]> jfr.im git - yt-dlp.git/blame - README.md
[build] Enable lazy-extractors in releases
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c76eb41b 16
b31fdeed 17</div>
c76eb41b 18
b31fdeed 19yt-dlp is a [youtube-dl](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl) fork based on the now inactive [youtube-dlc](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc). The main focus of this project is adding new features and patches while also keeping up to date with the original project
5c0e5bc4 20
034b6215 21* [NEW FEATURES](#new-features)
53ed7066 22 * [Differences in default behavior](#differences-in-default-behavior)
c76eb41b 23* [INSTALLATION](#installation)
17fa3ee2 24 * [Update](#update)
0e5927ee 25 * [Release Files](#release-files)
cf59cd4d 26 * [Dependencies](#dependencies)
17fa3ee2 27 * [Compile](#compile)
b31fdeed 28* [USAGE AND OPTIONS](#usage-and-options)
29 * [General Options](#general-options)
50865ca8 30 * [Network Options](#network-options)
b31fdeed 31 * [Geo-restriction](#geo-restriction)
50865ca8 32 * [Video Selection](#video-selection)
33 * [Download Options](#download-options)
34 * [Filesystem Options](#filesystem-options)
b31fdeed 35 * [Thumbnail Options](#thumbnail-options)
50865ca8 36 * [Internet Shortcut Options](#internet-shortcut-options)
0744a815 37 * [Verbosity and Simulation Options](#verbosity-and-simulation-options)
50865ca8 38 * [Workarounds](#workarounds)
39 * [Video Format Options](#video-format-options)
40 * [Subtitle Options](#subtitle-options)
41 * [Authentication Options](#authentication-options)
50865ca8 42 * [Post-processing Options](#post-processing-options)
7a340e0d 43 * [SponsorBlock Options](#sponsorblock-options)
50865ca8 44 * [Extractor Options](#extractor-options)
c76eb41b 45* [CONFIGURATION](#configuration)
50865ca8 46 * [Authentication with .netrc file](#authentication-with-netrc-file)
c76eb41b 47* [OUTPUT TEMPLATE](#output-template)
50865ca8 48 * [Output template and Windows batch files](#output-template-and-windows-batch-files)
49 * [Output template examples](#output-template-examples)
c76eb41b 50* [FORMAT SELECTION](#format-selection)
50865ca8 51 * [Filtering Formats](#filtering-formats)
52 * [Sorting Formats](#sorting-formats)
53 * [Format Selection examples](#format-selection-examples)
73cd218f 54* [MODIFYING METADATA](#modifying-metadata)
55 * [Modifying metadata examples](#modifying-metadata-examples)
5d3a0e79 56* [EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS](#extractor-arguments)
f74980cb 57* [PLUGINS](#plugins)
8c6f4daa 58* [EMBEDDING YT-DLP](#embedding-yt-dlp)
e167860c 59* [DEPRECATED OPTIONS](#deprecated-options)
8c6f4daa 60* [CONTRIBUTING](CONTRIBUTING.md#contributing-to-yt-dlp)
61 * [Opening an Issue](CONTRIBUTING.md#opening-an-issue)
62 * [Developer Instructions](CONTRIBUTING.md#developer-instructions)
c76eb41b 63* [MORE](#more)
b31fdeed 64</div>
50865ca8 65
66
034b6215 67# NEW FEATURES
f20f5fe5 68The major new features from the latest release of [blackjack4494/yt-dlc](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc) are:
034b6215 69
7a340e0d 70* **[SponsorBlock Integration](#sponsorblock-options)**: You can mark/remove sponsor sections in youtube videos by utilizing the [SponsorBlock](https://sponsor.ajay.app) API
034b6215 71
7581d246 72* **[Format Sorting](#sorting-formats)**: The default format sorting options have been changed so that higher resolution and better codecs will be now preferred instead of simply using larger bitrate. Furthermore, you can now specify the sort order using `-S`. This allows for much easier format selection than what is possible by simply using `--format` ([examples](#format-selection-examples))
034b6215 73
6aecd871 74* **Merged with youtube-dl [commit/379f52a](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/commit/379f52a4954013767219d25099cce9e0f9401961)**: (v2021.06.06) You get all the latest features and patches of [youtube-dl](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl) in addition to all the features of [youtube-dlc](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc)
034b6215 75
0fdf490d 76* **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 the NicoNico improvements are not available. See [#31](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/pull/31) for details.
29b6000e 77
f5546c0b 78* **Youtube improvements**:
6ccf351a 79 * All Feeds (`:ytfav`, `:ytwatchlater`, `:ytsubs`, `:ythistory`, `:ytrec`) and private playlists supports downloading multiple pages of content
0fdf490d 80 * Search (`ytsearch:`, `ytsearchdate:`), search URLs and in-channel search works
81 * Mixes supports downloading multiple pages of content
6ccf351a 82 * Most (but not all) age-gated content can be downloaded without cookies
f703a880 83 * Partial workaround for throttling issue
f20f5fe5 84 * Redirect channel's home URL automatically to `/video` to preserve the old behaviour
e6f21b3d 85 * `255kbps` audio is extracted (if available) from youtube music when premium cookies are given
9ee4f0bb 86 * Youtube music Albums, channels etc can be downloaded ([except self-uploaded music](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/723))
f20f5fe5 87
245524e6 88* **Cookies from browser**: Cookies can be automatically extracted from all major web browsers using `--cookies-from-browser BROWSER[:PROFILE]`
89
597c1866 90* **Split video by chapters**: Videos can be split into multiple files based on chapters using `--split-chapters`
91
b31fdeed 92* **Multi-threaded fragment downloads**: Download multiple fragments of m3u8/mpd videos in parallel. Use `--concurrent-fragments` (`-N`) option to set the number of threads used
8d801631 93
b31fdeed 94* **Aria2c with HLS/DASH**: You can use `aria2c` as the external downloader for DASH(mpd) and HLS(m3u8) formats
f20f5fe5 95
dec0d56f 96* **New extractors**: AnimeLab, Philo MSO, Spectrum MSO, SlingTV MSO, Cablevision MSO, RCN MSO, Rcs, Gedi, bitwave.tv, mildom, audius, zee5, mtv.it, wimtv, pluto.tv, niconico users, discoveryplus.in, mediathek, NFHSNetwork, nebula, ukcolumn, whowatch, MxplayerShow, parlview (au), YoutubeWebArchive, fancode, Saitosan, ShemarooMe, telemundo, VootSeries, SonyLIVSeries, HotstarSeries, VidioPremier, VidioLive, RCTIPlus, TBS Live, douyin, pornflip, ParamountPlusSeries, ScienceChannel, Utreon, OpenRec, BandcampMusic, blackboardcollaborate, eroprofile albums, mirrativ, BannedVideo, bilibili categories, Epicon, filmmodu, GabTV, HungamaAlbum, ManotoTV, Niconico search, Patreon User, peloton, ProjectVeritas, radiko, StarTV, tiktok user, Tokentube, voicy, TV2HuSeries, biliintl, 17live, NewgroundsUser, peertube channel/playlist, ZenYandex, CAM4, CGTN, damtomo, gotostage, Koo, Mediaite, Mediaklikk, MuseScore, nzherald, Olympics replay, radlive, SovietsCloset, Streamanity, Theta, Chingari, ciscowebex, Gettr, GoPro, N1, Theta, Veo, Vupload, NovaPlay
f20f5fe5 97
dec0d56f 98* **Fixed/improved extractors**: archive.org, roosterteeth.com, skyit, instagram, itv, SouthparkDe, spreaker, Vlive, akamai, ina, rumble, tennistv, amcnetworks, la7 podcasts, linuxacadamy, nitter, twitcasting, viu, crackle, curiositystream, mediasite, rmcdecouverte, sonyliv, tubi, tenplay, patreon, videa, yahoo, BravoTV, crunchyroll playlist, RTP, viki, Hotstar, vidio, vimeo, mediaset, Mxplayer, nbcolympics, ParamountPlus, Newgrounds, SAML Verizon login, Hungama, afreecatv, aljazeera, ATV, bitchute, camtube, CDA, eroprofile, facebook, HearThisAtIE, iwara, kakao, Motherless, Nova, peertube, pornhub, reddit, tiktok, TV2, TV2Hu, tv5mondeplus, VH1, Viafree, XHamster, 9Now, AnimalPlanet, Arte, CBC, Chingari, comedycentral, DIYNetwork, niconico, dw, funimation, globo, HiDive, NDR, Nuvid, Oreilly, pbs, plutotv, reddit, redtube, soundcloud, SpankBang, VrtNU, bbc, Bilibili, LinkedInLearning, parliamentlive, PolskieRadio, Streamable, vidme, francetv
fac98805 99
3de7c2ce 100* **Subtitle extraction from manifests**: Subtitles can be extracted from streaming media manifests. See [commit/be6202f](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/be6202f12b97858b9d716e608394b51065d0419f) for details
034b6215 101
597c1866 102* **Multiple paths and output templates**: You can give different [output templates](#output-template) and download paths for different types of files. You can also set a temporary path where intermediary files are downloaded to using `--paths` (`-P`)
0bc0a322 103
104* **Portable Configuration**: Configuration files are automatically loaded from the home and root directories. See [configuration](#configuration) for details
105
418964fa 106* **Output template improvements**: Output templates can now have date-time formatting, numeric offsets, object traversal etc. See [output template](#output-template) for details. Even more advanced operations can also be done with the help of `--parse-metadata` and `--replace-in-metadata`
fac98805 107
418964fa 108* **Other new options**: `--print`, `--sleep-requests`, `--convert-thumbnails`, `--write-link`, `--force-download-archive`, `--force-overwrites`, `--break-on-reject` etc
0bc0a322 109
418964fa 110* **Improvements**: Regex and other operators in `--match-filter`, multiple `--postprocessor-args` and `--downloader-args`, faster archive checking, more [format selection options](#format-selection) etc
c69911e4 111
b31fdeed 112* **Plugin extractors**: Extractors can be loaded from an external file. See [plugins](#plugins) for details
113
7a5c1cfe 114* **Self-updater**: The releases can be updated using `yt-dlp -U`
aa837ddf 115
29b6000e 116
7a5c1cfe 117See [changelog](Changelog.md) or [commits](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits) for the full list of changes
a26c99ac 118
119
90505ff1 120**PS**: Some of these changes are already in youtube-dlc, but are still unreleased. See [this](Changelog.md#unreleased-changes-in-blackjack4494yt-dlc) for details
f20f5fe5 121
b9650873 122If you are coming from [youtube-dl](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl), the amount of changes are very large. Compare [options](#options) and [supported sites](supportedsites.md) with youtube-dl's to get an idea of the massive number of features/patches [youtube-dlc](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc) has accumulated.
f20f5fe5 123
53ed7066 124### Differences in default behavior
125
126Some of yt-dlp's default options are different from that of youtube-dl and youtube-dlc.
