when a video is rejected
470 --no-break-match-filters Do not use any --break-match-filters (default)
2dd5a2e3 471 --no-playlist Download only the video, if the URL refers
472 to a video and a playlist
473 --yes-playlist Download the playlist, if the URL refers to
474 a video and a playlist
475 --age-limit YEARS Download only videos suitable for the given
476 age
477 --download-archive FILE Download only videos not listed in the
478 archive file. Record the IDs of all
479 downloaded videos in it
480 --no-download-archive Do not use archive file (default)
481 --max-downloads NUMBER Abort after downloading NUMBER files
482 --break-on-existing Stop the download process when encountering
483 a file that is in the archive
16be1177 484 --no-break-on-existing Do not stop the download process when
485 encountering a file that is in the archive
486 (default)
71df9b7f 487 --break-per-input Alters --max-downloads, --break-on-existing,
354d5fca 488 --break-match-filter, and autonumber to
489 reset per input URL
2dd5a2e3 490 --no-break-per-input --break-on-existing and similar options
491 terminates the entire download queue
492 --skip-playlist-after-errors N Number of allowed failures until the rest of
493 the playlist is skipped
6bcd846b 494
d5a62e4f 495## Download Options:
2dd5a2e3 496 -N, --concurrent-fragments N Number of fragments of a dash/hlsnative
497 video that should be downloaded concurrently
498 (default is 1)
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499 -r, --limit-rate RATE Maximum download rate in bytes per second,
500 e.g. 50K or 4.2M
2dd5a2e3 501 --throttled-rate RATE Minimum download rate in bytes per second
502 below which throttling is assumed and the
62b58c09 503 video data is re-extracted, e.g. 100K
2dd5a2e3 504 -R, --retries RETRIES Number of retries (default is 10), or
505 "infinite"
506 --file-access-retries RETRIES Number of times to retry on file access
507 error (default is 3), or "infinite"
508 --fragment-retries RETRIES Number of retries for a fragment (default is
509 10), or "infinite" (DASH, hlsnative and ISM)
be5c1ae8 510 --retry-sleep [TYPE:]EXPR Time to sleep between retries in seconds
511 (optionally) prefixed by the type of retry
512 (http (default), fragment, file_access,
513 extractor) to apply the sleep to. EXPR can
514 be a number, linear=START[:END[:STEP=1]] or
515 exp=START[:END[:BASE=2]]. This option can be
516 used multiple times to set the sleep for the
62b58c09 517 different retry types, e.g. --retry-sleep
2dd5a2e3 518 linear=1::2 --retry-sleep fragment:exp=1:20
519 --skip-unavailable-fragments Skip unavailable fragments for DASH,
520 hlsnative and ISM downloads (default)
8e174ba7 521 (Alias: --no-abort-on-unavailable-fragments)
522 --abort-on-unavailable-fragments
2dd5a2e3 523 Abort download if a fragment is unavailable
524 (Alias: --no-skip-unavailable-fragments)
525 --keep-fragments Keep downloaded fragments on disk after
526 downloading is finished
527 --no-keep-fragments Delete downloaded fragments after
528 downloading is finished (default)
62b58c09 529 --buffer-size SIZE Size of download buffer, e.g. 1024 or 16K
2dd5a2e3 530 (default is 1024)
531 --resize-buffer The buffer size is automatically resized
532 from an initial value of --buffer-size
533 (default)
534 --no-resize-buffer Do not automatically adjust the buffer size
535 --http-chunk-size SIZE Size of a chunk for chunk-based HTTP
62b58c09 536 downloading, e.g. 10485760 or 10M (default
2dd5a2e3 537 is disabled). May be useful for bypassing
538 bandwidth throttling imposed by a webserver
539 (experimental)
2dd5a2e3 540 --playlist-random Download playlist videos in random order
7e9a6125 541 --lazy-playlist Process entries in the playlist as they are
542 received. This disables n_entries,
543 --playlist-random and --playlist-reverse
544 --no-lazy-playlist Process videos in the playlist only after
545 the entire playlist is parsed (default)
2dd5a2e3 546 --xattr-set-filesize Set file xattribute ytdl.filesize with
547 expected file size
548 --hls-use-mpegts Use the mpegts container for HLS videos;
549 allowing some players to play the video
550 while downloading, and reducing the chance
551 of file corruption if download is
552 interrupted. This is enabled by default for
553 live streams
554 --no-hls-use-mpegts Do not use the mpegts container for HLS
555 videos. This is default when not downloading
556 live streams
b4e0d758 557 --download-sections REGEX Download only chapters that match the
558 regular expression. A "*" prefix denotes
559 time-range instead of chapter. Negative
560 timestamps are calculated from the end.
561 "*from-url" can be used to download between
562 the "start_time" and "end_time" extracted
563 from the URL. Needs ffmpeg. This option can
564 be used multiple times to download multiple
62b58c09 565 sections, e.g. --download-sections
2fa669f7 566 "*10:15-inf" --download-sections "intro"
2dd5a2e3 567 --downloader [PROTO:]NAME Name or path of the external downloader to
568 use (optionally) prefixed by the protocols
569 (http, ftp, m3u8, dash, rstp, rtmp, mms) to
570 use it for. Currently supports native,
571 aria2c, avconv, axel, curl, ffmpeg, httpie,
572 wget. You can use this option multiple times
573 to set different downloaders for different
62b58c09 574 protocols. E.g. --downloader aria2c
2dd5a2e3 575 --downloader "dash,m3u8:native" will use
576 aria2c for http/ftp downloads, and the
577 native downloader for dash/m3u8 downloads
578 (Alias: --external-downloader)
579 --downloader-args NAME:ARGS Give these arguments to the external
580 downloader. Specify the downloader name and
581 the arguments separated by a colon ":". For
582 ffmpeg, arguments can be passed to different
583 positions using the same syntax as
584 --postprocessor-args. You can use this
585 option multiple times to give different
586 arguments to different downloaders (Alias:
587 --external-downloader-args)
d5a62e4f 588
cfcec693 589## Filesystem Options:
2dd5a2e3 590 -a, --batch-file FILE File containing URLs to download ("-" for
591 stdin), one URL per line. Lines starting
592 with "#", ";" or "]" are considered as
593 comments and ignored
594 --no-batch-file Do not read URLs from batch file (default)
595 -P, --paths [TYPES:]PATH The paths where the files should be
596 downloaded. Specify the type of file and the
597 path separated by a colon ":". All the same
598 TYPES as --output are supported.
599 Additionally, you can also provide "home"
600 (default) and "temp" paths. All intermediary
601 files are first downloaded to the temp path
602 and then the final files are moved over to
603 the home path after download is finished.
604 This option is ignored if --output is an
605 absolute path
606 -o, --output [TYPES:]TEMPLATE Output filename template; see "OUTPUT
607 TEMPLATE" for details
608 --output-na-placeholder TEXT Placeholder for unavailable fields in
47ab66db 609 --output (default: "NA")
2dd5a2e3 610 --restrict-filenames Restrict filenames to only ASCII characters,
611 and avoid "&" and spaces in filenames
612 --no-restrict-filenames Allow Unicode characters, "&" and spaces in
613 filenames (default)
614 --windows-filenames Force filenames to be Windows-compatible
615 --no-windows-filenames Make filenames Windows-compatible only if
616 using Windows (default)
617 --trim-filenames LENGTH Limit the filename length (excluding
618 extension) to the specified number of
619 characters
620 -w, --no-overwrites Do not overwrite any files
621 --force-overwrites Overwrite all video and metadata files. This
622 option includes --no-continue
623 --no-force-overwrites Do not overwrite the video, but overwrite
624 related files (default)
625 -c, --continue Resume partially downloaded files/fragments
626 (default)
627 --no-continue Do not resume partially downloaded
628 fragments. If the file is not fragmented,
629 restart download of the entire file
630 --part Use .part files instead of writing directly
631 into output file (default)
632 --no-part Do not use .part files - write directly into
633 output file
634 --mtime Use the Last-modified header to set the file
635 modification time (default)
636 --no-mtime Do not use the Last-modified header to set
637 the file modification time
64fa820c 638 --write-description Write video description to a .description file
2dd5a2e3 639 --no-write-description Do not write video description (default)
640 --write-info-json Write video metadata to a .info.json file
641 (this may contain personal information)
642 --no-write-info-json Do not write video metadata (default)
643 --write-playlist-metafiles Write playlist metadata in addition to the
644 video metadata when using --write-info-json,
645 --write-description etc. (default)
646 --no-write-playlist-metafiles Do not write playlist metadata when using
647 --write-info-json, --write-description etc.
ad54c913 648 --clean-info-json Remove some internal metadata such as
649 filenames from the infojson (default)
2dd5a2e3 650 --no-clean-info-json Write all fields to the infojson
651 --write-comments Retrieve video comments to be placed in the
652 infojson. The comments are fetched even
653 without this option if the extraction is
654 known to be quick (Alias: --get-comments)
655 --no-write-comments Do not retrieve video comments unless the
656 extraction is known to be quick (Alias:
657 --no-get-comments)
658 --load-info-json FILE JSON file containing the video information
64fa820c 659 (created with the "--write-info-json" option)
2dd5a2e3 660 --cookies FILE Netscape formatted file to read cookies from
661 and dump cookie jar in
662 --no-cookies Do not read/dump cookies from/to file
663 (default)
825d3ce3 664 --cookies-from-browser BROWSER[+KEYRING][:PROFILE][::CONTAINER]
665 The name of the browser to load cookies
666 from. Currently supported browsers are:
667 brave, chrome, chromium, edge, firefox,
668 opera, safari, vivaldi. Optionally, the
669 KEYRING used for decrypting Chromium cookies
670 on Linux, the name/path of the PROFILE to
671 load cookies from, and the CONTAINER name
672 (if Firefox) ("none" for no container) can
673 be given with their respective seperators.
674 By default, all containers of the most
675 recently accessed profile are used.
676 Currently supported keyrings are: basictext,
2e023649 677 gnomekeyring, kwallet, kwallet5, kwallet6
2dd5a2e3 678 --no-cookies-from-browser Do not load cookies from browser (default)
17ffed18 679 --cache-dir DIR Location in the filesystem where yt-dlp can
680 store some downloaded information (such as
681 client ids and signatures) permanently. By
878eac3e 682 default ${XDG_CACHE_HOME}/yt-dlp
2dd5a2e3 683 --no-cache-dir Disable filesystem caching
684 --rm-cache-dir Delete all filesystem cache files
6bcd846b 685
b31fdeed 686## Thumbnail Options:
2dd5a2e3 687 --write-thumbnail Write thumbnail image to disk
64fa820c 688 --no-write-thumbnail Do not write thumbnail image to disk (default)
2dd5a2e3 689 --write-all-thumbnails Write all thumbnail image formats to disk
690 --list-thumbnails List available thumbnails of each video.