127
28b0eb0f 128* The options `--id`, `--auto-number` (`-A`), `--title` (`-t`) and `--literal` (`-l`), no longer work. See [removed options](#Removed) for details
129* `avconv` is not supported as as an alternative to `ffmpeg`
130* The default [output template](#output-template) is `%(title)s [%(id)s].%(ext)s`. There is no real reason for this change. This was changed before yt-dlp was ever made public and now there are no plans to change it back to `%(title)s.%(id)s.%(ext)s`. Instead, you may use `--compat-options filename`
e4f02757 131* 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
28b0eb0f 132* 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 prefered. Use `-f bv+ba/b` or `--compat-options format-spec` to revert this
133* 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
134* `--ignore-errors` is enabled by default. Use `--abort-on-error` or `--compat-options abort-on-error` to abort on errors instead
135* 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
136* `--add-metadata` attaches the `infojson` to `mkv` files in addition to writing the metadata when used with `--write-infojson`. Use `--compat-options no-attach-info-json` to revert this
137* `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
138* The output of `-F` is listed in a new format. Use `--compat-options list-formats` to revert this
3acf6d38 139* All *experiences* of a funimation episode are considered as a single video. This behavior breaks existing archives. Use `--compat-options seperate-video-versions` to extract information from only the default player
28b0eb0f 140* Youtube live chat (if available) is considered as a subtitle. Use `--sub-langs all,-live_chat` to download all subtitles except live chat. You can also use `--compat-options no-live-chat` to prevent live chat from downloading
09f1580e 141* Youtube channel URLs are automatically redirected to `/video`. Append a `/featured` to the URL to download only the videos in the home page. If the channel does not have a videos tab, we try to download the equivalent `UU` playlist instead. 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
28b0eb0f 142* Unavailable videos are also listed for youtube playlists. Use `--compat-options no-youtube-unavailable-videos` to remove this
18e674b4 143* If `ffmpeg` is used as the downloader, the downloading and merging of formats happen in a single step when possible. Use `--compat-options no-direct-merge` to revert this
e858a9d6 144* Thumbnail embedding in `mp4` is done with mutagen if possible. Use `--compat-options embed-thumbnail-atomicparsley` to force the use of AtomicParsley instead
e4f02757 145* Some private fields such as filenames are removed by default from the infojson. Use `--no-clean-infojson` or `--compat-options no-clean-infojson` to revert this
b51d2ae3 146* 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 seperate 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.
53ed7066 147
148For ease of use, a few more compat options are available:
28b0eb0f 149* `--compat-options all`: Use all compat options
150* `--compat-options youtube-dl`: Same as `--compat-options all,-multistreams`
151* `--compat-options youtube-dlc`: Same as `--compat-options all,-no-live-chat,-no-youtube-channel-redirect`
53ed7066 152
f20f5fe5 153
d19bb9c0 154# INSTALLATION
b31fdeed 155yt-dlp is not platform specific. So it should work on your Unix box, on Windows or on macOS
50865ca8 156
7bc877a2 157You can install yt-dlp using one of the following methods:
e6f21b3d 158* Download the binary from the [latest release](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest)
b8773e63 159* With Homebrew, `brew install yt-dlp/taps/yt-dlp`
a61f4b28 160* Use [PyPI package](https://pypi.org/project/yt-dlp): `python3 -m pip install --upgrade yt-dlp`
161* Use pip+git: `python3 -m pip install --upgrade git+https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp.git@release`
162* Install master branch: `python3 -m pip install --upgrade git+https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp`
163
164Note that on some systems, you may need to use `py` or `python` instead of `python3`
5f326cf5 165
5ba4a0b6
A
166UNIX users (Linux, macOS, BSD) can also install the [latest release](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest) one of the following ways:
167
168```
169sudo curl -L https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp -o /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
170sudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
171```
172
173```
174sudo wget https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp -O /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
175sudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
176```
177
178```
179sudo aria2c https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp -o /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
180sudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
181```
182
b8773e63
THD
183macOS or Linux users that are using Homebrew (formerly known as Linuxbrew for Linux users) can also install it by:
184
185```
186brew install yt-dlp/taps/yt-dlp
187```
188
cf59cd4d 189### UPDATE
190You can use `yt-dlp -U` to update if you are using the provided release.
191If you are using `pip`, simply re-run the same command that was used to install the program.
b8773e63 192If you have installed using Homebrew, run `brew upgrade yt-dlp/taps/yt-dlp`
cf59cd4d 193
0e5927ee
R
194### RELEASE FILES
195
196File|Description
197:---|:---
198[yt-dlp](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp)|Platform independant binary. Needs Python (Recommended for UNIX like OSes)
199[yt-dlp.exe](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.exe)|Windows standalone x64 binary (Recommended for Windows)
200[yt-dlp_x86.exe](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_x86.exe)|Windows standalone x86 (32bit) binary
201[yt-dlp_win.zip](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_win.zip)|Unpackaged windows executable
202[yt-dlp_macos](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_macos)|MacOS standalone executable
203[yt-dlp_macos.zip](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_macos.zip)|Unpackaged MacOS executable
204[yt-dlp.tar.gz](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.tar.gz)|Source tarball. Also contains manpages, completions, etc
205[SHA2-512SUMS](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/SHA2-512SUMS)|GNU-style SHA512 sums
206[SHA2-256SUMS](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/SHA2-256SUMS)|GNU-style SHA256 sums
207
e58c22a0 208### DEPENDENCIES
cf59cd4d 209Python versions 3.6+ (CPython and PyPy) are supported. Other versions and implementations may or may not work correctly.
b31fdeed 210
c9652aa4 211<!-- Python 3.5+ uses VC++14 and it is already embedded in the binary created
212<!x-- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=26999 --x>
cf59cd4d 213On 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 214-->
fac98805 215
cf59cd4d 216While all the other dependancies are optional, `ffmpeg` and `ffprobe` are highly recommended
217* [**ffmpeg** and **ffprobe**](https://www.ffmpeg.org) - Required for [merging seperate video and audio files](#format-selection) as well as for various [post-processing](#post-processing-options) tasks. Licence [depends on the build](https://www.ffmpeg.org/legal.html)
cf59cd4d 218* [**mutagen**](https://github.com/quodlibet/mutagen) - For embedding thumbnail in certain formats. Licenced under [GPLv2+](https://github.com/quodlibet/mutagen/blob/master/COPYING)
b5ae35ee 219* [**pycryptodomex**](https://github.com/Legrandin/pycryptodome) - For decrypting AES-128 HLS streams and various other data. Licenced under [BSD2](https://github.com/Legrandin/pycryptodome/blob/master/LICENSE.rst)
e36d50c5 220* [**websockets**](https://github.com/aaugustin/websockets) - For downloading over websocket. Licenced under [BSD3](https://github.com/aaugustin/websockets/blob/main/LICENSE)
982ee69a 221* [**keyring**](https://github.com/jaraco/keyring) - For decrypting cookies of chromium-based browsers on Linux. Licenced under [MIT](https://github.com/jaraco/keyring/blob/main/LICENSE)
cf59cd4d 222* [**AtomicParsley**](https://github.com/wez/atomicparsley) - For embedding thumbnail in mp4/m4a if mutagen is not present. Licenced under [GPLv2+](https://github.com/wez/atomicparsley/blob/master/COPYING)
223* [**rtmpdump**](http://rtmpdump.mplayerhq.hu) - For downloading `rtmp` streams. ffmpeg will be used as a fallback. Licenced under [GPLv2+](http://rtmpdump.mplayerhq.hu)
224* [**mplayer**](http://mplayerhq.hu/design7/info.html) or [**mpv**](https://mpv.io) - For downloading `rstp` streams. ffmpeg will be used as a fallback. Licenced under [GPLv2+](https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/blob/master/Copyright)
225* [**phantomjs**](https://github.com/ariya/phantomjs) - Used in extractors where javascript needs to be run. Licenced under [BSD3](https://github.com/ariya/phantomjs/blob/master/LICENSE.BSD)
7a340e0d 226* [**sponskrub**](https://github.com/faissaloo/SponSkrub) - For using the now **deprecated** [sponskrub options](#sponskrub-options). Licenced under [GPLv3+](https://github.com/faissaloo/SponSkrub/blob/master/LICENCE.md)
cf59cd4d 227* Any external downloader that you want to use with `--downloader`
b31fdeed 228
cf59cd4d 229To use or redistribute the dependencies, you must agree to their respective licensing terms.
230
f85e6be4 231The windows releases are already built with the python interpreter, mutagen, pycryptodomex and websockets included.
d710cc6d 232
233**Note**: There are some regressions in newer ffmpeg versions that causes various issues when used alongside yt-dlp. Since ffmpeg is such an important dependancy, we provide [custom builds](https://github.com/yt-dlp/FFmpeg-Builds/wiki/Latest#latest-autobuilds) with patches for 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 specifc issues solved by these builds
234
5f326cf5 235
c76eb41b 236### COMPILE
5f326cf5 237
c76eb41b 238**For Windows**:
f85e6be4 239To build the Windows executable, you must have pyinstaller (and optionally mutagen, pycryptodomex, websockets)
d19bb9c0 240
49e7e9c3 241 python3 -m pip install -U -r requirements.txt
e38df8f9 242
a61f4b28 243Once you have all the necessary dependencies installed, just run `py pyinst.py`. The executable will be built for the same architecture (32/64 bit) as the python used to build it.
5f326cf5 244
e38df8f9 245You can also build the executable without any version info or metadata by using:
246
7a5c1cfe 247 pyinstaller.exe yt_dlp\__main__.py --onefile --name yt-dlp
7581d246 248
fac98805 249Note that pyinstaller [does not support](https://github.com/pyinstaller/pyinstaller#requirements-and-tested-platforms) Python installed from the Windows store without using a virtual environment
b96a939b 250
c76eb41b 251**For Unix**:
060ac762 252You will need the required build tools: `python`, `make` (GNU), `pandoc`, `zip`, `pytest`
127d0759 253Then simply run `make`. You can also run `make yt-dlp` instead to compile only the binary without updating any of the additional files
5f326cf5 254
e38df8f9 255**Note**: In either platform, `devscripts\update-version.py` can be used to automatically update the version number
d19bb9c0 256
b31fdeed 257# USAGE AND OPTIONS
6bcd846b 258
7a5c1cfe 259 yt-dlp [OPTIONS] [--] URL [URL...]
b50e3bc6 260
c2b5f311 261`Ctrl+F` is your friend :D
e58c22a0 262<!-- Auto generated -->
c2b5f311 263
c76eb41b 264## General Options:
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265 -h, --help Print this help text and exit
266 --version Print program version and exit
8d801631 267 -U, --update Update this program to latest version. Make
268 sure that you have sufficient permissions
269 (run with sudo if needed)
b1940459 270 -i, --ignore-errors Ignore download and postprocessing errors.
271 The download will be considered successfull
272 even if the postprocessing fails
273 --no-abort-on-error Continue with next video on download
274 errors; e.g. to skip unavailable videos in
275 a playlist (default)
8a51f564 276 --abort-on-error Abort downloading of further videos if an
277 error occurs (Alias: --no-ignore-errors)
34488702 278 --dump-user-agent Display the current user-agent and exit
279 --list-extractors List all supported extractors and exit
c4af7684 280 --extractor-descriptions Output descriptions of all supported
34488702 281 extractors and exit
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282 --force-generic-extractor Force extraction to use the generic
283 extractor
284 --default-search PREFIX Use this prefix for unqualified URLs. For
285 example "gvsearch2:" downloads two videos
9ee4f0bb 286 from google videos for the search term
287 "large apple". Use the value "auto" to let
288 yt-dlp guess ("auto_warning" to emit a
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289 warning when guessing). "error" just throws
290 an error. The default value "fixup_error"
291 repairs broken URLs, but emits an error if
8a51f564 292 this is not possible instead of searching
298f597b 293 --ignore-config, --no-config Disable loading any configuration files
8a51f564 294 except the one provided by --config-location.
295 When given inside a configuration
298f597b 296 file, no further configuration files are
297 loaded. Additionally, (for backward
298 compatibility) if this option is found
299 inside the system configuration file, the
8a51f564 300 user configuration is not loaded
0202b52a 301 --config-location PATH Location of the main configuration file;
302 either the path to the config or its
303 containing directory
c4af7684 304 --flat-playlist Do not extract the videos of a playlist,
8a51f564 305 only list them
6623ac34 306 --no-flat-playlist Extract the videos of a playlist
b5ae35ee 307 --mark-watched Mark videos watched (even with --simulate).
308 Currently only supported for YouTube
597c1866 309 --no-mark-watched Do not mark videos watched (default)
8a51f564 310 --no-colors Do not emit color codes in output
53ed7066 311 --compat-options OPTS Options that can help keep compatibility
31654882 312 with youtube-dl or youtube-dlc
53ed7066 313 configurations by reverting some of the
314 changes made in yt-dlp. See "Differences in
315 default behavior" for details
08c1d0d3 316
149f05c7 317## Network Options:
28b4f736 318 --proxy URL Use the specified HTTP/HTTPS/SOCKS proxy.
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319 To enable SOCKS proxy, specify a proper
320 scheme. For example
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321 socks5://127.0.0.1:1080/. Pass in an empty
322 string (--proxy "") for direct connection
149f05c7 323 --socket-timeout SECONDS Time to wait before giving up, in seconds
c4af7684 324 --source-address IP Client-side IP address to bind to
c4af7684 325 -4, --force-ipv4 Make all connections via IPv4
c4af7684 326 -6, --force-ipv6 Make all connections via IPv6
8c6c88c7 327
b31fdeed 328## Geo-restriction:
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329 --geo-verification-proxy URL Use this proxy to verify the IP address for
330 some geo-restricted sites. The default
331 proxy specified by --proxy (or none, if the
7550ea50 332 option is not present) is used for the
8a51f564 333 actual downloading
8c6c88c7 334 --geo-bypass Bypass geographic restriction via faking
0934c9d4 335 X-Forwarded-For HTTP header
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336 --no-geo-bypass Do not bypass geographic restriction via
337 faking X-Forwarded-For HTTP header
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338 --geo-bypass-country CODE Force bypass geographic restriction with
339 explicitly provided two-letter ISO 3166-2
0934c9d4 340 country code
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341 --geo-bypass-ip-block IP_BLOCK Force bypass geographic restriction with
342 explicitly provided IP block in CIDR
0934c9d4 343 notation
149f05c7 344
cfcec693 345## Video Selection:
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346 --playlist-start NUMBER Playlist video to start at (default is 1)
347 --playlist-end NUMBER Playlist video to end at (default is last)
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348 --playlist-items ITEM_SPEC Playlist video items to download. Specify
349 indices of the videos in the playlist
350 separated by commas like: "--playlist-items
351 1,2,5,8" if you want to download videos
352 indexed 1, 2, 5, 8 in the playlist. You can
353 specify range: "--playlist-items
354 1-3,7,10-13", it will download the videos
8a51f564 355 at index 1, 2, 3, 7, 10, 11, 12 and 13
780083db 356 --max-downloads NUMBER Abort after downloading NUMBER files
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357 --min-filesize SIZE Do not download any videos smaller than
358 SIZE (e.g. 50k or 44.6m)
359 --max-filesize SIZE Do not download any videos larger than SIZE
360 (e.g. 50k or 44.6m)
6623ac34 361 --date DATE Download only videos uploaded in this date.
362 The date can be "YYYYMMDD" or in the format
363 "(now|today)[+-][0-9](day|week|month|year)(s)?"
c4af7684 364 --datebefore DATE Download only videos uploaded on or before
c76eb41b 365 this date. The date formats accepted is the
366 same as --date
c4af7684 367 --dateafter DATE Download only videos uploaded on or after
c76eb41b 368 this date. The date formats accepted is the
369 same as --date
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370 --match-filter FILTER Generic video filter. Any field (see
371 "OUTPUT TEMPLATE") can be compared with a
a047eeb6 372 number or a string using the operators
373 defined in "Filtering formats". You can
374 also simply specify a field to match if the
375 field is present and "!field" to check if
376 the field is not present. In addition,
377 Python style regular expression matching
378 can be done using "~=", and multiple
379 filters can be checked with "&". Use a "\"
380 to escape "&" or quotes if needed. Eg:
381 --match-filter "!is_live & like_count>?100
2e7781a9 382 & description~='(?i)\bcats \& dogs\b'"
a047eeb6 383 matches only videos that are not live, has
384 a like count more than 100 (or the like
77b87f05 385 field is not available), and also has a
a047eeb6 386 description that contains the phrase "cats
387 & dogs" (ignoring case)
c76eb41b 388 --no-match-filter Do not use generic video filter (default)
c4af7684 389 --no-playlist Download only the video, if the URL refers
8a51f564 390 to a video and a playlist
c4af7684 391 --yes-playlist Download the playlist, if the URL refers to
8a51f564 392 a video and a playlist
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393 --age-limit YEARS Download only videos suitable for the given
394 age
395 --download-archive FILE Download only videos not listed in the
396 archive file. Record the IDs of all
8a51f564 397 downloaded videos in it
8b0d7497 398 --break-on-existing Stop the download process when encountering
8a51f564 399 a file that is in the archive
8b0d7497 400 --break-on-reject Stop the download process when encountering
8a51f564 401 a file that has been filtered out
26e2805c 402 --skip-playlist-after-errors N Number of allowed failures until the rest
403 of the playlist is skipped
c76eb41b 404 --no-download-archive Do not use archive file (default)
6bcd846b 405
d5a62e4f 406## Download Options:
b31fdeed 407 -N, --concurrent-fragments N Number of fragments of a dash/hlsnative
408 video that should be download concurrently
409 (default is 1)
5e3856a2 410 -r, --limit-rate RATE Maximum download rate in bytes per second
c4af7684 411 (e.g. 50K or 4.2M)
6aecd871 412 --throttled-rate RATE Minimum download rate in bytes per second
413 below which throttling is assumed and the
414 video data is re-extracted (e.g. 100K)
c4af7684 415 -R, --retries RETRIES Number of retries (default is 10), or
8a51f564 416 "infinite"
0be8314d 417 --fragment-retries RETRIES Number of retries for a fragment (default
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418 is 10), or "infinite" (DASH, hlsnative and
419 ISM)
6623ac34 420 --skip-unavailable-fragments Skip unavailable fragments for DASH,
421 hlsnative and ISM (default)
8a51f564 422 (Alias: --no-abort-on-unavailable-fragment)
6623ac34 423 --abort-on-unavailable-fragment Abort downloading if a fragment is unavailable
8a51f564 424 (Alias: --no-skip-unavailable-fragments)
a82f4184 425 --keep-fragments Keep downloaded fragments on disk after
6623ac34 426 downloading is finished
c76eb41b 427 --no-keep-fragments Delete downloaded fragments after
428 downloading is finished (default)
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429 --buffer-size SIZE Size of download buffer (e.g. 1024 or 16K)
430 (default is 1024)
c76eb41b 431 --resize-buffer The buffer size is automatically resized
432 from an initial value of --buffer-size
433 (default)
434 --no-resize-buffer Do not automatically adjust the buffer size
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435 --http-chunk-size SIZE Size of a chunk for chunk-based HTTP
436 downloading (e.g. 10485760 or 10M) (default
437 is disabled). May be useful for bypassing
438 bandwidth throttling imposed by a webserver
439 (experimental)
2101f5d4 440 --playlist-reverse Download playlist videos in reverse order
6623ac34 441 --no-playlist-reverse Download playlist videos in default order
c76eb41b 442 (default)
31487eb9 443 --playlist-random Download playlist videos in random order
c4af7684 444 --xattr-set-filesize Set file xattribute ytdl.filesize with
0934c9d4 445 expected file size
9bd20204 446 --hls-use-mpegts Use the mpegts container for HLS videos;
447 allowing some players to play the video
448 while downloading, and reducing the chance
449 of file corruption if download is
450 interrupted. This is enabled by default for
451 live streams
452 --no-hls-use-mpegts Do not use the mpegts container for HLS
453 videos. This is default when not
454 downloading live streams
52a8a1e1 455 --downloader [PROTO:]NAME Name or path of the external downloader to
456 use (optionally) prefixed by the protocols
457 (http, ftp, m3u8, dash, rstp, rtmp, mms) to
458 use it for. Currently supports native,
459 aria2c, avconv, axel, curl, ffmpeg, httpie,
460 wget (Recommended: aria2c). You can use
461 this option multiple times to set different
462 downloaders for different protocols. For
463 example, --downloader aria2c --downloader
464 "dash,m3u8:native" will use aria2c for
465 http/ftp downloads, and the native
466 downloader for dash/m3u8 downloads
467 (Alias: --external-downloader)
46ee996e 468 --downloader-args NAME:ARGS Give these arguments to the external
469 downloader. Specify the downloader name and
330690a2 470 the arguments separated by a colon ":". For
471 ffmpeg, arguments can be passed to
472 different positions using the same syntax
473 as --postprocessor-args. You can use this
474 option multiple times to give different
475 arguments to different downloaders
29b6000e 476 (Alias: --external-downloader-args)
d5a62e4f 477
cfcec693 478## Filesystem Options:
c4af7684 479 -a, --batch-file FILE File containing URLs to download ('-' for
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480 stdin), one URL per line. Lines starting
481 with '#', ';' or ']' are considered as
8a51f564 482 comments and ignored
1e520b55 483 --no-batch-file Do not read URLs from batch file (default)
6ccf351a 484 -P, --paths [TYPES:]PATH The paths where the files should be
0202b52a 485 downloaded. Specify the type of file and
de6000d9 486 the path separated by a colon ":". All the
487 same types as --output are supported.