691 Simulate unless --no-simulate is used
2b1bd292 692
732044af 693## Internet Shortcut Options:
2dd5a2e3 694 --write-link Write an internet shortcut file, depending
695 on the current platform (.url, .webloc or
696 .desktop). The URL may be cached by the OS
697 --write-url-link Write a .url Windows internet shortcut. The
698 OS caches the URL based on the file path
699 --write-webloc-link Write a .webloc macOS internet shortcut
700 --write-desktop-link Write a .desktop Linux internet shortcut
732044af 701
0744a815 702## Verbosity and Simulation Options:
2dd5a2e3 703 -q, --quiet Activate quiet mode. If used with --verbose,
704 print the log to stderr
d669772c 705 --no-quiet Deactivate quiet mode. (Default)
2dd5a2e3 706 --no-warnings Ignore warnings
707 -s, --simulate Do not download the video and do not write
708 anything to disk
709 --no-simulate Download the video even if printing/listing
710 options are used
711 --ignore-no-formats-error Ignore "No video formats" error. Useful for
712 extracting metadata even if the videos are
713 not actually available for download
714 (experimental)
715 --no-ignore-no-formats-error Throw error when no downloadable video
716 formats are found (default)
717 --skip-download Do not download the video but write all
718 related files (Alias: --no-download)
719 -O, --print [WHEN:]TEMPLATE Field name or output template to print to
720 screen, optionally prefixed with when to
721 print it, separated by a ":". Supported
722 values of "WHEN" are the same as that of
119e40ef 723 --use-postprocessor (default: video).
2dd5a2e3 724 Implies --quiet. Implies --simulate unless
725 --no-simulate or later stages of WHEN are
726 used. This option can be used multiple times
bb66c247 727 --print-to-file [WHEN:]TEMPLATE FILE
2dd5a2e3 728 Append given template to the file. The
729 values of WHEN and TEMPLATE are same as that
730 of --print. FILE uses the same syntax as the
731 output template. This option can be used
732 multiple times
733 -j, --dump-json Quiet, but print JSON information for each
734 video. Simulate unless --no-simulate is
735 used. See "OUTPUT TEMPLATE" for a
736 description of available keys
737 -J, --dump-single-json Quiet, but print JSON information for each
738 url or infojson passed. Simulate unless
739 --no-simulate is used. If the URL refers to
740 a playlist, the whole playlist information
741 is dumped in a single line
742 --force-write-archive Force download archive entries to be written
743 as far as no errors occur, even if -s or
744 another simulation option is used (Alias:
745 --force-download-archive)
746 --newline Output progress bar as new lines
747 --no-progress Do not print progress bar
748 --progress Show progress bar, even if in quiet mode
749 --console-title Display progress in console titlebar
819e0531 750 --progress-template [TYPES:]TEMPLATE
2dd5a2e3 751 Template for progress outputs, optionally
752 prefixed with one of "download:" (default),
753 "download-title:" (the console title),
754 "postprocess:", or "postprocess-title:".
755 The video's fields are accessible under the
756 "info" key and the progress attributes are
62b58c09 757 accessible under "progress" key. E.g.
2dd5a2e3 758 --console-title --progress-template
759 "download-title:%(info.id)s-%(progress.eta)s"
760 -v, --verbose Print various debugging information
761 --dump-pages Print downloaded pages encoded using base64
762 to debug problems (very verbose)
763 --write-pages Write downloaded intermediary pages to files
764 in the current directory to debug problems
765 --print-traffic Display sent and read HTTP traffic
6bcd846b 766
36f35428 767## Workarounds:
2dd5a2e3 768 --encoding ENCODING Force the specified encoding (experimental)
769 --legacy-server-connect Explicitly allow HTTPS connection to servers
770 that do not support RFC 5746 secure
771 renegotiation
772 --no-check-certificates Suppress HTTPS certificate validation
773 --prefer-insecure Use an unencrypted connection to retrieve
774 information about the video (Currently
775 supported only for YouTube)
a5387729 776 --add-headers FIELD:VALUE Specify a custom HTTP header and its value,
2dd5a2e3 777 separated by a colon ":". You can use this
778 option multiple times
779 --bidi-workaround Work around terminals that lack
780 bidirectional text support. Requires bidiv
781 or fribidi executable in PATH
782 --sleep-requests SECONDS Number of seconds to sleep between requests
783 during data extraction
784 --sleep-interval SECONDS Number of seconds to sleep before each
785 download. This is the minimum time to sleep
786 when used along with --max-sleep-interval
787 (Alias: --min-sleep-interval)
788 --max-sleep-interval SECONDS Maximum number of seconds to sleep. Can only
789 be used along with --min-sleep-interval
790 --sleep-subtitles SECONDS Number of seconds to sleep before each
791 subtitle download
36f35428 792
cfcec693 793## Video Format Options:
2dd5a2e3 794 -f, --format FORMAT Video format code, see "FORMAT SELECTION"
795 for more details
796 -S, --format-sort SORTORDER Sort the formats by the fields given, see
797 "Sorting Formats" for more details
798 --format-sort-force Force user specified sort order to have
799 precedence over all fields, see "Sorting
800 Formats" for more details (Alias: --S-force)
801 --no-format-sort-force Some fields have precedence over the user
802 specified sort order (default)
803 --video-multistreams Allow multiple video streams to be merged
804 into a single file
805 --no-video-multistreams Only one video stream is downloaded for each
806 output file (default)
807 --audio-multistreams Allow multiple audio streams to be merged
808 into a single file
809 --no-audio-multistreams Only one audio stream is downloaded for each
810 output file (default)
811 --prefer-free-formats Prefer video formats with free containers
812 over non-free ones of same quality. Use with
813 "-S ext" to strictly prefer free containers
814 irrespective of quality
815 --no-prefer-free-formats Don't give any special preference to free
816 containers (default)
817 --check-formats Make sure formats are selected only from
818 those that are actually downloadable
819 --check-all-formats Check all formats for whether they are
820 actually downloadable
821 --no-check-formats Do not check that the formats are actually
822 downloadable
823 -F, --list-formats List available formats of each video.
824 Simulate unless --no-simulate is used
fc61aff4 825 --merge-output-format FORMAT Containers that may be used when merging
62b58c09 826 formats, separated by "/", e.g. "mp4/mkv".
fc61aff4
LL
827 Ignored if no merge is required. (currently
828 supported: avi, flv, mkv, mov, mp4, webm)
8ae7be3e
PH
829
830## Subtitle Options:
2dd5a2e3 831 --write-subs Write subtitle file
832 --no-write-subs Do not write subtitle file (default)
833 --write-auto-subs Write automatically generated subtitle file
834 (Alias: --write-automatic-subs)
835 --no-write-auto-subs Do not write auto-generated subtitles
836 (default) (Alias: --no-write-automatic-subs)
837 --list-subs List available subtitles of each video.
838 Simulate unless --no-simulate is used
839 --sub-format FORMAT Subtitle format; accepts formats preference,
62b58c09 840 e.g. "srt" or "ass/srt/best"
2dd5a2e3 841 --sub-langs LANGS Languages of the subtitles to download (can
62b58c09
L
842 be regex) or "all" separated by commas, e.g.
843 --sub-langs "en.*,ja". You can prefix the
2dd5a2e3 844 language code with a "-" to exclude it from
62b58c09
L
845 the requested languages, e.g. --sub-langs
846 all,-live_chat. Use --list-subs for a list
2dd5a2e3 847 of available language tags
6bcd846b 848
cfcec693 849## Authentication Options:
2dd5a2e3 850 -u, --username USERNAME Login with this account ID
851 -p, --password PASSWORD Account password. If this option is left
852 out, yt-dlp will ask interactively
853 -2, --twofactor TWOFACTOR Two-factor authentication code
854 -n, --netrc Use .netrc authentication data
855 --netrc-location PATH Location of .netrc authentication data;
856 either the path or its containing directory.
857 Defaults to ~/.netrc
db3ad8a6 858 --netrc-cmd NETRC_CMD Command to execute to get the credentials
d1b21561 859 for an extractor.
b634ba74 860 --video-password PASSWORD Video-specific password
2dd5a2e3 861 --ap-mso MSO Adobe Pass multiple-system operator (TV
862 provider) identifier, use --ap-list-mso for
863 a list of available MSOs
864 --ap-username USERNAME Multiple-system operator account login
865 --ap-password PASSWORD Multiple-system operator account password.
866 If this option is left out, yt-dlp will ask
867 interactively
868 --ap-list-mso List all supported multiple-system operators
869 --client-certificate CERTFILE Path to client certificate file in PEM
870 format. May include the private key
871 --client-certificate-key KEYFILE
872 Path to private key file for client
873 certificate
bb58c9ed 874 --client-certificate-password PASSWORD
2dd5a2e3 875 Password for client certificate private key,
876 if encrypted. If not provided, and the key
877 is encrypted, yt-dlp will ask interactively
f5e008d1 878
c76eb41b 879## Post-Processing Options:
2dd5a2e3 880 -x, --extract-audio Convert video files to audio-only files
881 (requires ffmpeg and ffprobe)
35faefee 882 --audio-format FORMAT Format to convert the audio to when -x is
883 used. (currently supported: best (default),
8dc59305 884 aac, alac, flac, m4a, mp3, opus, vorbis,
e0ab9854 885 wav). You can specify multiple rules using
886 similar syntax as --remux-video
2dd5a2e3 887 --audio-quality QUALITY Specify ffmpeg audio quality to use when
888 converting the audio with -x. Insert a value
889 between 0 (best) and 10 (worst) for VBR or a
890 specific bitrate like 128K (default 5)
891 --remux-video FORMAT Remux the video into another container if
8dc59305 892 necessary (currently supported: avi, flv,
69f5fe45 893 gif, mkv, mov, mp4, webm, aac, aiff, alac,
894 flac, m4a, mka, mp3, ogg, opus, vorbis,
895 wav). If target container does not support
896 the video/audio codec, remuxing will fail.
897 You can specify multiple rules; e.g.
2dd5a2e3 898 "aac>m4a/mov>mp4/mkv" will remux aac to m4a,
35faefee 899 mov to mp4 and anything else to mkv
2dd5a2e3 900 --recode-video FORMAT Re-encode the video into another format if
901 necessary. The syntax and supported formats
902 are the same as --remux-video
903 --postprocessor-args NAME:ARGS Give these arguments to the postprocessors.
904 Specify the postprocessor/executable name
905 and the arguments separated by a colon ":"
906 to give the argument to the specified
907 postprocessor/executable. Supported PP are:
908 Merger, ModifyChapters, SplitChapters,
909 ExtractAudio, VideoRemuxer, VideoConvertor,
910 Metadata, EmbedSubtitle, EmbedThumbnail,
911 SubtitlesConvertor, ThumbnailsConvertor,
912 FixupStretched, FixupM4a, FixupM3u8,
913 FixupTimestamp and FixupDuration. The
914 supported executables are: AtomicParsley,
915 FFmpeg and FFprobe. You can also specify
916 "PP+EXE:ARGS" to give the arguments to the
917 specified executable only when being used by
918 the specified postprocessor. Additionally,
919 for ffmpeg/ffprobe, "_i"/"_o" can be
920 appended to the prefix optionally followed
921 by a number to pass the argument before the
62b58c09 922 specified input/output file, e.g. --ppa
2dd5a2e3 923 "Merger+ffmpeg_i1:-v quiet". You can use
924 this option multiple times to give different
925 arguments to different postprocessors.