488 Additionally, you can also provide "home"
6ccf351a 489 (default) and "temp" paths. All
490 intermediary files are first downloaded to
491 the temp path and then the final files are
492 moved over to the home path after download
493 is finished. This option is ignored if
494 --output is an absolute path
d818eb74 495 -o, --output [TYPES:]TEMPLATE Output filename template; see "OUTPUT
c76eb41b 496 TEMPLATE" for details
0bc0a322 497 --output-na-placeholder TEXT Placeholder value for unavailable meta
498 fields in output filename template
499 (default: "NA")
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500 --restrict-filenames Restrict filenames to only ASCII
501 characters, and avoid "&" and spaces in
502 filenames
c76eb41b 503 --no-restrict-filenames Allow Unicode characters, "&" and spaces in
504 filenames (default)
c2934512 505 --windows-filenames Force filenames to be windows compatible
506 --no-windows-filenames Make filenames windows compatible only if
507 using windows (default)
508 --trim-filenames LENGTH Limit the filename length (excluding
509 extension) to the specified number of
510 characters
9b45b9f5 511 -w, --no-overwrites Do not overwrite any files
512 --force-overwrites Overwrite all video and metadata files.
513 This option includes --no-continue
514 --no-force-overwrites Do not overwrite the video, but overwrite
515 related files (default)
c25228e5 516 -c, --continue Resume partially downloaded files/fragments
517 (default)
518 --no-continue Do not resume partially downloaded
e58c22a0 519 fragments. If the file is not fragmented,
c25228e5 520 restart download of the entire file
c76eb41b 521 --part Use .part files instead of writing directly
6623ac34 522 into output file (default)
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523 --no-part Do not use .part files - write directly
524 into output file
c76eb41b 525 --mtime Use the Last-modified header to set the
526 file modification time (default)
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527 --no-mtime Do not use the Last-modified header to set
528 the file modification time
529 --write-description Write video description to a .description
530 file
6623ac34 531 --no-write-description Do not write video description (default)
1dc2726f 532 --write-info-json Write video metadata to a .info.json file
c25228e5 533 (this may contain personal information)
6623ac34 534 --no-write-info-json Do not write video metadata (default)
cac96421 535 --write-playlist-metafiles Write playlist metadata in addition to the
536 video metadata when using --write-info-json,
537 --write-description etc. (default)
538 --no-write-playlist-metafiles Do not write playlist metadata when using
539 --write-info-json, --write-description etc.
75d43ca0 540 --clean-infojson Remove some private fields such as
541 filenames from the infojson. Note that it
542 could still contain some personal
543 information (default)
544 --no-clean-infojson Write all fields to the infojson
2305e2e5 545 --write-comments Retrieve video comments to be placed in the
546 infojson. The comments are fetched even
547 without this option if the extraction is
548 known to be quick (Alias: --get-comments)
549 --no-write-comments Do not retrieve video comments unless the
550 extraction is known to be quick
551 (Alias: --no-get-comments)
d845622b 552 --load-info-json FILE JSON file containing the video information
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553 (created with the "--write-info-json"
554 option)
555 --cookies FILE File to read cookies from and dump cookie
556 jar in
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557 --no-cookies Do not read/dump cookies from/to file
558 (default)
559 --cookies-from-browser BROWSER[:PROFILE]
560 Load cookies from a user profile of the
561 given web browser. Currently supported
0ef787d7 562 browsers are: brave, chrome, chromium,
563 edge, firefox, opera, safari, vivaldi. You
564 can specify the user profile name or
565 directory using "BROWSER:PROFILE_NAME" or
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566 "BROWSER:PROFILE_PATH". If no profile is
567 given, the most recently accessed one is
568 used
569 --no-cookies-from-browser Do not load cookies from browser (default)
6623ac34 570 --cache-dir DIR Location in the filesystem where youtube-dl
3b1fe47d 571 can store some downloaded information (such
572 as client ids and signatures) permanently.
9ee4f0bb 573 By default $XDG_CACHE_HOME/yt-dlp or
574 ~/.cache/yt-dlp
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575 --no-cache-dir Disable filesystem caching
576 --rm-cache-dir Delete all filesystem cache files
6bcd846b 577
b31fdeed 578## Thumbnail Options:
1dc2726f 579 --write-thumbnail Write thumbnail image to disk
6623ac34 580 --no-write-thumbnail Do not write thumbnail image to disk
c76eb41b 581 (default)
1dc2726f 582 --write-all-thumbnails Write all thumbnail image formats to disk
34488702 583 --list-thumbnails List available thumbnails of each video.
584 Simulate unless --no-simulate is used
2b1bd292 585
732044af 586## Internet Shortcut Options:
8a51f564 587 --write-link Write an internet shortcut file, depending
588 on the current platform (.url, .webloc or
589 .desktop). The URL may be cached by the OS
590 --write-url-link Write a .url Windows internet shortcut. The
591 OS caches the URL based on the file path
592 --write-webloc-link Write a .webloc macOS internet shortcut
593 --write-desktop-link Write a .desktop Linux internet shortcut
732044af 594
0744a815 595## Verbosity and Simulation Options:
34488702 596 -q, --quiet Activate quiet mode. If used with
597 --verbose, print the log to stderr
6c072e7d 598 --no-warnings Ignore warnings
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599 -s, --simulate Do not download the video and do not write
600 anything to disk
34488702 601 --no-simulate Download the video even if printing/listing
602 options are used
0cf05715 603 --ignore-no-formats-error Ignore "No video formats" error. Usefull
34488702 604 for extracting metadata even if the videos
605 are not actually available for download
0cf05715 606 (experimental)
607 --no-ignore-no-formats-error Throw error when no downloadable video
608 formats are found (default)
e167860c 609 --skip-download Do not download the video but write all
610 related files (Alias: --no-download)
34488702 611 -O, --print TEMPLATE Quiet, but print the given fields for each
612 video. Simulate unless --no-simulate is
613 used. Either a field name or same syntax as
614 the output template can be used
615 -j, --dump-json Quiet, but print JSON information for each
616 video. Simulate unless --no-simulate is
617 used. See "OUTPUT TEMPLATE" for a
618 description of available keys
619 -J, --dump-single-json Quiet, but print JSON information for each
620 url or infojson passed. Simulate unless
621 --no-simulate is used. If the URL refers to
622 a playlist, the whole playlist information
623 is dumped in a single line
8a51f564 624 --force-write-archive Force download archive entries to be
e58c22a0 625 written as far as no errors occur, even if
626 -s or another simulation option is used
8a51f564 627 (Alias: --force-download-archive)
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628 --newline Output progress bar as new lines
629 --no-progress Do not print progress bar
819e0531 630 --progress Show progress bar, even if in quiet mode
1dc2726f 631 --console-title Display progress in console titlebar
819e0531 632 --progress-template [TYPES:]TEMPLATE
633 Template for progress outputs, optionally
634 prefixed with one of "download:" (default),
635 "download-title:" (the console title),
636 "postprocess:", or "postprocess-title:".
637 The video's fields are accessible under the
638 "info" key and the progress attributes are
639 accessible under "progress" key. Eg:
640 --console-title --progress-template
641 "download-title:%(info.id)s-%(progress.eta)s"
1dc2726f 642 -v, --verbose Print various debugging information
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643 --dump-pages Print downloaded pages encoded using base64
644 to debug problems (very verbose)
645 --write-pages Write downloaded intermediary pages to
646 files in the current directory to debug
647 problems
780083db 648 --print-traffic Display sent and read HTTP traffic
6bcd846b 649
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650## Workarounds:
651 --encoding ENCODING Force the specified encoding (experimental)
1dc2726f 652 --no-check-certificate Suppress HTTPS certificate validation
c4af7684 653 --prefer-insecure Use an unencrypted connection to retrieve
e167860c 654 information about the video (Currently
05a7ffb1 655 supported only for YouTube)
1dc2726f 656 --user-agent UA Specify a custom user agent
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657 --referer URL Specify a custom referer, use if the video
658 access is restricted to one domain
659 --add-header FIELD:VALUE Specify a custom HTTP header and its value,
45016689 660 separated by a colon ":". You can use this
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661 option multiple times
662 --bidi-workaround Work around terminals that lack
663 bidirectional text support. Requires bidiv
664 or fribidi executable in PATH
1cf376f5 665 --sleep-requests SECONDS Number of seconds to sleep between requests
666 during data extraction
c4af7684 667 --sleep-interval SECONDS Number of seconds to sleep before each
e167860c 668 download. This is the minimum time to sleep
669 when used along with --max-sleep-interval
670 (Alias: --min-sleep-interval)
671 --max-sleep-interval SECONDS Maximum number of seconds to sleep. Can
672 only be used along with --min-sleep-interval
1cf376f5 673 --sleep-subtitles SECONDS Number of seconds to sleep before each
674 subtitle download
36f35428 675
cfcec693 676## Video Format Options:
eb8a4433 677 -f, --format FORMAT Video format code, see "FORMAT SELECTION"
678 for more details
679 -S, --format-sort SORTORDER Sort the formats by the fields given, see
680 "Sorting Formats" for more details
8a51f564 681 --S-force, --format-sort-force Force user specified sort order to have
682 precedence over all fields, see "Sorting
eb8a4433 683 Formats" for more details
684 --no-format-sort-force Some fields have precedence over the user
c76eb41b 685 specified sort order (default), see
686 "Sorting Formats" for more details
687 --video-multistreams Allow multiple video streams to be merged
688 into a single file
689 --no-video-multistreams Only one video stream is downloaded for
690 each output file (default)
691 --audio-multistreams Allow multiple audio streams to be merged
692 into a single file
693 --no-audio-multistreams Only one audio stream is downloaded for
694 each output file (default)
da9be05e 695 --prefer-free-formats Prefer video formats with free containers
696 over non-free ones of same quality. Use
697 with "-S ext" to strictly prefer free
698 containers irrespective of quality
699 --no-prefer-free-formats Don't give any special preference to free
700 containers (default)
e8e73840 701 --check-formats Check that the formats selected are
0ba692ac 702 actually downloadable
703 --no-check-formats Do not check that the formats selected are
704 actually downloadable
34488702 705 -F, --list-formats List available formats of each video.
706 Simulate unless --no-simulate is used
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707 --merge-output-format FORMAT If a merge is required (e.g.
708 bestvideo+bestaudio), output to given
709 container format. One of mkv, mp4, ogg,
710 webm, flv. Ignored if no merge is required
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711
712## Subtitle Options:
c76eb41b 713 --write-subs Write subtitle file
714 --no-write-subs Do not write subtitle file (default)
715 --write-auto-subs Write automatically generated subtitle file
e167860c 716 (Alias: --write-automatic-subs)
717 --no-write-auto-subs Do not write auto-generated subtitles
718 (default) (Alias: --no-write-automatic-subs)
34488702 719 --list-subs List available subtitles of each video.
720 Simulate unless --no-simulate is used
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721 --sub-format FORMAT Subtitle format, accepts formats
722 preference, for example: "srt" or
723 "ass/srt/best"
c32b0aab 724 --sub-langs LANGS Languages of the subtitles to download (can
725 be regex) or "all" separated by commas.
726 (Eg: --sub-langs en.*,ja) You can prefix
727 the language code with a "-" to exempt it
728 from the requested languages. (Eg: --sub-
729 langs all,-live_chat) Use --list-subs for a
730 list of available language tags
6bcd846b 731
cfcec693 732## Authentication Options:
1dc2726f 733 -u, --username USERNAME Login with this account ID
c4af7684 734 -p, --password PASSWORD Account password. If this option is left
7a5c1cfe 735 out, yt-dlp will ask interactively
dc48a354 736 -2, --twofactor TWOFACTOR Two-factor authentication code
1dc2726f 737 -n, --netrc Use .netrc authentication data
0001fcb5 738 --netrc-location PATH Location of .netrc authentication data;
739 either the path or its containing
740 directory. Defaults to ~/.netrc
29f7c58a 741 --video-password PASSWORD Video password (vimeo, youku)
f5e008d1 742 --ap-mso MSO Adobe Pass multiple-system operator (TV
909d24dd 743 provider) identifier, use --ap-list-mso for
744 a list of available MSOs
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745 --ap-username USERNAME Multiple-system operator account login
746 --ap-password PASSWORD Multiple-system operator account password.
c74d1aa3 747 If this option is left out, yt-dlp will ask
748 interactively
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749 --ap-list-mso List all supported multiple-system
750 operators
751
c76eb41b 752## Post-Processing Options:
c4af7684 753 -x, --extract-audio Convert video files to audio-only files
e4172ac9 754 (requires ffmpeg and ffprobe)
3de7c2ce 755 --audio-format FORMAT Specify audio format to convert the audio
756 to when -x is used. Currently supported
757 formats are: best (default) or one of
34488702 758 best|aac|flac|mp3|m4a|opus|vorbis|wav
e4172ac9 759 --audio-quality QUALITY Specify ffmpeg audio quality, insert a
760 value between 0 (better) and 9 (worse) for
761 VBR or a specific bitrate like 128K
c4af7684 762 (default 5)
c76eb41b 763 --remux-video FORMAT Remux the video into another container if
29b6000e 764 necessary (currently supported: mp4|mkv|flv
765 |webm|mov|avi|mp3|mka|m4a|ogg|opus). If
766 target container does not support the
06167fbb 767 video/audio codec, remuxing will fail. You
3de7c2ce 768 can specify multiple rules; Eg.
06167fbb 769 "aac>m4a/mov>mp4/mkv" will remux aac to
770 m4a, mov to mp4 and anything else to mkv.
c76eb41b 771 --recode-video FORMAT Re-encode the video into another format if
3de7c2ce 772 re-encoding is necessary. The syntax and
773 supported formats are the same as --remux-video
1b77b347 774 --postprocessor-args NAME:ARGS Give these arguments to the postprocessors.
43820c03 775 Specify the postprocessor/executable name
45016689 776 and the arguments separated by a colon ":"
777 to give the argument to the specified
8fa43c73 778 postprocessor/executable. Supported PP are:
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779 Merger, ModifyChapters, SplitChapters,
780 ExtractAudio, VideoRemuxer, VideoConvertor,
8fa43c73 781 Metadata, EmbedSubtitle, EmbedThumbnail,
782 SubtitlesConvertor, ThumbnailsConvertor,
6aecd871 783 FixupStretched, FixupM4a, FixupM3u8,
784 FixupTimestamp and FixupDuration. The
8fa43c73 785 supported executables are: AtomicParsley,
9ee4f0bb 786 FFmpeg and FFprobe. You can also specify
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787 "PP+EXE:ARGS" to give the arguments to the
788 specified executable only when being used
789 by the specified postprocessor.
790 Additionally, for ffmpeg/ffprobe, "_i"/"_o"
791 can be appended to the prefix optionally
792 followed by a number to pass the argument
793 before the specified input/output file. Eg:
794 --ppa "Merger+ffmpeg_i1:-v quiet". You can
795 use this option multiple times to give
e4172ac9 796 different arguments to different
5b1ecbb3 797 postprocessors. (Alias: --ppa)
c76eb41b 798 -k, --keep-video Keep the intermediate video file on disk
6623ac34 799 after post-processing
c76eb41b 800 --no-keep-video Delete the intermediate video file after
6623ac34 801 post-processing (default)
802 --post-overwrites Overwrite post-processed files (default)
803 --no-post-overwrites Do not overwrite post-processed files
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804 --embed-subs Embed subtitles in the video (only for mp4,
805 webm and mkv videos)
c76eb41b 806 --no-embed-subs Do not embed subtitles (default)
6aecd871 807 --embed-thumbnail Embed thumbnail in the video as cover art
6623ac34 808 --no-embed-thumbnail Do not embed thumbnail (default)
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809 --embed-metadata Embed metadata to the video file. Also adds
810 chapters to file unless --no-add-chapters
811 is used (Alias: --add-metadata)
812 --no-embed-metadata Do not add metadata to file (default)
6aecd871 813 (Alias: --no-add-metadata)
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814 --embed-chapters Add chapter markers to the video file
815 (Alias: --add-chapters)
816 --no-embed-chapters Do not add chapter markers (default)
817 (Alias: --no-add-chapters)
73cd218f 818 --parse-metadata FROM:TO Parse additional metadata like title/artist
819 from other fields; see "MODIFYING METADATA"
820 for details
e9f4ccd1 821 --replace-in-metadata FIELDS REGEX REPLACE
822 Replace text in a metadata field using the
823 given regex. This option can be used
824 multiple times
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825 --xattrs Write metadata to the video file's xattrs
826 (using dublin core and xdg standards)
827 --fixup POLICY Automatically correct known faults of the
828 file. One of never (do nothing), warn (only
829 emit a warning), detect_or_warn (the
830 default; fix file if we can, warn
6aecd871 831 otherwise), force (try fixing even if file
832 already exists
e4172ac9 833 --ffmpeg-location PATH Location of the ffmpeg binary; either the
834 path to the binary or its containing
835 directory
c4af7684 836 --exec CMD Execute a command on the file after
34488702 837 downloading and post-processing. Same
838 syntax as the output template can be used
9de3ea31 839 to pass any field as arguments to the
840 command. An additional field "filepath"
841 that contains the final path of the
842 downloaded file is also available. If no
7d1eb38a 843 fields are passed, %(filepath)q is appended
34488702 844 to the end of the command. This option can
845 be used multiple times
846 --no-exec Remove any previously defined --exec
5520aa2d 847 --exec-before-download CMD Execute a command before the actual
848 download. The syntax is the same as --exec
34488702 849 but "filepath" is not available. This
850 option can be used multiple times
851 --no-exec-before-download Remove any previously defined
852 --exec-before-download
e167860c 853 --convert-subs FORMAT Convert the subtitles to another format
3de7c2ce 854 (currently supported: srt|vtt|ass|lrc)
e167860c 855 (Alias: --convert-subtitles)
8fa43c73 856 --convert-thumbnails FORMAT Convert the thumbnails to another format
3de7c2ce 857 (currently supported: jpg|png)
72755351 858 --split-chapters Split video into multiple files based on
859 internal chapters. The "chapter:" prefix
860 can be used with "--paths" and "--output"
861 to set the output filename for the split
862 files. See "OUTPUT TEMPLATE" for details
863 --no-split-chapters Do not split video based on chapters
864 (default)
7a340e0d 865 --remove-chapters REGEX Remove chapters whose title matches the
2d9ec704 866 given regular expression. Time ranges
867 prefixed by a "*" can also be used in place
868 of chapters to remove the specified range.
869 Eg: --remove-chapters "*10:15-15:00"
870 --remove-chapters "intro". This option can
7a340e0d 871 be used multiple times
9ee4f0bb 872 --no-remove-chapters Do not remove any chapters from the file
873 (default)
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874 --force-keyframes-at-cuts Force keyframes around the chapters before
875 removing/splitting them. Requires a
876 reencode and thus is very slow, but the
877 resulting video may have fewer artifacts
878 around the cuts
879 --no-force-keyframes-at-cuts Do not force keyframes around the chapters
880 when cutting/splitting (default)
3ae5e797 881 --use-postprocessor NAME[:ARGS] The (case sensitive) name of plugin
882 postprocessors to be enabled, and
883 (optionally) arguments to be passed to it,
884 seperated by a colon ":". ARGS are a
885 semicolon ";" delimited list of NAME=VALUE.
886 The "when" argument determines when the
887 postprocessor is invoked. It can be one of
888 "pre_process" (after extraction),
889 "before_dl" (before video download),
890 "post_process" (after video download;
891 default) or "after_move" (after moving file
892 to their final locations). This option can
893 be used multiple times to add different
894 postprocessors
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895
896## SponsorBlock Options:
897Make chapter entries for, or remove various segments (sponsor,
898 introductions, etc.) from downloaded YouTube videos using the
8a51f564 899 [SponsorBlock API](https://sponsor.ajay.app)
900
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901 --sponsorblock-mark CATS SponsorBlock categories to create chapters
902 for, separated by commas. Available
903 categories are all, sponsor, intro, outro,
904 selfpromo, interaction, preview,
905 music_offtopic. You can prefix the category
906 with a "-" to exempt it. See
907 https://wiki.sponsor.ajay.app/index.php/Segment_Categories
908 for description of the categories. Eg:
909 --sponsorblock-query all,-preview
910 --sponsorblock-remove CATS SponsorBlock categories to be removed from
911 the video file, separated by commas. If a
912 category is present in both mark and
913 remove, remove takes precedence. The syntax
914 and available categories are the same as
915 for --sponsorblock-mark
916 --sponsorblock-chapter-title TEMPLATE
917 The title template for SponsorBlock
918 chapters created by --sponsorblock-mark.