926 (Alias: --ppa)
927 -k, --keep-video Keep the intermediate video file on disk
928 after post-processing
929 --no-keep-video Delete the intermediate video file after
930 post-processing (default)
931 --post-overwrites Overwrite post-processed files (default)
932 --no-post-overwrites Do not overwrite post-processed files
933 --embed-subs Embed subtitles in the video (only for mp4,
934 webm and mkv videos)
935 --no-embed-subs Do not embed subtitles (default)
936 --embed-thumbnail Embed thumbnail in the video as cover art
937 --no-embed-thumbnail Do not embed thumbnail (default)
938 --embed-metadata Embed metadata to the video file. Also
939 embeds chapters/infojson if present unless
940 --no-embed-chapters/--no-embed-info-json are
941 used (Alias: --add-metadata)
942 --no-embed-metadata Do not add metadata to file (default)
943 (Alias: --no-add-metadata)
944 --embed-chapters Add chapter markers to the video file
945 (Alias: --add-chapters)
946 --no-embed-chapters Do not add chapter markers (default) (Alias:
947 --no-add-chapters)
948 --embed-info-json Embed the infojson as an attachment to
949 mkv/mka video files
950 --no-embed-info-json Do not embed the infojson as an attachment
951 to the video file
fe74d5b5 952 --parse-metadata [WHEN:]FROM:TO
953 Parse additional metadata like title/artist
2dd5a2e3 954 from other fields; see "MODIFYING METADATA"
fe74d5b5 955 for details. Supported values of "WHEN" are
956 the same as that of --use-postprocessor
957 (default: pre_process)
958 --replace-in-metadata [WHEN:]FIELDS REGEX REPLACE
2dd5a2e3 959 Replace text in a metadata field using the
960 given regex. This option can be used
fe74d5b5 961 multiple times. Supported values of "WHEN"
962 are the same as that of --use-postprocessor
963 (default: pre_process)
2dd5a2e3 964 --xattrs Write metadata to the video file's xattrs
965 (using dublin core and xdg standards)
966 --concat-playlist POLICY Concatenate videos in a playlist. One of
967 "never", "always", or "multi_video"
968 (default; only when the videos form a single
969 show). All the video files must have same
970 codecs and number of streams to be
971 concatable. The "pl_video:" prefix can be
972 used with "--paths" and "--output" to set
973 the output filename for the concatenated
974 files. See "OUTPUT TEMPLATE" for details
975 --fixup POLICY Automatically correct known faults of the
976 file. One of never (do nothing), warn (only
977 emit a warning), detect_or_warn (the
978 default; fix file if we can, warn
979 otherwise), force (try fixing even if file
980 already exists)
981 --ffmpeg-location PATH Location of the ffmpeg binary; either the
64fa820c 982 path to the binary or its containing directory
2dd5a2e3 983 --exec [WHEN:]CMD Execute a command, optionally prefixed with
119e40ef 984 when to execute it, separated by a ":".
985 Supported values of "WHEN" are the same as
986 that of --use-postprocessor (default:
987 after_move). Same syntax as the output
988 template can be used to pass any field as
ad54c913 989 arguments to the command. If no fields are
990 passed, %(filepath,_filename|)q is appended
991 to the end of the command. This option can
992 be used multiple times
2dd5a2e3 993 --no-exec Remove any previously defined --exec
994 --convert-subs FORMAT Convert the subtitles to another format
8dc59305 995 (currently supported: ass, lrc, srt, vtt)
2dd5a2e3 996 (Alias: --convert-subtitles)
997 --convert-thumbnails FORMAT Convert the thumbnails to another format
00bbc5f1 998 (currently supported: jpg, png, webp). You
999 can specify multiple rules using similar
1000 syntax as --remux-video
2dd5a2e3 1001 --split-chapters Split video into multiple files based on
1002 internal chapters. The "chapter:" prefix can
1003 be used with "--paths" and "--output" to set
1004 the output filename for the split files. See
1005 "OUTPUT TEMPLATE" for details
64fa820c 1006 --no-split-chapters Do not split video based on chapters (default)
2dd5a2e3 1007 --remove-chapters REGEX Remove chapters whose title matches the
5ec1b6b7 1008 given regular expression. The syntax is the
1009 same as --download-sections. This option can
2dd5a2e3 1010 be used multiple times
1011 --no-remove-chapters Do not remove any chapters from the file
1012 (default)
5ec1b6b7 1013 --force-keyframes-at-cuts Force keyframes at cuts when
1014 downloading/splitting/removing sections.
1015 This is slow due to needing a re-encode, but
1016 the resulting video may have fewer artifacts
1017 around the cuts
2dd5a2e3 1018 --no-force-keyframes-at-cuts Do not force keyframes around the chapters
1019 when cutting/splitting (default)
1020 --use-postprocessor NAME[:ARGS]
1021 The (case sensitive) name of plugin
1022 postprocessors to be enabled, and
1023 (optionally) arguments to be passed to it,
1024 separated by a colon ":". ARGS are a
1025 semicolon ";" delimited list of NAME=VALUE.
1026 The "when" argument determines when the
1027 postprocessor is invoked. It can be one of
1028 "pre_process" (after video extraction),
1029 "after_filter" (after video passes filter),
119e40ef 1030 "video" (after --format; before
1031 --print/--output), "before_dl" (before each
1032 video download), "post_process" (after each
1033 video download; default), "after_move"
1034 (after moving video file to it's final
1035 locations), "after_video" (after downloading
1036 and processing all formats of a video), or
1037 "playlist" (at end of playlist). This option
1038 can be used multiple times to add different
1039 postprocessors
7a340e0d
NA
1040
1041## SponsorBlock Options:
1042Make chapter entries for, or remove various segments (sponsor,
1043 introductions, etc.) from downloaded YouTube videos using the
8a51f564 1044 [SponsorBlock API](https://sponsor.ajay.app)
1045
2dd5a2e3 1046 --sponsorblock-mark CATS SponsorBlock categories to create chapters
1047 for, separated by commas. Available
1048 categories are sponsor, intro, outro,
1049 selfpromo, preview, filler, interaction,
71df9b7f 1050 music_offtopic, poi_highlight, chapter, all
1051 and default (=all). You can prefix the
1052 category with a "-" to exclude it. See [1]
1053 for description of the categories. E.g.
2dd5a2e3 1054 --sponsorblock-mark all,-preview
1055 [1] https://wiki.sponsor.ajay.app/w/Segment_Categories
1056 --sponsorblock-remove CATS SponsorBlock categories to be removed from
1057 the video file, separated by commas. If a
1058 category is present in both mark and remove,
1059 remove takes precedence. The syntax and
1060 available categories are the same as for
1061 --sponsorblock-mark except that "default"
71df9b7f 1062 refers to "all,-filler" and poi_highlight,
63c547d7 1063 chapter are not available
7a340e0d 1064 --sponsorblock-chapter-title TEMPLATE
2dd5a2e3 1065 An output template for the title of the
1066 SponsorBlock chapters created by
1067 --sponsorblock-mark. The only available
1068 fields are start_time, end_time, category,
1069 categories, name, category_names. Defaults
1070 to "[SponsorBlock]: %(category_names)l"
1071 --no-sponsorblock Disable both --sponsorblock-mark and
1072 --sponsorblock-remove
1073 --sponsorblock-api URL SponsorBlock API location, defaults to
1074 https://sponsor.ajay.app
a9e7f546 1075
78895bd3 1076## Extractor Options:
2dd5a2e3 1077 --extractor-retries RETRIES Number of retries for known extractor errors
1078 (default is 3), or "infinite"
1079 --allow-dynamic-mpd Process dynamic DASH manifests (default)
1080 (Alias: --no-ignore-dynamic-mpd)
1081 --ignore-dynamic-mpd Do not process dynamic DASH manifests
1082 (Alias: --no-allow-dynamic-mpd)
1083 --hls-split-discontinuity Split HLS playlists to different formats at
1084 discontinuities such as ad breaks
1085 --no-hls-split-discontinuity Do not split HLS playlists to different
1086 formats at discontinuities such as ad breaks
1087 (default)
2fa669f7 1088 --extractor-args IE_KEY:ARGS Pass ARGS arguments to the IE_KEY extractor.
1089 See "EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS" for details. You
1090 can use this option multiple times to give
2dd5a2e3 1091 arguments for different extractors
17cb02d0 1092
b7770046
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1093# CONFIGURATION
1094
7a5c1cfe 1095You can configure yt-dlp by placing any supported command line option to a configuration file. The configuration is loaded from the following locations:
e2e43aea 1096
878eac3e 10971. **Main Configuration**:
47ab66db 1098 * The file given to `--config-location`
878eac3e 10991. **Portable Configuration**: (Recommended for portable installations)
1100 * If using a binary, `yt-dlp.conf` in the same directory as the binary
1101 * If running from source-code, `yt-dlp.conf` in the parent directory of `yt_dlp`
11021. **Home Configuration**:
47ab66db 1103 * `yt-dlp.conf` in the home path given to `-P`
878eac3e 1104 * If `-P` is not given, the current directory is searched
e2e43aea 11051. **User Configuration**:
773c272d 1106 * `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp.conf`
878eac3e 1107 * `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp/config` (recommended on Linux/macOS)
8e40b9d1 1108 * `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp/config.txt`
773c272d 1109 * `${APPDATA}/yt-dlp.conf`
878eac3e 1110 * `${APPDATA}/yt-dlp/config` (recommended on Windows)
1111 * `${APPDATA}/yt-dlp/config.txt`
e2e43aea 1112 * `~/yt-dlp.conf`
1113 * `~/yt-dlp.conf.txt`
8e40b9d1
M
1114 * `~/.yt-dlp/config`
1115 * `~/.yt-dlp/config.txt`
3d3bb168 1116
878eac3e 1117 See also: [Notes about environment variables](#notes-about-environment-variables)
11181. **System Configuration**:
1119 * `/etc/yt-dlp.conf`
8e40b9d1
M
1120 * `/etc/yt-dlp/config`
1121 * `/etc/yt-dlp/config.txt`
b7770046 1122
62b58c09 1123E.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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1124```
1125# Lines starting with # are comments
1126
1127# Always extract audio
1128-x
1129
1130# Do not copy the mtime
1131--no-mtime
1132
1133# Use this proxy
1134--proxy 127.0.0.1:3128
1135
298f597b 1136# Save all videos under YouTube directory in your home directory
1137-o ~/YouTube/%(title)s.%(ext)s
b7770046
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1138```
1139
8e174ba7 1140**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 1141
a4211baf 1142You 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 1143
304ad45a 1144### Configuration file encoding
a904a7f8 1145
304ad45a 1146The configuration files are decoded according to the UTF BOM if present, and in the encoding from system locale otherwise.
a904a7f8 1147
88f60feb 1148If 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 1149
db3ad8a6 1150### Authentication with netrc
b7770046 1151
304ad45a 1152You 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 1153```
878eac3e 1154touch ${HOME}/.netrc
1155chmod a-rwx,u+rw ${HOME}/.netrc
b7770046
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1156```
1157After that you can add credentials for an extractor in the following format, where *extractor* is the name of the extractor in lowercase:
1158```
0001fcb5 1159machine <extractor> login <username> password <password>
b7770046 1160```
62b58c09 1161E.g.
b7770046
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1162```
1163machine youtube login myaccount@gmail.com password my_youtube_password
1164machine twitch login my_twitch_account_name password my_twitch_password
1165```
7a5c1cfe 1166To activate authentication with the `.netrc` file you should pass `--netrc` to yt-dlp or place it in the [configuration file](#configuration).
b7770046 1167
878eac3e 1168The default location of the .netrc file is `~` (see below).
1169
d7cd97e8 1170As an alternative to using the `.netrc` file, which has the disadvantage of keeping your passwords in a plain text file, you can configure a custom shell command to provide the credentials for an extractor. This is done by providing the `--netrc-cmd` parameter, it shall output the credentials in the netrc format and return `0` on success, other values will be treated as an error. `{}` in the command will be replaced by the name of the extractor to make it possible to select the credentials for the right extractor.
db3ad8a6
ND
1171
1172E.g. To use an encrypted `.netrc` file stored as `.authinfo.gpg`
1173```
1174yt-dlp --netrc-cmd 'gpg --decrypt ~/.authinfo.gpg' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc
1175```
1176
1177
878eac3e 1178### Notes about environment variables
1179* Environment variables are normally specified as `${VARIABLE}`/`$VARIABLE` on UNIX and `%VARIABLE%` on Windows; but is always shown as `${VARIABLE}` in this documentation
1180* yt-dlp also allow using UNIX-style variables on Windows for path-like options; e.g. `--output`, `--config-location`
1181* If unset, `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}` defaults to `~/.config` and `${XDG_CACHE_HOME}` to `~/.cache`
1182* On Windows, `~` points to `${HOME}` if present; or, `${USERPROFILE}` or `${HOMEDRIVE}${HOMEPATH}` otherwise
1183* On Windows, `${USERPROFILE}` generally points to `C:\Users\<user name>` and `${APPDATA}` to `${USERPROFILE}\AppData\Roaming`
b7770046
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1184
1185# OUTPUT TEMPLATE
1186
0202b52a 1187The `-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 1188
ec2e44fc 1189<!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
b7770046 1190**tl;dr:** [navigate me to examples](#output-template-examples).
ec2e44fc 1191<!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
b7770046 1192
e58c22a0 1193The 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 1194
62b58c09 1195It 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 1196
1197The field names themselves (the part inside the parenthesis) can also have some special formatting:
3d3bb168 1198
07a1250e 11991. **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 1200
993edd3f 12011. **Arithmetic**: Simple arithmetic can be done on numeric fields using `+`, `-` and `*`. E.g. `%(playlist_index+10)03d`, `%(n_entries+1-playlist_index)d`
ec2e44fc 1202
62b58c09 12031. **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 1204
62b58c09 12051. **Alternatives**: Alternate fields can be specified separated with a `,`. E.g. `%(release_date>%Y,upload_date>%Y|Unknown)s`
ec2e44fc 1206
ec9311c4 12071. **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 1208
17ffed18 12091. **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 1210
9b9dad11 12111. **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 1212
d5d1df8a 12131. **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 1214
1215To summarize, the general syntax for a field is:
1216```
e978789f 1217%(name[.keys][addition][>strf][,alternate][&replacement][|default])[flags][width][.precision][length]type
a439a3a4 1218```
de6000d9 1219
62b58c09 1220Additionally, 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 1221
47ab66db 1222<a id="outtmpl-postprocess-note"></a>
7aaf4cd2 1223
8e174ba7 1224**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 1225
e29663c6 1226The available fields are:
b7770046
U
1227
1228 - `id` (string): Video identifier
1229 - `title` (string): Video title
455a15e2 1230 - `fulltitle` (string): Video title ignoring live timestamp and generic title
b7770046
U
1231 - `ext` (string): Video filename extension
1232 - `alt_title` (string): A secondary title of the video
597c1866 1233 - `description` (string): The description of the video
b7770046
U
1234 - `display_id` (string): An alternative identifier for the video
1235 - `uploader` (string): Full name of the video uploader
f4f9f6d0 1236 - `uploader_id` (string): Nickname or id of the video uploader
1237 - `uploader_url` (string): URL to the video uploader's profile
b7770046 1238 - `license` (string): License name the video is licensed under
104a7b5a
L
1239 - `creators` (list): The creators of the video
1240 - `creator` (string): The creators of the video; comma-separated
b7770046 1241 - `timestamp` (numeric): UNIX timestamp of the moment the video became available
ae6a1b95 1242 - `upload_date` (string): Video upload date in UTC (YYYYMMDD)
e6f21b3d 1243 - `release_timestamp` (numeric): UNIX timestamp of the moment the video was released
ae6a1b95 1244 - `release_date` (string): The date (YYYYMMDD) when the video was released in UTC
1732eccc 1245 - `release_year` (numeric): Year (YYYY) when the video or album was released
f0d785d3 1246 - `modified_timestamp` (numeric): UNIX timestamp of the moment the video was last modified
ae6a1b95 1247 - `modified_date` (string): The date (YYYYMMDD) when the video was last modified in UTC
b7770046
U
1248 - `channel` (string): Full name of the channel the video is uploaded on
1249 - `channel_id` (string): Id of the channel
f4f9f6d0 1250 - `channel_url` (string): URL of the channel
6c73052c 1251 - `channel_follower_count` (numeric): Number of followers of the channel
8213ce28 1252 - `channel_is_verified` (boolean): Whether the channel is verified on the platform
b7770046
U
1253 - `location` (string): Physical location where the video was filmed
1254 - `duration` (numeric): Length of the video in seconds
53c18592 1255 - `duration_string` (string): Length of the video (HH:mm:ss)
b7770046 1256 - `view_count` (numeric): How many users have watched the video on the platform
867c66ff 1257 - `concurrent_view_count` (numeric): How many users are currently watching the video on the platform.
b7770046
U
1258 - `like_count` (numeric): Number of positive ratings of the video
1259 - `dislike_count` (numeric): Number of negative ratings of the video
1260 - `repost_count` (numeric): Number of reposts of the video
1261 - `average_rating` (numeric): Average rating give by users, the scale used depends on the webpage
277d6ff5 1262 - `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 1263 - `age_limit` (numeric): Age restriction for the video (years)
e325a21a 1264 - `live_status` (string): One of "not_live", "is_live", "is_upcoming", "was_live", "post_live" (was live, but VOD is not yet processed)
b7770046 1265 - `is_live` (boolean): Whether this video is a live stream or a fixed-length video
f76ede8e 1266 - `was_live` (boolean): Whether this video was originally a live stream
6cfda058 1267 - `playable_in_embed` (string): Whether this video is allowed to play in embedded players on other sites
940a67a3 1268 - `availability` (string): Whether the video is "private", "premium_only", "subscriber_only", "needs_auth", "unlisted" or "public"
e370f9ec 1269 - `media_type` (string): The type of media as classified by the site, e.g. "episode", "clip", "trailer"
b7770046
U
1270 - `start_time` (numeric): Time in seconds where the reproduction should start, as specified in the URL
1271 - `end_time` (numeric): Time in seconds where the reproduction should end, as specified in the URL
b7770046
U
1272 - `extractor` (string): Name of the extractor
1273 - `extractor_key` (string): Key name of the extractor
455a15e2 1274 - `epoch` (numeric): Unix epoch of when the information extraction was completed
b532a348 1275 - `autonumber` (numeric): Number that will be increased with each download, starting at `--autonumber-start`, padded with leading zeros to 5 digits
9c906919 1276 - `video_autonumber` (numeric): Number that will be increased with each video
e6f21b3d 1277 - `n_entries` (numeric): Total number of extracted items in the playlist
455a15e2 1278 - `playlist_id` (string): Identifier of the playlist that contains the video
1279 - `playlist_title` (string): Name of the playlist that contains the video
1280 - `playlist` (string): `playlist_id` or `playlist_title`
f0d785d3 1281 - `playlist_count` (numeric): Total number of items in the playlist. May not be known if entire playlist is not extracted
e6f21b3d 1282 - `playlist_index` (numeric): Index of the video in the playlist padded with leading zeros according the final index
1283 - `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
U
1284 - `playlist_uploader` (string): Full name of the playlist uploader
1285 - `playlist_uploader_id` (string): Nickname or id of the playlist uploader
bd99f6e6 1286 - `webpage_url` (string): A URL to the video webpage which if given to yt-dlp should allow to get the same result again
0bb322b9 1287 - `webpage_url_basename` (string): The basename of the webpage URL
1288 - `webpage_url_domain` (string): The domain of the webpage URL
bd99f6e6 1289 - `original_url` (string): The URL given by the user (or same as `webpage_url` for playlist entries)
f4f9f6d0 1290 - `categories` (list): List of categories the video belongs to
1291 - `tags` (list): List of tags assigned to the video
1292 - `cast` (list): List of cast members
1293
d2c8aadf 1294All the fields in [Filtering Formats](#filtering-formats) can also be used
b7770046
U
1295
1296Available for the video that belongs to some logical chapter or section:
1297
1298 - `chapter` (string): Name or title of the chapter the video belongs to
1299 - `chapter_number` (numeric): Number of the chapter the video belongs to
1300 - `chapter_id` (string): Id of the chapter the video belongs to
1301
1302Available for the video that is an episode of some series or programme:
1303
1304 - `series` (string): Title of the series or programme the video episode belongs to
f4f9f6d0 1305 - `series_id` (string): Id of the series or programme the video episode belongs to
b7770046
U
1306 - `season` (string): Title of the season the video episode belongs to
1307 - `season_number` (numeric): Number of the season the video episode belongs to
1308 - `season_id` (string): Id of the season the video episode belongs to
1309 - `episode` (string): Title of the video episode
1310 - `episode_number` (numeric): Number of the video episode within a season
1311 - `episode_id` (string): Id of the video episode
1312
1313Available for the media that is a track or a part of a music album:
1314
1315 - `track` (string): Title of the track
1316 - `track_number` (numeric): Number of the track within an album or a disc
1317 - `track_id` (string): Id of the track
104a7b5a
L
1318 - `artists` (list): Artist(s) of the track
1319 - `artist` (string): Artist(s) of the track; comma-separated
1320 - `genres` (list): Genre(s) of the track
1321 - `genre` (string): Genre(s) of the track; comma-separated
1322 - `composers` (list): Composer(s) of the piece
1323 - `composer` (string): Composer(s) of the piece; comma-separated
b7770046
U
1324 - `album` (string): Title of the album the track belongs to
1325 - `album_type` (string): Type of the album
104a7b5a
L
1326 - `album_artists` (list): All artists appeared on the album
1327 - `album_artist` (string): All artists appeared on the album; comma-separated
b7770046 1328 - `disc_number` (numeric): Number of the disc or other physical medium the track belongs to
b7770046 1329
5ec1b6b7 1330Available only when using `--download-sections` and for `chapter:` prefix when using `--split-chapters` for videos with internal chapters:
72755351 1331
1332 - `section_title` (string): Title of the chapter
1333 - `section_number` (numeric): Number of the chapter within the file
1334 - `section_start` (numeric): Start time of the chapter in seconds
1335 - `section_end` (numeric): End time of the chapter in seconds
1336
53c18592 1337Available only when used in `--print`:
1338
1339 - `urls` (string): The URLs of all requested formats, one in each line
7aaf4cd2 1340 - `filename` (string): Name of the video file. Note that the [actual filename may differ](#outtmpl-postprocess-note)
ed5835b4 1341 - `formats_table` (table): The video format table as printed by `--list-formats`
1342 - `thumbnails_table` (table): The thumbnail format table as printed by `--list-thumbnails`
1343 - `subtitles_table` (table): The subtitle format table as printed by `--list-subs`
1344 - `automatic_captions_table` (table): The automatic subtitle format table as printed by `--list-subs`
1345
ad54c913 1346 Available only after the video is downloaded (`post_process`/`after_move`):
7a340e0d 1347
ad54c913 1348 - `filepath`: Actual path of downloaded video file
1349
7a340e0d
NA
1350Available only in `--sponsorblock-chapter-title`:
1351
1352 - `start_time` (numeric): Start time of the chapter in seconds
1353 - `end_time` (numeric): End time of the chapter in seconds
1338ae3b 1354 - `categories` (list): The [SponsorBlock categories](https://wiki.sponsor.ajay.app/w/Types#Category) the chapter belongs to
7a340e0d
NA
1355 - `category` (string): The smallest SponsorBlock category the chapter belongs to
1356 - `category_names` (list): Friendly names of the categories
1357 - `name` (string): Friendly name of the smallest category
1338ae3b 1358 - `type` (string): The [SponsorBlock action type](https://wiki.sponsor.ajay.app/w/Types#Action_Type) of the chapter
53c18592 1359
62b58c09 1360Each 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 1361
8e174ba7 1362**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 1363
0930b11f 1364**Tip**: Look at the `-j` output to identify which fields are available for the particular URL
b7770046 1365
62b58c09 1366For 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 1367
940a67a3 1368Output 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
U
1369
1370To use percent literals in an output template use `%%`. To output to stdout use `-o -`.