919 The same syntax as the output template is
920 used, but the only available fields are
921 start_time, end_time, category, categories,
922 name, category_names. Defaults to
923 "[SponsorBlock]: %(category_names)l"
924 --no-sponsorblock Disable both --sponsorblock-mark and
925 --sponsorblock-remove
926 --sponsorblock-api URL SponsorBlock API location, defaults to
927 https://sponsor.ajay.app
a9e7f546 928
78895bd3 929## Extractor Options:
5ef7d9bd 930 --extractor-retries RETRIES Number of retries for known extractor
d6e51845 931 errors (default is 3), or "infinite"
6623ac34 932 --allow-dynamic-mpd Process dynamic DASH manifests (default)
8a51f564 933 (Alias: --no-ignore-dynamic-mpd)
934 --ignore-dynamic-mpd Do not process dynamic DASH manifests
935 (Alias: --no-allow-dynamic-mpd)
e409895f 936 --hls-split-discontinuity Split HLS playlists to different formats at
937 discontinuities such as ad breaks
938 --no-hls-split-discontinuity Do not split HLS playlists to different
939 formats at discontinuities such as ad
940 breaks (default)
5d3a0e79 941 --extractor-args KEY:ARGS Pass these arguments to the extractor. See
942 "EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS" for details. You can
943 use this option multiple times to give
245524e6 944 arguments for different extractors
17cb02d0 945
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946# CONFIGURATION
947
7a5c1cfe 948You can configure yt-dlp by placing any supported command line option to a configuration file. The configuration is loaded from the following locations:
e2e43aea 949
0202b52a 9501. **Main Configuration**: The file given by `--config-location`
7a5c1cfe
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9511. **Portable Configuration**: `yt-dlp.conf` in the same directory as the bundled binary. If you are running from source-code (`<root dir>/yt_dlp/__main__.py`), the root directory is used instead.
9521. **Home Configuration**: `yt-dlp.conf` in the home path given by `-P "home:<path>"`, or in the current directory if no such path is given
e2e43aea 9531. **User Configuration**:
954 * `%XDG_CONFIG_HOME%/yt-dlp/config` (recommended on Linux/macOS)
955 * `%XDG_CONFIG_HOME%/yt-dlp.conf`
956 * `%APPDATA%/yt-dlp/config` (recommended on Windows)
957 * `%APPDATA%/yt-dlp/config.txt`
958 * `~/yt-dlp.conf`
959 * `~/yt-dlp.conf.txt`
960
c589c1d3 961 `%XDG_CONFIG_HOME%` defaults to `~/.config` if undefined. On windows, `~` points to %HOME% if present, `%USERPROFILE%` (generally `C:\Users\<user name>`) or `%HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%`.
07cce701 9621. **System Configuration**: `/etc/yt-dlp.conf`
b7770046 963
7a5c1cfe 964For example, with the following configuration file yt-dlp will always extract the audio, not copy the mtime, use a proxy and save all videos under `YouTube` directory in your home directory:
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965```
966# Lines starting with # are comments
967
968# Always extract audio
969-x
970
971# Do not copy the mtime
972--no-mtime
973
974# Use this proxy
975--proxy 127.0.0.1:3128
976
298f597b 977# Save all videos under YouTube directory in your home directory
978-o ~/YouTube/%(title)s.%(ext)s
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979```
980
e2e43aea 981Note that options in configuration file are just the same options aka switches used in regular command line calls; thus there **must be no whitespace** after `-` or `--`, e.g. `-o` or `--proxy` but not `- o` or `-- proxy`.
b7770046 982
7a5c1cfe 983You can use `--ignore-config` if you want to disable all configuration files for a particular yt-dlp run. If `--ignore-config` is found inside any configuration file, no further configuration will be loaded. For example, having the option in the portable configuration file prevents loading of user and system configurations. Additionally, (for backward compatibility) if `--ignore-config` is found inside the system configuration file, the user configuration is not loaded.
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984
985### Authentication with `.netrc` file
986
0001fcb5 987You 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:
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988```
989touch $HOME/.netrc
990chmod a-rwx,u+rw $HOME/.netrc
991```
992After that you can add credentials for an extractor in the following format, where *extractor* is the name of the extractor in lowercase:
993```
0001fcb5 994machine <extractor> login <username> password <password>
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995```
996For example:
997```
998machine youtube login myaccount@gmail.com password my_youtube_password
999machine twitch login my_twitch_account_name password my_twitch_password
1000```
7a5c1cfe 1001To activate authentication with the `.netrc` file you should pass `--netrc` to yt-dlp or place it in the [configuration file](#configuration).
b7770046 1002
0001fcb5 1003The default location of the .netrc file is `$HOME` (`~`) in UNIX. On Windows, it is `%HOME%` if present, `%USERPROFILE%` (generally `C:\Users\<user name>`) or `%HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%`
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1004
1005# OUTPUT TEMPLATE
1006
0202b52a 1007The `-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.
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1008
1009**tl;dr:** [navigate me to examples](#output-template-examples).
1010
e58c22a0 1011The 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 1012
f5aa5cfb 1013It 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). For example, `%(NAME)s` or `%(NAME)05d`. To clarify, that is a percent symbol followed by a name in parentheses, followed by formatting operations.
a439a3a4 1014
1015The field names themselves (the part inside the parenthesis) can also have some special formatting:
2b8a2973 10161. **Object traversal**: The dictionaries and lists available in metadata can be traversed by using a `.` (dot) separator. You can also do python slicing using `:`. Eg: `%(tags.0)s`, `%(subtitles.en.-1.ext)s`, `%(id.3:7:-1)s`, `%(formats.:.format_id)s`. `%()s` refers to the entire infodict. Note that all the fields that become available using this method are not listed below. Use `-j` to see such fields
e625be0d 10171. **Addition**: Addition and subtraction of numeric fields can be done using `+` and `-` respectively. Eg: `%(playlist_index+10)03d`, `%(n_entries+1-playlist_index)d`
10181. **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 `>`. Eg: `%(duration>%H-%M-%S)s`, `%(upload_date>%Y-%m-%d)s`, `%(epoch-3600>%H-%M-%S)s`
7c37ff97 10191. **Alternatives**: Alternate fields can be specified seperated with a `,`. Eg: `%(release_date>%Y,upload_date>%Y|Unknown)s`
10201. **Default**: A literal default value can be specified for when the field is empty using a `|` seperator. This overrides `--output-na-template`. Eg: `%(uploader|Unknown)s`
91dd88b9 10211. **More Conversions**: In addition to the normal format types `diouxXeEfFgGcrs`, `B`, `j`, `l`, `q` can be used for converting to **B**ytes, **j**son, a comma seperated **l**ist (alternate form flag `#` makes it new line `\n` seperated) and a string **q**uoted for the terminal, respectively
524e2e4f 10221. **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. Eg: `%(title)+.100U` is NFKC
a439a3a4 1023
1024To summarize, the general syntax for a field is:
1025```
7c37ff97 1026%(name[.keys][addition][>strf][,alternate][|default])[flags][width][.precision][length]type
a439a3a4 1027```
de6000d9 1028
80c03fa9 1029Additionally, 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`, `pl_thumbnail`, `pl_description`, `pl_infojson`, `chapter`. For example, `-o '%(title)s.%(ext)s' -o 'thumbnail:%(title)s\%(title)s.%(ext)s'` will put the thumbnails in a folder with the same name as the video. If any of the templates (except default) is empty, that type of file will not be written. Eg: `--write-thumbnail -o "thumbnail:"` will write thumbnails only for playlists and not for video.
e29663c6 1030
1031The available fields are:
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1032
1033 - `id` (string): Video identifier
1034 - `title` (string): Video title
1035 - `url` (string): Video URL
1036 - `ext` (string): Video filename extension
1037 - `alt_title` (string): A secondary title of the video
597c1866 1038 - `description` (string): The description of the video
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1039 - `display_id` (string): An alternative identifier for the video
1040 - `uploader` (string): Full name of the video uploader
1041 - `license` (string): License name the video is licensed under
1042 - `creator` (string): The creator of the video
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1043 - `timestamp` (numeric): UNIX timestamp of the moment the video became available
1044 - `upload_date` (string): Video upload date (YYYYMMDD)
e6f21b3d 1045 - `release_date` (string): The date (YYYYMMDD) when the video was released
1046 - `release_timestamp` (numeric): UNIX timestamp of the moment the video was released
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1047 - `uploader_id` (string): Nickname or id of the video uploader
1048 - `channel` (string): Full name of the channel the video is uploaded on
1049 - `channel_id` (string): Id of the channel
1050 - `location` (string): Physical location where the video was filmed
1051 - `duration` (numeric): Length of the video in seconds
53c18592 1052 - `duration_string` (string): Length of the video (HH:mm:ss)
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1053 - `view_count` (numeric): How many users have watched the video on the platform
1054 - `like_count` (numeric): Number of positive ratings of the video
1055 - `dislike_count` (numeric): Number of negative ratings of the video
1056 - `repost_count` (numeric): Number of reposts of the video
1057 - `average_rating` (numeric): Average rating give by users, the scale used depends on the webpage
277d6ff5 1058 - `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 1059 - `age_limit` (numeric): Age restriction for the video (years)
3dbb2a9d 1060 - `live_status` (string): One of 'is_live', 'was_live', 'is_upcoming', 'not_live'
b7770046 1061 - `is_live` (boolean): Whether this video is a live stream or a fixed-length video
f76ede8e 1062 - `was_live` (boolean): Whether this video was originally a live stream
6cfda058 1063 - `playable_in_embed` (string): Whether this video is allowed to play in embedded players on other sites
c224251a 1064 - `availability` (string): Whether the video is 'private', 'premium_only', 'subscriber_only', 'needs_auth', 'unlisted' or 'public'
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1065 - `start_time` (numeric): Time in seconds where the reproduction should start, as specified in the URL
1066 - `end_time` (numeric): Time in seconds where the reproduction should end, as specified in the URL
29b6000e 1067 - `format` (string): A human-readable description of the format
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1068 - `format_id` (string): Format code specified by `--format`
1069 - `format_note` (string): Additional info about the format
1070 - `width` (numeric): Width of the video
1071 - `height` (numeric): Height of the video
1072 - `resolution` (string): Textual description of width and height
1073 - `tbr` (numeric): Average bitrate of audio and video in KBit/s
1074 - `abr` (numeric): Average audio bitrate in KBit/s
1075 - `acodec` (string): Name of the audio codec in use
1076 - `asr` (numeric): Audio sampling rate in Hertz
1077 - `vbr` (numeric): Average video bitrate in KBit/s
1078 - `fps` (numeric): Frame rate
176f1866 1079 - `dynamic_range` (string): The dynamic range of the video
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1080 - `vcodec` (string): Name of the video codec in use
1081 - `container` (string): Name of the container format
1082 - `filesize` (numeric): The number of bytes, if known in advance
1083 - `filesize_approx` (numeric): An estimate for the number of bytes
1084 - `protocol` (string): The protocol that will be used for the actual download
1085 - `extractor` (string): Name of the extractor
1086 - `extractor_key` (string): Key name of the extractor
1087 - `epoch` (numeric): Unix epoch when creating the file