1371
91ebc640 1372The current default template is `%(title)s [%(id)s].%(ext)s`.
b7770046 1373
f304da8a 1374In 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 1375
b7770046
U
1376#### Output template examples
1377
b7770046 1378```bash
d2c8aadf 1379$ yt-dlp --print filename -o "test video.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc
9222c381 1380test video.webm # Literal name with correct extension
1381
d2c8aadf 1382$ yt-dlp --print filename -o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc
9222c381 1383youtube-dl test video ''_ä↭𝕐.webm # All kinds of weird characters
b7770046 1384
d2c8aadf 1385$ yt-dlp --print filename -o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc --restrict-filenames
9222c381 1386youtube-dl_test_video_.webm # Restricted file name
b7770046
U
1387
1388# Download YouTube playlist videos in separate directory indexed by video order in a playlist
940a67a3 1389$ yt-dlp -o "%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s" "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwiyx1dc3P2JR9N8gQaQN_BCvlSlap7re"
b7770046 1390
b050d210 1391# Download YouTube playlist videos in separate directories according to their uploaded year
940a67a3 1392$ yt-dlp -o "%(upload_date>%Y)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwiyx1dc3P2JR9N8gQaQN_BCvlSlap7re"
e29663c6 1393
e978789f 1394# Prefix playlist index with " - " separator, but only if it is available
ad54c913 1395$ yt-dlp -o "%(playlist_index&{} - |)s%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc "https://www.youtube.com/user/TheLinuxFoundation/playlists"
e978789f 1396
b7770046 1397# Download all playlists of YouTube channel/user keeping each playlist in separate directory:
940a67a3 1398$ yt-dlp -o "%(uploader)s/%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s" "https://www.youtube.com/user/TheLinuxFoundation/playlists"
b7770046
U
1399
1400# Download Udemy course keeping each chapter in separate directory under MyVideos directory in your home
940a67a3 1401$ 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
U
1402
1403# Download entire series season keeping each series and each season in separate directory under C:/MyVideos
940a67a3 1404$ 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 1405
6a34813a 1406# Download video as "C:\MyVideos\uploader\title.ext", subtitles as "C:\MyVideos\subs\uploader\title.ext"
1407# and put all temporary files in "C:\MyVideos\tmp"
1408$ yt-dlp -P "C:/MyVideos" -P "temp:tmp" -P "subtitle:subs" -o "%(uploader)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenoz --write-subs
1409
1410# Download video as "C:\MyVideos\uploader\title.ext" and subtitles as "C:\MyVideos\uploader\subs\title.ext"
1411$ 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
1412
b7770046 1413# Stream the video being downloaded to stdout
7a5c1cfe 1414$ yt-dlp -o - BaW_jenozKc
b7770046
U
1415```
1416
1417# FORMAT SELECTION
1418
7a5c1cfe
P
1419By default, yt-dlp tries to download the best available quality if you **don't** pass any options.
1420This 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 1421
c111cefa 1422**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.
1423
eff63539 1424The 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 1425
ec2e44fc 1426<!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
b7770046 1427**tl;dr:** [navigate me to examples](#format-selection-examples).
ec2e44fc 1428<!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
b7770046 1429
62b58c09 1430The 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
1431
1432You 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.
1433
fa9f30b8 1434You can use `-f -` to interactively provide the format selector *for each video*
1435
b7770046
U
1436You can also use special names to select particular edge case formats:
1437
59a7a13e 1438 - `all`: Select **all formats** separately
1439 - `mergeall`: Select and **merge all formats** (Must be used with `--audio-multistreams`, `--video-multistreams` or both)
30389593 1440 - `b*`, `best*`: Select the best quality format that **contains either** a video or an audio or both (ie; `vcodec!=none or acodec!=none`)
59a7a13e 1441 - `b`, `best`: Select the best quality format that **contains both** video and audio. Equivalent to `best*[vcodec!=none][acodec!=none]`
1442 - `bv`, `bestvideo`: Select the best quality **video-only** format. Equivalent to `best*[acodec=none]`
1443 - `bv*`, `bestvideo*`: Select the best quality format that **contains video**. It may also contain audio. Equivalent to `best*[vcodec!=none]`
1444 - `ba`, `bestaudio`: Select the best quality **audio-only** format. Equivalent to `best*[vcodec=none]`
ae6a1b95 1445 - `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 1446 - `w*`, `worst*`: Select the worst quality format that contains either a video or an audio
909d24dd 1447 - `w`, `worst`: Select the worst quality format that contains both video and audio. Equivalent to `worst*[vcodec!=none][acodec!=none]`
909d24dd 1448 - `wv`, `worstvideo`: Select the worst quality video-only format. Equivalent to `worst*[acodec=none]`
909d24dd 1449 - `wv*`, `worstvideo*`: Select the worst quality format that contains video. It may also contain audio. Equivalent to `worst*[vcodec!=none]`
909d24dd 1450 - `wa`, `worstaudio`: Select the worst quality audio-only format. Equivalent to `worst*[vcodec=none]`
909d24dd 1451 - `wa*`, `worstaudio*`: Select the worst quality format that contains audio. It may also contain video. Equivalent to `worst*[acodec!=none]`
b7770046 1452
d4ada357 1453For 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 1454
1455You 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 1456
304ad45a 1457If 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
1458
1459If 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`.
1460
62b58c09 1461You 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 1462
1463**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
1464
304ad45a 1465Unless `--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 1466
1467## Filtering Formats
1468
b532a348 1469You 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
1470
1471The following numeric meta fields can be used with comparisons `<`, `<=`, `>`, `>=`, `=` (equals), `!=` (not equals):
1472
1473 - `filesize`: The number of bytes, if known in advance
d2c8aadf 1474 - `filesize_approx`: An estimate for the number of bytes
b7770046
U
1475 - `width`: Width of the video, if known
1476 - `height`: Height of the video, if known
105bfd90 1477 - `aspect_ratio`: Aspect ratio of the video, if known
86e3b822 1478 - `tbr`: Average bitrate of audio and video in [kbps](## "1000 bits/sec")
1479 - `abr`: Average audio bitrate in [kbps](## "1000 bits/sec")
1480 - `vbr`: Average video bitrate in [kbps](## "1000 bits/sec")
b7770046
U
1481 - `asr`: Audio sampling rate in Hertz
1482 - `fps`: Frame rate
d2c8aadf 1483 - `audio_channels`: The number of audio channels
1484 - `stretched_ratio`: `width:height` of the video's pixels, if not square
b7770046 1485
1ce9a3cb 1486Also filtering work for comparisons `=` (equals), `^=` (starts with), `$=` (ends with), `*=` (contains), `~=` (matches regex) and following string meta fields:
b7770046 1487
d2c8aadf 1488 - `url`: Video URL
b7770046
U
1489 - `ext`: File extension
1490 - `acodec`: Name of the audio codec in use
1491 - `vcodec`: Name of the video codec in use
1492 - `container`: Name of the container format
1493 - `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 1494 - `language`: Language code
d2c8aadf 1495 - `dynamic_range`: The dynamic range of the video
1496 - `format_id`: A short description of the format
1497 - `format`: A human-readable description of the format
1498 - `format_note`: Additional info about the format
1499 - `resolution`: Textual description of width and height
b7770046 1500
1ce9a3cb 1501Any 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 1502
8e174ba7 1503**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 1504
86e3b822 1505Formats 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 kbps. 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 1506
62b58c09 1507Format 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 1508
eb8a4433 1509## Sorting Formats
1510
2e7781a9 1511You can change the criteria for being considered the `best` by using `-S` (`--format-sort`). The general format for this is `--format-sort field1,field2...`.
1512
1513The available fields are:
eb8a4433 1514
304ad45a 1515 - `hasvid`: Gives priority to formats that have a video stream
1516 - `hasaud`: Gives priority to formats that have an audio stream
ed8d87f9 1517 - `ie_pref`: The format preference
1518 - `lang`: The language preference
1519 - `quality`: The quality of the format
1520 - `source`: The preference of the source
d80d98e7 1521 - `proto`: Protocol used for download (`https`/`ftps` > `http`/`ftp` > `m3u8_native`/`m3u8` > `http_dash_segments`> `websocket_frag` > `mms`/`rtsp` > `f4f`/`f4m`)
1522 - `vcodec`: Video Codec (`av01` > `vp9.2` > `vp9` > `h265` > `h264` > `vp8` > `h263` > `theora` > other)
a5387729 1523 - `acodec`: Audio Codec (`flac`/`alac` > `wav`/`aiff` > `opus` > `vorbis` > `aac` > `mp4a` > `mp3` > `ac4` > `eac3` > `ac3` > `dts` > other)
eb8a4433 1524 - `codec`: Equivalent to `vcodec,acodec`
29ca4082 1525 - `vext`: Video Extension (`mp4` > `mov` > `webm` > `flv` > other). If `--prefer-free-formats` is used, `webm` is preferred.
f2e9fa3e 1526 - `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 1527 - `ext`: Equivalent to `vext,aext`
0930b11f 1528 - `filesize`: Exact filesize, if known in advance
62b5c94c 1529 - `fs_approx`: Approximate filesize
63be1aab 1530 - `size`: Exact filesize if available, otherwise approximate filesize
eb8a4433 1531 - `height`: Height of video
1532 - `width`: Width of video
63be1aab 1533 - `res`: Video resolution, calculated as the smallest dimension.
1534 - `fps`: Framerate of video
49a57e70 1535 - `hdr`: The dynamic range of the video (`DV` > `HDR12` > `HDR10+` > `HDR10` > `HLG` > `SDR`)
b8ed0f15 1536 - `channels`: The number of audio channels
86e3b822 1537 - `tbr`: Total average bitrate in [kbps](## "1000 bits/sec")
1538 - `vbr`: Average video bitrate in [kbps](## "1000 bits/sec")
1539 - `abr`: Average audio bitrate in [kbps](## "1000 bits/sec")
1540 - `br`: Average bitrate in [kbps](## "1000 bits/sec"), `tbr`/`vbr`/`abr`
63be1aab 1541 - `asr`: Audio sample rate in Hz
d806c9fd 1542
1543**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 1544
62b58c09 1545All 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 1546
7e798d72 1547The 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 1548
7e798d72 1549Note 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 1550
e58c22a0 1551If 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 1552
1553**Tip**: You can use the `-v -F` to see how the formats have been sorted (worst to best).
1554
eb8a4433 1555## Format Selection examples
b7770046 1556
b7770046 1557```bash
e58c22a0 1558# Download and merge the best video-only format and the best audio-only format,
909d24dd 1559# or download the best combined format if video-only format is not available
940a67a3 1560$ yt-dlp -f "bv+ba/b"
909d24dd 1561
1562# Download best format that contains video,
1563# and if it doesn't already have an audio stream, merge it with best audio-only format
940a67a3 1564$ yt-dlp -f "bv*+ba/b"
2af884ff 1565
1566# Same as above
7a5c1cfe 1567$ yt-dlp
909d24dd 1568
6fd35a11 1569# Download the best video-only format and the best audio-only format without merging them
1570# For this case, an output template should be used since
1571# by default, bestvideo and bestaudio will have the same file name.
940a67a3 1572$ yt-dlp -f "bv,ba" -o "%(title)s.f%(format_id)s.%(ext)s"
909d24dd 1573
f8d4ad9a 1574# Download and merge the best format that has a video stream,
1575# and all audio-only formats into one file
940a67a3 1576$ yt-dlp -f "bv*+mergeall[vcodec=none]" --audio-multistreams
f8d4ad9a 1577
1578# Download and merge the best format that has a video stream,
1579# and the best 2 audio-only formats into one file
940a67a3 1580$ yt-dlp -f "bv*+ba+ba.2" --audio-multistreams
909d24dd 1581
6fd35a11 1582
1583# The following examples show the old method (without -S) of format selection
f8d4ad9a 1584# and how to use -S to achieve a similar but (generally) better result
6fd35a11 1585
1586# Download the worst video available (old method)
940a67a3 1587$ yt-dlp -f "wv*+wa/w"
eb8a4433 1588
1589# Download the best video available but with the smallest resolution
940a67a3 1590$ yt-dlp -S "+res"
eb8a4433 1591
1592# Download the smallest video available
940a67a3 1593$ yt-dlp -S "+size,+br"
eb8a4433 1594
1595
909d24dd 1596
eb8a4433 1597# Download the best mp4 video available, or the best video if no mp4 available
940a67a3 1598$ yt-dlp -f "bv*[ext=mp4]+ba[ext=m4a]/b[ext=mp4] / bv*+ba/b"
eb8a4433 1599
1600# Download the best video with the best extension
29ca4082 1601# (For video, mp4 > mov > webm > flv. For audio, m4a > aac > mp3 ...)
940a67a3 1602$ yt-dlp -S "ext"
eb8a4433 1603
1604
909d24dd 1605
eb8a4433 1606# Download the best video available but no better than 480p,
1607# or the worst video if there is no video under 480p
940a67a3 1608$ yt-dlp -f "bv*[height<=480]+ba/b[height<=480] / wv*+ba/w"
b7770046 1609
eb8a4433 1610# Download the best video available with the largest height but no better than 480p,
1611# or the best video with the smallest resolution if there is no video under 480p
940a67a3 1612$ yt-dlp -S "height:480"
b7770046 1613
eb8a4433 1614# Download the best video available with the largest resolution but no better than 480p,
1615# or the best video with the smallest resolution if there is no video under 480p
1616# Resolution is determined by using the smallest dimension.
1617# So this works correctly for vertical videos as well
940a67a3 1618$ yt-dlp -S "res:480"
b7770046 1619
b7770046 1620
909d24dd 1621
eb8a4433 1622# Download the best video (that also has audio) but no bigger than 50 MB,
1623# or the worst video (that also has audio) if there is no video under 50 MB
940a67a3 1624$ yt-dlp -f "b[filesize<50M] / w"
eb8a4433 1625
1626# Download largest video (that also has audio) but no bigger than 50 MB,
1627# or the smallest video (that also has audio) if there is no video under 50 MB
940a67a3 1628$ yt-dlp -f "b" -S "filesize:50M"
eb8a4433 1629
1630# Download best video (that also has audio) that is closest in size to 50 MB
940a67a3 1631$ yt-dlp -f "b" -S "filesize~50M"
eb8a4433 1632
1633
909d24dd 1634
eb8a4433 1635# Download best video available via direct link over HTTP/HTTPS protocol,
1636# or the best video available via any protocol if there is no such video
940a67a3 1637$ yt-dlp -f "(bv*+ba/b)[protocol^=http][protocol!*=dash] / (bv*+ba/b)"
eb8a4433 1638
1639# Download best video available via the best protocol
1640# (https/ftps > http/ftp > m3u8_native > m3u8 > http_dash_segments ...)
940a67a3 1641$ yt-dlp -S "proto"
eb8a4433 1642
1643
909d24dd 1644
1ce9a3cb
LF
1645# Download the best video with either h264 or h265 codec,
1646# or the best video if there is no such video
1647$ yt-dlp -f "(bv*[vcodec~='^((he|a)vc|h26[45])']+ba) / (bv*+ba/b)"
eb8a4433 1648
1649# Download the best video with best codec no better than h264,
1650# or the best video with worst codec if there is no such video
940a67a3 1651$ yt-dlp -S "codec:h264"
eb8a4433 1652
1653# Download the best video with worst codec no worse than h264,
1654# or the best video with best codec if there is no such video
940a67a3 1655$ yt-dlp -S "+codec:h264"
eb8a4433 1656
1657
1658
1659# More complex examples
1660
e58c22a0 1661# Download the best video no better than 720p preferring framerate greater than 30,
1662# or the worst video (still preferring framerate greater than 30) if there is no such video
940a67a3 1663$ 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 1664
1665# Download the video with the largest resolution no better than 720p,
f8d4ad9a 1666# or the video with the smallest resolution available if there is no such video,
e58c22a0 1667# preferring larger framerate for formats with the same resolution
940a67a3 1668$ yt-dlp -S "res:720,fps"
eb8a4433 1669
1670
909d24dd 1671
eb8a4433 1672# Download the video with smallest resolution no worse than 480p,
1673# or the video with the largest resolution available if there is no such video,
e58c22a0 1674# preferring better codec and then larger total bitrate for the same resolution
940a67a3 1675$ yt-dlp -S "+res:480,codec,br"
b7770046 1676```
eb8a4433 1677
73cd218f 1678# MODIFYING METADATA
1679
a4211baf 1680The metadata obtained by the extractors can be modified by using `--parse-metadata` and `--replace-in-metadata`
e9f4ccd1 1681
47ab66db 1682`--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 1683
47ab66db 1684The 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 1685
46d09f87 1686Note 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 1687
9c2b75b5 1688This option also has a few special uses:
3d3bb168 1689
c8bc203f 1690* 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 1691
62b58c09 1692* 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 1693
08d30158 1694**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.
1695
c31be5b0 1696For reference, these are the fields yt-dlp adds by default to the file metadata:
1697
08d30158 1698Metadata fields | From
1699:--------------------------|:------------------------------------------------
1700`title` | `track` or `title`
1701`date` | `upload_date`
1702`description`, `synopsis` | `description`
1703`purl`, `comment` | `webpage_url`
1704`track` | `track_number`
104a7b5a
L
1705`artist` | `artist`, `artists`, `creator`, `creators`, `uploader` or `uploader_id`
1706`composer` | `composer` or `composers`
1707`genre` | `genre` or `genres`
08d30158 1708`album` | `album`
104a7b5a 1709`album_artist` | `album_artist` or `album_artists`
08d30158 1710`disc` | `disc_number`
1711`show` | `series`
1712`season_number` | `season_number`
1713`episode_id` | `episode` or `episode_id`
1714`episode_sort` | `episode_number`
1715`language` of each stream | the format's `language`
1716
c31be5b0 1717**Note**: The file format may not support some of these fields
1718
73cd218f 1719
1720## Modifying metadata examples
1721
73cd218f 1722```bash
1723# Interpret the title as "Artist - Title"
940a67a3 1724$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "title:%(artist)s - %(title)s"
73cd218f 1725
1726# Regex example
940a67a3 1727$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "description:Artist - (?P<artist>.+)"
73cd218f 1728
1729# Set title as "Series name S01E05"
940a67a3 1730$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "%(series)s S%(season_number)02dE%(episode_number)02d:%(title)s"
73cd218f 1731
a44ca5a4 1732# Prioritize uploader as the "artist" field in video metadata
2fa669f7 1733$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "%(uploader|)s:%(meta_artist)s" --embed-metadata
a44ca5a4 1734
1735# Set "comment" field in video metadata using description instead of webpage_url,
1736# handling multiple lines correctly
2fa669f7 1737$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "description:(?s)(?P<meta_comment>.+)" --embed-metadata
73cd218f 1738
8aa0e7cd 1739# Do not set any "synopsis" in the video metadata
1740$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata ":(?P<meta_synopsis>)"
1741
0930b11f 1742# Remove "formats" field from the infojson by setting it to an empty string
7f9c6a63 1743$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "video::(?P<formats>)" --write-info-json
0930b11f 1744
e9f4ccd1 1745# Replace all spaces and "_" in title and uploader with a `-`
940a67a3 1746$ yt-dlp --replace-in-metadata "title,uploader" "[ _]" "-"
e9f4ccd1 1747
73cd218f 1748```
1749
5d3a0e79 1750# EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS
1751
62b58c09 1752Some 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 1753
a5387729 1754Note: In CLI, `ARG` can use `-` instead of `_`; e.g. `youtube:player-client"` becomes `youtube:player_client"`
1755
5d3a0e79 1756The following extractors use this feature:
96565c7e 1757
1758#### youtube
8e174ba7 1759* `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 1760* `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 1761* `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 1762* `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 1763* `player_params`: YouTube player parameters to use for player requests. Will overwrite any default ones set by yt-dlp.
96565c7e 1764* `comment_sort`: `top` or `new` (default) - choose comment sorting mode (on YouTube's side)
a44ca5a4 1765* `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`
1766 * 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 1767* `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 1768* `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 1769* `innertube_key`: Innertube API key to use for all API requests
eb5bdbfa 1770* `raise_incomplete_data`: `Incomplete Data Received` raises an error instead of reporting a warning
96565c7e 1771
1772#### youtubetab (YouTube playlists, channels, feeds, etc.)
1773* `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 1774* `approximate_date`: Extract approximate `upload_date` and `timestamp` in flat-playlist. This may cause date-based filters to be slightly off
96565c7e 1775
3b021eac 1776#### generic
5cc0a8fd 1777* `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
1778* `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 1779* `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 1780* `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 1781
96565c7e 1782#### funimation
304ad45a 1783* `language`: Audio languages to extract, e.g. `funimation:language=english,japanese`
96565c7e 1784* `version`: The video version to extract - `uncut` or `simulcast`
1785
cb1553e9 1786#### crunchyrollbeta (Crunchyroll)
954e57e4 1787* `hardsub`: One or more hardsub versions to extract (in order of preference), or `all` (default: `None` = no hardsubs will be extracted), e.g. `crunchyrollbeta:hardsub=en-US,de-DE`
706dfe44 1788
96565c7e 1789#### vikichannel
1790* `video_types`: Types of videos to download - one or more of `episodes`, `movies`, `clips`, `trailers`
73d829c1 1791
7bdcb4a4
LNO
1792#### niconico
1793* `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.**
1794
aa4b0545 1795#### youtubewebarchive
1796* `check_all`: Try to check more at the cost of more requests. One or more of `thumbnails`, `captures`
1797
d43de682
M
1798#### gamejolt
1799* `comment_sort`: `hot` (default), `you` (cookies needed), `top`, `new` - choose comment sorting mode (on GameJolt's side)
1800
26f2aa3d
AG
1801#### hotstar
1802* `res`: resolution to ignore - one or more of `sd`, `hd`, `fhd`
1803* `vcodec`: vcodec to ignore - one or more of `h264`, `h265`, `dvh265`
1804* `dr`: dynamic range to ignore - one or more of `sdr`, `hdr10`, `dv`
1805
698beb9a
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1806#### niconicochannelplus
1807* `max_comments`: Maximum number of comments to extract - default is `120`
1808
046cab39 1809#### tiktok
cb61e20c 1810* `api_hostname`: Hostname to use for mobile API calls, e.g. `api22-normal-c-alisg.tiktokv.com`
1811* `app_name`: Default app name to use with mobile API calls, e.g. `trill`
1812* `app_version`: Default app version to use with mobile API calls - should be set along with `manifest_app_version`, e.g. `34.1.2`
1813* `manifest_app_version`: Default numeric app version to use with mobile API calls, e.g. `2023401020`
1814* `aid`: Default app ID to use with API calls, e.g. `1180`
1815* `app_info`: One or more app info strings in the format of `<iid>/[app_name]/[app_version]/[manifest_app_version]/[aid]`, where `iid` is the unique app install ID. `iid` is the only required value; all other values and their `/` separators can be omitted, e.g. `tiktok:app_info=1234567890123456789` or `tiktok:app_info=123,456/trill///1180,789//34.0.1/340001`
046cab39 1816
7eaf7f9a 1817#### rokfinchannel
62b58c09 1818* `tab`: Which tab to download - one of `new`, `top`, `videos`, `podcasts`, `streams`, `stacks`
7eaf7f9a 1819
b03fa783 1820#### twitter
a006ce2b 1821* `api`: Select one of `graphql` (default), `legacy` or `syndication` as the API for tweet extraction. Has no effect if logged in
b03fa783 1822
af1fd12f 1823#### stacommu, wrestleuniverse
ef8fb7f0 1824* `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
1825
7f9c6a63 1826#### twitch
1827* `client_id`: Client ID value to be sent with GraphQL requests, e.g. `twitch:client_id=kimne78kx3ncx6brgo4mv6wki5h1ko`
01231feb 1828
81c8b9bd 1829#### nhkradirulive (NHK らじる★らじる LIVE)
1830* `area`: Which regional variation to extract. Valid areas are: `sapporo`, `sendai`, `tokyo`, `nagoya`, `osaka`, `hiroshima`, `matsuyama`, `fukuoka`. Defaults to `tokyo`
1831
1eaca74b 1832#### nflplusreplay
1833* `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
1834
5154dc0a 1835#### jiosaavn
1836* `bitrate`: Audio bitrates to request. One or more of `16`, `32`, `64`, `128`, `320`. Default is `128,320`
1837
8e174ba7 1838**Note**: These options may be changed/removed in the future without concern for backward compatibility
5d3a0e79 1839
ec2e44fc 1840<!-- MANPAGE: MOVE "INSTALLATION" SECTION HERE -->
1841
3acf6d38 1842
f74980cb 1843# PLUGINS
b7770046 1844
8e40b9d1 1845Note 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 1846
8e40b9d1
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1847Plugins can be of `<type>`s `extractor` or `postprocessor`.