1088 - `autonumber` (numeric): Number that will be increased with each download, starting at `--autonumber-start`
e6f21b3d 1089 - `n_entries` (numeric): Total number of extracted items in the playlist
b7770046 1090 - `playlist` (string): Name or id of the playlist that contains the video
e6f21b3d 1091 - `playlist_index` (numeric): Index of the video in the playlist padded with leading zeros according the final index
1092 - `playlist_autonumber` (numeric): Position of the video in the playlist download queue padded with leading zeros according to the total length of the playlist
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1093 - `playlist_id` (string): Playlist identifier
1094 - `playlist_title` (string): Playlist title
1095 - `playlist_uploader` (string): Full name of the playlist uploader
1096 - `playlist_uploader_id` (string): Nickname or id of the playlist uploader
bd99f6e6 1097 - `webpage_url` (string): A URL to the video webpage which if given to yt-dlp should allow to get the same result again
1098 - `original_url` (string): The URL given by the user (or same as `webpage_url` for playlist entries)
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1099
1100Available for the video that belongs to some logical chapter or section:
1101
1102 - `chapter` (string): Name or title of the chapter the video belongs to
1103 - `chapter_number` (numeric): Number of the chapter the video belongs to
1104 - `chapter_id` (string): Id of the chapter the video belongs to
1105
1106Available for the video that is an episode of some series or programme:
1107
1108 - `series` (string): Title of the series or programme the video episode belongs to
1109 - `season` (string): Title of the season the video episode belongs to
1110 - `season_number` (numeric): Number of the season the video episode belongs to
1111 - `season_id` (string): Id of the season the video episode belongs to
1112 - `episode` (string): Title of the video episode
1113 - `episode_number` (numeric): Number of the video episode within a season
1114 - `episode_id` (string): Id of the video episode
1115
1116Available for the media that is a track or a part of a music album:
1117
1118 - `track` (string): Title of the track
1119 - `track_number` (numeric): Number of the track within an album or a disc
1120 - `track_id` (string): Id of the track
1121 - `artist` (string): Artist(s) of the track
1122 - `genre` (string): Genre(s) of the track
1123 - `album` (string): Title of the album the track belongs to
1124 - `album_type` (string): Type of the album
1125 - `album_artist` (string): List of all artists appeared on the album
1126 - `disc_number` (numeric): Number of the disc or other physical medium the track belongs to
1127 - `release_year` (numeric): Year (YYYY) when the album was released
1128
b050d210 1129Available for `chapter:` prefix when using `--split-chapters` for videos with internal chapters:
72755351 1130
1131 - `section_title` (string): Title of the chapter
1132 - `section_number` (numeric): Number of the chapter within the file
1133 - `section_start` (numeric): Start time of the chapter in seconds
1134 - `section_end` (numeric): End time of the chapter in seconds
1135
53c18592 1136Available only when used in `--print`:
1137
1138 - `urls` (string): The URLs of all requested formats, one in each line
1139 - `filename` (string): Name of the video file. Note that the actual filename may be different due to post-processing. Use `--exec echo` to get the name after all postprocessing is complete
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1140
1141Available only in `--sponsorblock-chapter-title`:
1142
1143 - `start_time` (numeric): Start time of the chapter in seconds
1144 - `end_time` (numeric): End time of the chapter in seconds
1145 - `categories` (list): The SponsorBlock categories the chapter belongs to
1146 - `category` (string): The smallest SponsorBlock category the chapter belongs to
1147 - `category_names` (list): Friendly names of the categories
1148 - `name` (string): Friendly name of the smallest category
53c18592 1149
a820dc72 1150Each aforementioned sequence when referenced in an output template will be replaced by the actual value corresponding to the sequence name. Note that some of the sequences are not guaranteed to be present since they depend on the metadata obtained by a particular extractor. Such sequences will be replaced with placeholder value provided with `--output-na-placeholder` (`NA` by default).
b7770046 1151
bc97cdae 1152For example 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.
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1153
1154For numeric sequences you can use numeric related formatting, for example, `%(view_count)05d` will result in a string with view count padded with zeros up to 5 characters, like in `00042`.
1155
1156Output 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.
1157
1158To use percent literals in an output template use `%%`. To output to stdout use `-o -`.
1159
91ebc640 1160The current default template is `%(title)s [%(id)s].%(ext)s`.
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1161
1162In 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:
1163
1164#### Output template and Windows batch files
1165
1166If you are using an output template inside a Windows batch file then you must escape plain percent characters (`%`) by doubling, so that `-o "%(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s"` should become `-o "%%(title)s-%%(id)s.%%(ext)s"`. However you should not touch `%`'s that are not plain characters, e.g. environment variables for expansion should stay intact: `-o "C:\%HOMEPATH%\Desktop\%%(title)s.%%(ext)s"`.
1167
1168#### Output template examples
1169
de6000d9 1170Note that on Windows you need to use double quotes instead of single.
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1171
1172```bash
7a5c1cfe
P
1173$ yt-dlp --get-filename -o '%(title)s.%(ext)s' BaW_jenozKc
1174youtube-dl test video ''_ä↭𝕐.mp4 # All kinds of weird characters
b7770046 1175
7a5c1cfe
P
1176$ yt-dlp --get-filename -o '%(title)s.%(ext)s' BaW_jenozKc --restrict-filenames
1177youtube-dl_test_video_.mp4 # A simple file name
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1178
1179# Download YouTube playlist videos in separate directory indexed by video order in a playlist
7a5c1cfe 1180$ yt-dlp -o '%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s' https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwiyx1dc3P2JR9N8gQaQN_BCvlSlap7re
b7770046 1181
b050d210 1182# Download YouTube playlist videos in separate directories according to their uploaded year
7a5c1cfe 1183$ yt-dlp -o '%(upload_date>%Y)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s' https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwiyx1dc3P2JR9N8gQaQN_BCvlSlap7re
e29663c6 1184
b7770046 1185# Download all playlists of YouTube channel/user keeping each playlist in separate directory:
7a5c1cfe 1186$ yt-dlp -o '%(uploader)s/%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s' https://www.youtube.com/user/TheLinuxFoundation/playlists
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1187
1188# Download Udemy course keeping each chapter in separate directory under MyVideos directory in your home
7a5c1cfe 1189$ yt-dlp -u user -p password -P '~/MyVideos' -o '%(playlist)s/%(chapter_number)s - %(chapter)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s' https://www.udemy.com/java-tutorial/
b7770046
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1190
1191# Download entire series season keeping each series and each season in separate directory under C:/MyVideos
7a5c1cfe 1192$ 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
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1193
1194# Stream the video being downloaded to stdout
7a5c1cfe 1195$ yt-dlp -o - BaW_jenozKc
b7770046
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1196```
1197
1198# FORMAT SELECTION
1199
7a5c1cfe
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1200By default, yt-dlp tries to download the best available quality if you **don't** pass any options.
1201This 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 1202
c111cefa 1203**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.
1204
eff63539 1205The 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
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1206
1207**tl;dr:** [navigate me to examples](#format-selection-examples).
1208
a439a3a4 1209The simplest case is requesting a specific format, for example with `-f 22` you can download the format with format code equal to 22. You can get the list of available format codes for particular video using `--list-formats` or `-F`. Note that these format codes are extractor specific.
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1210
1211You 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.
1212
1213You can also use special names to select particular edge case formats:
1214
e094cec1 1215 - `all`: Select all formats
f8d4ad9a 1216 - `mergeall`: Select and merge all formats (Must be used with `--audio-multistreams`, `--video-multistreams` or both)
1217 - `b*`, `best*`: Select the best quality format irrespective of whether it contains video or audio
1218 - `w*`, `worst*`: Select the worst quality format irrespective of whether it contains video or audio
909d24dd 1219 - `b`, `best`: Select the best quality format that contains both video and audio. Equivalent to `best*[vcodec!=none][acodec!=none]`
1220 - `w`, `worst`: Select the worst quality format that contains both video and audio. Equivalent to `worst*[vcodec!=none][acodec!=none]`
909d24dd 1221 - `bv`, `bestvideo`: Select the best quality video-only format. Equivalent to `best*[acodec=none]`
1222 - `wv`, `worstvideo`: Select the worst quality video-only format. Equivalent to `worst*[acodec=none]`
909d24dd 1223 - `bv*`, `bestvideo*`: Select the best quality format that contains video. It may also contain audio. Equivalent to `best*[vcodec!=none]`
1224 - `wv*`, `worstvideo*`: Select the worst quality format that contains video. It may also contain audio. Equivalent to `worst*[vcodec!=none]`
909d24dd 1225 - `ba`, `bestaudio`: Select the best quality audio-only format. Equivalent to `best*[vcodec=none]`
1226 - `wa`, `worstaudio`: Select the worst quality audio-only format. Equivalent to `worst*[vcodec=none]`
909d24dd 1227 - `ba*`, `bestaudio*`: Select the best quality format that contains audio. It may also contain video. Equivalent to `best*[acodec!=none]`
1228 - `wa*`, `worstaudio*`: Select the worst quality format that contains audio. It may also contain video. Equivalent to `worst*[acodec!=none]`
b7770046 1229
e58c22a0 1230For 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 `-f best -S +size,+br,+res,+fps` instead of `-f worst`. See [sorting formats](#sorting-formats) for more details.
eff63539 1231
1232You 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 1233
eb8a4433 1234If you want to download multiple videos and they don't have the same formats available, you can specify the order of preference using slashes. Note that formats on the left hand side are preferred, for example `-f 22/17/18` will download format 22 if it's available, otherwise it will download format 17 if it's available, otherwise it will download format 18 if it's available, otherwise it will complain that no suitable formats are available for download.
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1235
1236If 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`.
1237
d806c9fd 1238You can merge the video and audio of multiple formats into a single file using `-f <format1>+<format2>+...` (requires ffmpeg installed), for example `-f bestvideo+bestaudio` will download the best video-only format, the best audio-only format and mux them together with ffmpeg.
1239
1240**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
1241
1242Unless `--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. For example, `-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 and merge both formats while `-f bestaudio+best --no-audio-multistreams` will ignore `best` and download only `bestaudio`.
eb8a4433 1243
1244## Filtering Formats
1245
b7770046
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1246You can also filter the video formats by putting a condition in brackets, as in `-f "best[height=720]"` (or `-f "[filesize>10M]"`).