1848- Extractor plugins do not need to be enabled from the CLI and are automatically invoked when the input URL is suitable for it.
1849- Extractor plugins take priority over builtin extractors.
1850- Postprocessor plugins can be invoked using `--use-postprocessor NAME`.
3ae5e797 1851
3ae5e797 1852
8e40b9d1 1853Plugins are loaded from the namespace packages `yt_dlp_plugins.extractor` and `yt_dlp_plugins.postprocessor`.
3ae5e797 1854
8e40b9d1
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1855In other words, the file structure on the disk looks something like:
1856
1857 yt_dlp_plugins/
1858 extractor/
1859 myplugin.py
1860 postprocessor/
1861 myplugin.py
1862
1863yt-dlp looks for these `yt_dlp_plugins` namespace folders in many locations (see below) and loads in plugins from **all** of them.
b7770046 1864
deae7c17 1865See the [wiki for some known plugins](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Plugins)
1866
8e40b9d1
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1867## Installing Plugins
1868
1869Plugins can be installed using various methods and locations.
1870
18711. **Configuration directories**:
1872 Plugin packages (containing a `yt_dlp_plugins` namespace folder) can be dropped into the following standard [configuration locations](#configuration):
1873 * **User Plugins**
1874 * `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp/plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/` (recommended on Linux/macOS)
1875 * `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1876 * `${APPDATA}/yt-dlp/plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/` (recommended on Windows)
773c272d 1877 * `${APPDATA}/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
8e40b9d1
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1878 * `~/.yt-dlp/plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1879 * `~/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1880 * **System Plugins**
1881 * `/etc/yt-dlp/plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1882 * `/etc/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
c8bc203f 18832. **Executable location**: Plugin packages can similarly be installed in a `yt-dlp-plugins` directory under the executable location (recommended for portable installations):
8e40b9d1
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1884 * Binary: where `<root-dir>/yt-dlp.exe`, `<root-dir>/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1885 * Source: where `<root-dir>/yt_dlp/__main__.py`, `<root-dir>/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1886
18873. **pip and other locations in `PYTHONPATH`**
e756f45b 1888 * 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 1889 * Note: plugin files between plugin packages installed with pip must have unique filenames.
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1890 * Any path in `PYTHONPATH` is searched in for the `yt_dlp_plugins` namespace folder.
1891 * Note: This does not apply for Pyinstaller/py2exe builds.
1892
1893
8e174ba7 1894`.zip`, `.egg` and `.whl` archives containing a `yt_dlp_plugins` namespace folder in their root are also supported as plugin packages.
1895* e.g. `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp/plugins/mypluginpkg.zip` where `mypluginpkg.zip` contains `yt_dlp_plugins/<type>/myplugin.py`
8e40b9d1 1896
8e174ba7 1897Run yt-dlp with `--verbose` to check if the plugin has been loaded.
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1898
1899## Developing Plugins
1900
8e174ba7 1901See 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 1902
8e174ba7 1903All 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 1904
773c272d 1905To 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 1906
8e174ba7 1907If 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 1908
8e40b9d1 1909See 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 1910
1911# EMBEDDING YT-DLP
1912
1913yt-dlp makes the best effort to be a good command-line program, and thus should be callable from any programming language.
1914
1915Your 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.
1916
1917From a Python program, you can embed yt-dlp in a more powerful fashion, like this:
1918
1919```python
59a7a13e 1920from yt_dlp import YoutubeDL
8c6f4daa 1921
3d3bb168 1922URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
1923with YoutubeDL() as ydl:
1924 ydl.download(URLS)
8c6f4daa 1925```
1926
b532a348 1927Most 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 1928
43cc91ad 1929**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 1930
1931## Embedding examples
1932
43cc91ad 1933#### Extracting information
8c6f4daa 1934
1935```python
1936import json
8c6f4daa 1937import yt_dlp
8c6f4daa 1938
3d3bb168 1939URL = 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc'
1940
1941# ℹ️ See help(yt_dlp.YoutubeDL) for a list of available options and public functions
1942ydl_opts = {}
1943with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
1944 info = ydl.extract_info(URL, download=False)
1945
1946 # ℹ️ ydl.sanitize_info makes the info json-serializable
1947 print(json.dumps(ydl.sanitize_info(info)))
1948```
43cc91ad 1949#### Download using an info-json
3d3bb168 1950
1951```python
1952import yt_dlp
1953
1954INFO_FILE = 'path/to/video.info.json'
1955
1956with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL() as ydl:
1957 error_code = ydl.download_with_info_file(INFO_FILE)
1958
1959print('Some videos failed to download' if error_code
1960 else 'All videos successfully downloaded')
1961```
1962
43cc91ad 1963#### Extract audio
3d3bb168 1964
1965```python
1966import yt_dlp
1967
1968URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
1969
1970ydl_opts = {
0a41f331 1971 'format': 'm4a/bestaudio/best',
3d3bb168 1972 # ℹ️ See help(yt_dlp.postprocessor) for a list of available Postprocessors and their arguments
1973 'postprocessors': [{ # Extract audio using ffmpeg
1974 'key': 'FFmpegExtractAudio',
1975 'preferredcodec': 'm4a',
1976 }]
1977}
1978
1979with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
1980 error_code = ydl.download(URLS)
1981```
0a41f331 1982
1983#### Filter videos
1984
1985```python
1986import yt_dlp
1987
1988URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
1989
1990def longer_than_a_minute(info, *, incomplete):
1991 """Download only videos longer than a minute (or with unknown duration)"""
1992 duration = info.get('duration')
1993 if duration and duration < 60:
1994 return 'The video is too short'
1995
1996ydl_opts = {
1997 'match_filter': longer_than_a_minute,
1998}
1999
2000with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
2001 error_code = ydl.download(URLS)
2002```
2003
43cc91ad 2004#### Adding logger and progress hook
3d3bb168 2005
2006```python
2007import yt_dlp
2008
2009URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
8c6f4daa 2010
2011class MyLogger:
2012 def debug(self, msg):
e75bb0d6 2013 # For compatibility with youtube-dl, both debug and info are passed into debug
8c6f4daa 2014 # You can distinguish them by the prefix '[debug] '
2015 if msg.startswith('[debug] '):
2016 pass
2017 else:
2018 self.info(msg)
2019
2020 def info(self, msg):
2021 pass
2022
2023 def warning(self, msg):
2024 pass
2025
2026 def error(self, msg):
2027 print(msg)
2028
2029
3d3bb168 2030# ℹ️ See "progress_hooks" in help(yt_dlp.YoutubeDL)
2031def my_hook(d):
2032 if d['status'] == 'finished':
2033 print('Done downloading, now post-processing ...')
2034
2035
2036ydl_opts = {
2037 'logger': MyLogger(),
2038 'progress_hooks': [my_hook],
2039}
2040
2041with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
2042 ydl.download(URLS)
2043```
2044
43cc91ad 2045#### Add a custom PostProcessor
3d3bb168 2046
2047```python
2048import yt_dlp
2049
2050URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
2051
2052# ℹ️ See help(yt_dlp.postprocessor.PostProcessor)
59a7a13e 2053class MyCustomPP(yt_dlp.postprocessor.PostProcessor):
8c6f4daa 2054 def run(self, info):
2055 self.to_screen('Doing stuff')
2056 return [], info
2057
2058
3d3bb168 2059with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL() as ydl:
8aa0e7cd 2060 # ℹ️ "when" can take any value in yt_dlp.utils.POSTPROCESS_WHEN
2061 ydl.add_post_processor(MyCustomPP(), when='pre_process')
3d3bb168 2062 ydl.download(URLS)
2063```
8c6f4daa 2064
2065
43cc91ad 2066#### Use a custom format selector
3d3bb168 2067
2068```python
2069import yt_dlp
2070
c8bc203f 2071URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
3d3bb168 2072
093a1710 2073def format_selector(ctx):
2074 """ Select the best video and the best audio that won't result in an mkv.
3d3bb168 2075 NOTE: This is just an example and does not handle all cases """
093a1710 2076
2077 # formats are already sorted worst to best
2078 formats = ctx.get('formats')[::-1]
2079
2080 # acodec='none' means there is no audio
2081 best_video = next(f for f in formats
2082 if f['vcodec'] != 'none' and f['acodec'] == 'none')
2083
2084 # find compatible audio extension
2085 audio_ext = {'mp4': 'm4a', 'webm': 'webm'}[best_video['ext']]
2086 # vcodec='none' means there is no video
2087 best_audio = next(f for f in formats if (
2088 f['acodec'] != 'none' and f['vcodec'] == 'none' and f['ext'] == audio_ext))
2089
3d3bb168 2090 # These are the minimum required fields for a merged format
093a1710 2091 yield {
093a1710 2092 'format_id': f'{best_video["format_id"]}+{best_audio["format_id"]}',
2093 'ext': best_video['ext'],
2094 'requested_formats': [best_video, best_audio],
e75bb0d6 2095 # Must be + separated list of protocols
093a1710 2096 'protocol': f'{best_video["protocol"]}+{best_audio["protocol"]}'
2097 }
2098
2099
8c6f4daa 2100ydl_opts = {
093a1710 2101 'format': format_selector,
8c6f4daa 2102}
2103
2104with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
3d3bb168 2105 ydl.download(URLS)
8c6f4daa 2106```
2107
ec2e44fc 2108
47ab66db 2109# CHANGES FROM YOUTUBE-DL
2110
2111### New features
2112
2113* Forked from [**yt-dlc@f9401f2**](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc/commit/f9401f2a91987068139c5f757b12fc711d4c0cee) and merged with [**youtube-dl@be008e6**](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/commit/be008e657d79832642e2158557c899249c9e31cd) ([exceptions](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/21))
2114
2115* **[SponsorBlock Integration](#sponsorblock-options)**: You can mark/remove sponsor sections in YouTube videos by utilizing the [SponsorBlock](https://sponsor.ajay.app) API
2116
2117* **[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))
2118
2119* **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.
2120
2121* **YouTube improvements**:
2122 * 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`)
2123 * Fix for [n-sig based throttling](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/issues/29326) **\***
2124 * Supports some (but not all) age-gated content without cookies
2125 * Download livestreams from the start using `--live-from-start` (*experimental*)
2126 * Channel URLs download all uploads of the channel, including shorts and live
2127
2128* **Cookies from browser**: Cookies can be automatically extracted from all major web browsers using `--cookies-from-browser BROWSER[+KEYRING][:PROFILE][::CONTAINER]`
2129
2130* **Download time range**: Videos can be downloaded partially based on either timestamps or chapters using `--download-sections`
2131
2132* **Split video by chapters**: Videos can be split into multiple files based on chapters using `--split-chapters`
2133
2134* **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
2135
2136* **Aria2c with HLS/DASH**: You can use `aria2c` as the external downloader for DASH(mpd) and HLS(m3u8) formats
2137
2138* **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)
2139
2140* **New MSOs**: Philo, Spectrum, SlingTV, Cablevision, RCN etc.
2141
2142* **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
2143
2144* **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`)
2145
2146* **Portable Configuration**: Configuration files are automatically loaded from the home and root directories. See [CONFIGURATION](#configuration) for details
2147
2148* **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`
2149
2150* **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
2151
2152* **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
2153
2154* **Plugins**: Extractors and PostProcessors can be loaded from an external file. See [plugins](#plugins) for details
2155
2156* **Self updater**: The releases can be updated using `yt-dlp -U`, and downgraded using `--update-to` if required
2157
2158* **Automated builds**: [Nightly/master builds](#update-channels) can be used with `--update-to nightly` and `--update-to master`
2159
2160See [changelog](Changelog.md) or [commits](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits) for the full list of changes
2161
2162Features marked with a **\*** have been back-ported to youtube-dl
2163
2164### Differences in default behavior
2165
2166Some of yt-dlp's default options are different from that of youtube-dl and youtube-dlc:
2167
2168* yt-dlp supports only [Python 3.8+](## "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)
2169* The options `--auto-number` (`-A`), `--title` (`-t`) and `--literal` (`-l`), no longer work. See [removed options](#Removed) for details
2170* `avconv` is not supported as an alternative to `ffmpeg`
2171* yt-dlp stores config files in slightly different locations to youtube-dl. See [CONFIGURATION](#configuration) for a list of correct locations
2172* 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`
2173* 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
2174* 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
2175* 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
2176* `--no-abort-on-error` is enabled by default. Use `--abort-on-error` or `--compat-options abort-on-error` to abort on errors instead
2177* 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
2178* `--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
2179* 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
2180* `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
2181* The output of `-F` is listed in a new format. Use `--compat-options list-formats` to revert this
2182* 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
2183* 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
2184* Unavailable videos are also listed for YouTube playlists. Use `--compat-options no-youtube-unavailable-videos` to remove this
2185* 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.
2186* 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
2187* Thumbnail embedding in `mp4` is done with mutagen if possible. Use `--compat-options embed-thumbnail-atomicparsley` to force the use of AtomicParsley instead
2188* 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
2189* 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
2190* `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`
2191* 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
2192* ~~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~~
2193* 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
2194* 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
2195* 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.
ed3bb2b0 2196* The sub-modules `swfinterp`, `casefold` are removed.
47ab66db 2197
2198For ease of use, a few more compat options are available:
2199
2200* `--compat-options all`: Use all compat options (Do NOT use)
2201* `--compat-options youtube-dl`: Same as `--compat-options all,-multistreams,-playlist-match-filter,-manifest-filesize-approx`
2202* `--compat-options youtube-dlc`: Same as `--compat-options all,-no-live-chat,-no-youtube-channel-redirect,-playlist-match-filter,-manifest-filesize-approx`
2203* `--compat-options 2021`: Same as `--compat-options 2022,no-certifi,filename-sanitization,no-youtube-prefer-utc-upload-date`
2204* `--compat-options 2022`: Same as `--compat-options 2023,playlist-match-filter,no-external-downloader-progress,prefer-legacy-http-handler,manifest-filesize-approx`
2205* `--compat-options 2023`: Currently does nothing. Use this to enable all future compat options
2206
2207### Deprecated options
e167860c 2208
2209These are all the deprecated options and the current alternative to achieve the same effect
2210
8130779d 2211#### Almost redundant options
2212While these options are almost the same as their new counterparts, there are some differences that prevents them being redundant
2213
2214 -j, --dump-json --print "%()j"
2215 -F, --list-formats --print formats_table
0bfc53d0 2216 --list-thumbnails --print thumbnails_table --print playlist:thumbnails_table
8130779d 2217 --list-subs --print automatic_captions_table --print subtitles_table
2218
6ccf351a 2219#### Redundant options
2220While these options are redundant, they are still expected to be used due to their ease of use
f4536226 2221
53c18592 2222 --get-description --print description
2223 --get-duration --print duration_string
2224 --get-filename --print filename
2225 --get-format --print format
2226 --get-id --print id
2227 --get-thumbnail --print thumbnail
2228 -e, --get-title --print title
2229 -g, --get-url --print urls
8f18aca8 2230 --match-title REGEX --match-filter "title ~= (?i)REGEX"
2231 --reject-title REGEX --match-filter "title !~= (?i)REGEX"
2232 --min-views COUNT --match-filter "view_count >=? COUNT"
2233 --max-views COUNT --match-filter "view_count <=? COUNT"
fe2ce85a 2234 --break-on-reject Use --break-match-filter
8b7539d2 2235 --user-agent UA --add-header "User-Agent:UA"
2236 --referer URL --add-header "Referer:URL"
7e88d7d7 2237 --playlist-start NUMBER -I NUMBER:
2238 --playlist-end NUMBER -I :NUMBER
2239 --playlist-reverse -I ::-1
2240 --no-playlist-reverse Default
8417f26b 2241 --no-colors --color no_color
6ccf351a 2242
6ccf351a 2243#### Not recommended
2244While these options still work, their use is not recommended since there are other alternatives to achieve the same
2245
fe7866d0 2246 --force-generic-extractor --ies generic,default
1e43a6f7 2247 --exec-before-download CMD --exec "before_dl:CMD"
2248 --no-exec-before-download --no-exec
d9aa2332 2249 --all-formats -f all
c32b0aab 2250 --all-subs --sub-langs all --write-subs
b7b04c78 2251 --print-json -j --no-simulate
62b58c09 2252 --autonumber-size NUMBER Use string formatting, e.g. %(autonumber)03d
a439a3a4 2253 --autonumber-start NUMBER Use internal field formatting like %(autonumber+NUMBER)s
19b824f6 2254 --id -o "%(id)s.%(ext)s"
73cd218f 2255 --metadata-from-title FORMAT --parse-metadata "%(title)s:FORMAT"
52a8a1e1 2256 --hls-prefer-native --downloader "m3u8:native"
2257 --hls-prefer-ffmpeg --downloader "m3u8:ffmpeg"
53ed7066 2258 --list-formats-old --compat-options list-formats (Alias: --no-list-formats-as-table)
2259 --list-formats-as-table --compat-options -list-formats [Default] (Alias: --no-list-formats-old)
5d3a0e79 2260 --youtube-skip-dash-manifest --extractor-args "youtube:skip=dash" (Alias: --no-youtube-include-dash-manifest)
2261 --youtube-skip-hls-manifest --extractor-args "youtube:skip=hls" (Alias: --no-youtube-include-hls-manifest)
2262 --youtube-include-dash-manifest Default (Alias: --no-youtube-skip-dash-manifest)
2263 --youtube-include-hls-manifest Default (Alias: --no-youtube-skip-hls-manifest)
c1664464 2264 --geo-bypass --xff "default"
2265 --no-geo-bypass --xff "never"
2266 --geo-bypass-country CODE --xff CODE
2267 --geo-bypass-ip-block IP_BLOCK --xff IP_BLOCK
6ccf351a 2268
6ccf351a 2269#### Developer options
2270These options are not intended to be used by the end-user
2271
34488702 2272 --test Download only part of video for testing extractors
f95b9dee 2273 --load-pages Load pages dumped by --write-pages
6ccf351a 2274 --youtube-print-sig-code For testing youtube signatures
88acdbc2 2275 --allow-unplayable-formats List unplayable formats also
2276 --no-allow-unplayable-formats Default
f4536226 2277
f4536226 2278#### Old aliases
2279These are aliases that are no longer documented for various reasons
2280
2281 --avconv-location --ffmpeg-location
3856407a 2282 --clean-infojson --clean-info-json
f4536226 2283 --cn-verification-proxy URL --geo-verification-proxy URL
2284 --dump-headers --print-traffic
2285 --dump-intermediate-pages --dump-pages
2286 --force-write-download-archive --force-write-archive
2287 --load-info --load-info-json
3856407a 2288 --no-clean-infojson --no-clean-info-json
f4536226 2289 --no-split-tracks --no-split-chapters
e167860c 2290 --no-write-srt --no-write-subs
e167860c 2291 --prefer-unsecure --prefer-insecure
2292 --rate-limit RATE --limit-rate RATE
f4536226 2293 --split-tracks --split-chapters
2294 --srt-lang LANGS --sub-langs LANGS
e167860c 2295 --trim-file-names LENGTH --trim-filenames LENGTH
f4536226 2296 --write-srt --write-subs
e167860c 2297 --yes-overwrites --force-overwrites
f4536226 2298
7a340e0d 2299#### Sponskrub Options
f304da8a 2300Support for [SponSkrub](https://github.com/faissaloo/SponSkrub) has been deprecated in favor of the `--sponsorblock` options
7a340e0d
NA
2301
2302 --sponskrub --sponsorblock-mark all
2303 --no-sponskrub --no-sponsorblock
2304 --sponskrub-cut --sponsorblock-remove all
2305 --no-sponskrub-cut --sponsorblock-remove -all
2306 --sponskrub-force Not applicable
2307 --no-sponskrub-force Not applicable
2308 --sponskrub-location Not applicable
2309 --sponskrub-args Not applicable
2310
f4536226 2311#### No longer supported
2312These options may no longer work as intended
2313
2314 --prefer-avconv avconv is not officially supported by yt-dlp (Alias: --no-prefer-ffmpeg)
2315 --prefer-ffmpeg Default (Alias: --no-prefer-avconv)
2316 -C, --call-home Not implemented
2317 --no-call-home Default
2318 --include-ads No longer supported
2319 --no-include-ads Default
0bb1bc1b 2320 --write-annotations No supported site has annotations now
2321 --no-write-annotations Default
1e8fe57e 2322 --compat-options seperate-video-versions No longer needed
486fb179 2323
2324#### Removed
2325These options were deprecated since 2014 and have now been entirely removed
2326
f4536226 2327 -A, --auto-number -o "%(autonumber)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s"
3d3bb168 2328 -t, -l, --title, --literal -o "%(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s"
f4536226 2329
47ab66db 2330
8c6f4daa 2331# CONTRIBUTING
2332See [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 2333
17ffed18 2334# WIKI
2335See the [Wiki](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki) for more information