1247
1248The following numeric meta fields can be used with comparisons `<`, `<=`, `>`, `>=`, `=` (equals), `!=` (not equals):
1249
1250 - `filesize`: The number of bytes, if known in advance
1251 - `width`: Width of the video, if known
1252 - `height`: Height of the video, if known
1253 - `tbr`: Average bitrate of audio and video in KBit/s
1254 - `abr`: Average audio bitrate in KBit/s
1255 - `vbr`: Average video bitrate in KBit/s
1256 - `asr`: Audio sampling rate in Hertz
1257 - `fps`: Frame rate
1258
1259Also filtering work for comparisons `=` (equals), `^=` (starts with), `$=` (ends with), `*=` (contains) and following string meta fields:
1260
1261 - `ext`: File extension
1262 - `acodec`: Name of the audio codec in use
1263 - `vcodec`: Name of the video codec in use
1264 - `container`: Name of the container format
1265 - `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`)
1266 - `format_id`: A short description of the format
29f7c58a 1267 - `language`: Language code
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1268
1269Any string comparison may be prefixed with negation `!` in order to produce an opposite comparison, e.g. `!*=` (does not contain).
1270
e58c22a0 1271Note that none of the aforementioned meta fields are guaranteed to be present since this solely depends on the metadata obtained by particular extractor, i.e. the metadata offered by the website. Any other field made available by the extractor can also be used for filtering.
b7770046 1272
e094cec1 1273Formats for which the value is not known are excluded unless you put a question mark (`?`) after the operator. You can combine format filters, so `-f "[height<=?720][tbr>500]"` selects up to 720p videos (or videos where the height is not known) with a bitrate of at least 500 KBit/s. You can also use the filters with `all` to download all formats that satisfy the filter. For example, `-f "all[vcodec=none]"` selects all audio-only formats.
b7770046 1274
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1275Format selectors can also be grouped using parentheses, for example if you want to download the best mp4 and webm formats with a height lower than 480 you can use `-f '(mp4,webm)[height<480]'`.
1276
eb8a4433 1277## Sorting Formats
1278
2e7781a9 1279You can change the criteria for being considered the `best` by using `-S` (`--format-sort`). The general format for this is `--format-sort field1,field2...`.
1280
1281The available fields are:
eb8a4433 1282
63be1aab 1283 - `hasvid`: Gives priority to formats that has a video stream
1284 - `hasaud`: Gives priority to formats that has a audio stream
1285 - `ie_pref`: The format preference as given by the extractor
1286 - `lang`: Language preference as given by the extractor
dca3ff4a 1287 - `quality`: The quality of the format as given by the extractor
63be1aab 1288 - `source`: Preference of the source as given by the extractor
e36d50c5 1289 - `proto`: Protocol used for download (`https`/`ftps` > `http`/`ftp` > `m3u8_native`/`m3u8` > `http_dash_segments`> `websocket_frag` > other > `mms`/`rtsp` > unknown > `f4f`/`f4m`)
155d2b48 1290 - `vcodec`: Video Codec (`av01` > `vp9.2` > `vp9` > `h265` > `h264` > `vp8` > `h263` > `theora` > other > unknown)
63be1aab 1291 - `acodec`: Audio Codec (`opus` > `vorbis` > `aac` > `mp4a` > `mp3` > `ac3` > `dts` > other > unknown)
eb8a4433 1292 - `codec`: Equivalent to `vcodec,acodec`
63be1aab 1293 - `vext`: Video Extension (`mp4` > `webm` > `flv` > other > unknown). If `--prefer-free-formats` is used, `webm` is prefered.
1294 - `aext`: Audio Extension (`m4a` > `aac` > `mp3` > `ogg` > `opus` > `webm` > other > unknown). If `--prefer-free-formats` is used, the order changes to `opus` > `ogg` > `webm` > `m4a` > `mp3` > `aac`.
1295 - `ext`: Equivalent to `vext,aext`
eb8a4433 1296 - `filesize`: Exact filesize, if know in advance. This will be unavailable for mu38 and DASH formats.
63be1aab 1297 - `fs_approx`: Approximate filesize calculated from the manifests
1298 - `size`: Exact filesize if available, otherwise approximate filesize
eb8a4433 1299 - `height`: Height of video
1300 - `width`: Width of video
63be1aab 1301 - `res`: Video resolution, calculated as the smallest dimension.
1302 - `fps`: Framerate of video
176f1866 1303 - `hdr`: The dynamic range of the video (`DV` > `HDR12` > `HDR10+` > `HDR10` > `SDR`)
63be1aab 1304 - `tbr`: Total average bitrate in KBit/s
1305 - `vbr`: Average video bitrate in KBit/s
1306 - `abr`: Average audio bitrate in KBit/s
1307 - `br`: Equivalent to using `tbr,vbr,abr`
1308 - `asr`: Audio sample rate in Hz
d806c9fd 1309
1310**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 1311
9ee4f0bb 1312All fields, unless specified otherwise, are sorted in descending order. To reverse this, prefix the field with a `+`. Eg: `+res` prefers format with the smallest resolution. Additionally, you can suffix a preferred value for the fields, separated by a `:`. Eg: `res:720` prefers larger videos, but no larger than 720p and the smallest video if there are no videos less than 720p. For `codec` and `ext`, you can provide two preferred values, the first for video and the second for audio. Eg: `+codec:avc:m4a` (equivalent to `+vcodec:avc,+acodec:m4a`) sets the video codec preference to `h264` > `h265` > `vp9` > `vp9.2` > `av01` > `vp8` > `h263` > `theora` and audio codec preference to `mp4a` > `aac` > `vorbis` > `opus` > `mp3` > `ac3` > `dts`. You can also make the sorting prefer the nearest values to the provided by using `~` as the delimiter. Eg: `filesize~1G` prefers the format with filesize closest to 1 GiB.
1313
176f1866 1314The 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,codec:vp9.2,size,br,asr,proto,ext,hasaud,source,id`. The extractors may override this default order, but they cannot override the user-provided order.
eb8a4433 1315
176f1866 1316Note that the default has `codec:vp9.2`; i.e. `av1` is not prefered. Similarly, the default for hdr is `hdr:12`; i.e. dolby vision is not prefered. 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 1317
e58c22a0 1318If 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 1319
1320**Tip**: You can use the `-v -F` to see how the formats have been sorted (worst to best).
1321
eb8a4433 1322## Format Selection examples
b7770046
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1323
1324Note that on Windows you may need to use double quotes instead of single.
1325
1326```bash
e58c22a0 1327# Download and merge the best video-only format and the best audio-only format,
909d24dd 1328# or download the best combined format if video-only format is not available
7a5c1cfe 1329$ yt-dlp -f 'bv+ba/b'
909d24dd 1330
1331# Download best format that contains video,
1332# and if it doesn't already have an audio stream, merge it with best audio-only format
7a5c1cfe 1333$ yt-dlp -f 'bv*+ba/b'
2af884ff 1334
1335# Same as above
7a5c1cfe 1336$ yt-dlp
909d24dd 1337
6fd35a11 1338# Download the best video-only format and the best audio-only format without merging them
1339# For this case, an output template should be used since
1340# by default, bestvideo and bestaudio will have the same file name.
7a5c1cfe 1341$ yt-dlp -f 'bv,ba' -o '%(title)s.f%(format_id)s.%(ext)s'
909d24dd 1342
f8d4ad9a 1343# Download and merge the best format that has a video stream,
1344# and all audio-only formats into one file
1345$ yt-dlp -f 'bv*+mergeall[vcodec=none]' --audio-multistreams
1346
1347# Download and merge the best format that has a video stream,
1348# and the best 2 audio-only formats into one file
1349$ yt-dlp -f 'bv*+ba+ba.2' --audio-multistreams
909d24dd 1350
6fd35a11 1351
1352# The following examples show the old method (without -S) of format selection
f8d4ad9a 1353# and how to use -S to achieve a similar but (generally) better result
6fd35a11 1354
1355# Download the worst video available (old method)
7a5c1cfe 1356$ yt-dlp -f 'wv*+wa/w'
eb8a4433 1357
1358# Download the best video available but with the smallest resolution
7a5c1cfe 1359$ yt-dlp -S '+res'
eb8a4433 1360
1361# Download the smallest video available
7a5c1cfe 1362$ yt-dlp -S '+size,+br'
eb8a4433 1363
1364
909d24dd 1365
eb8a4433 1366# Download the best mp4 video available, or the best video if no mp4 available
7a5c1cfe 1367$ yt-dlp -f 'bv*[ext=mp4]+ba[ext=m4a]/b[ext=mp4] / bv*+ba/b'
eb8a4433 1368
1369# Download the best video with the best extension
1370# (For video, mp4 > webm > flv. For audio, m4a > aac > mp3 ...)
7a5c1cfe 1371$ yt-dlp -S 'ext'
eb8a4433 1372
1373
909d24dd 1374
eb8a4433 1375# Download the best video available but no better than 480p,
1376# or the worst video if there is no video under 480p
7a5c1cfe 1377$ yt-dlp -f 'bv*[height<=480]+ba/b[height<=480] / wv*+ba/w'
b7770046 1378
eb8a4433 1379# Download the best video available with the largest height but no better than 480p,
1380# or the best video with the smallest resolution if there is no video under 480p
7a5c1cfe 1381$ yt-dlp -S 'height:480'
b7770046 1382
eb8a4433 1383# Download the best video available with the largest resolution but no better than 480p,
1384# or the best video with the smallest resolution if there is no video under 480p
1385# Resolution is determined by using the smallest dimension.
1386# So this works correctly for vertical videos as well
7a5c1cfe 1387$ yt-dlp -S 'res:480'
b7770046 1388
b7770046 1389
909d24dd 1390
eb8a4433 1391# Download the best video (that also has audio) but no bigger than 50 MB,
1392# or the worst video (that also has audio) if there is no video under 50 MB
7a5c1cfe 1393$ yt-dlp -f 'b[filesize<50M] / w'
eb8a4433 1394
1395# Download largest video (that also has audio) but no bigger than 50 MB,
1396# or the smallest video (that also has audio) if there is no video under 50 MB
7a5c1cfe 1397$ yt-dlp -f 'b' -S 'filesize:50M'
eb8a4433 1398
1399# Download best video (that also has audio) that is closest in size to 50 MB
7a5c1cfe 1400$ yt-dlp -f 'b' -S 'filesize~50M'
eb8a4433 1401
1402
909d24dd 1403
eb8a4433 1404# Download best video available via direct link over HTTP/HTTPS protocol,
1405# or the best video available via any protocol if there is no such video
7a5c1cfe 1406$ yt-dlp -f '(bv*+ba/b)[protocol^=http][protocol!*=dash] / (bv*+ba/b)'
eb8a4433 1407
1408# Download best video available via the best protocol
1409# (https/ftps > http/ftp > m3u8_native > m3u8 > http_dash_segments ...)
7a5c1cfe 1410$ yt-dlp -S 'proto'
eb8a4433 1411
1412
909d24dd 1413
eb8a4433 1414# Download the best video with h264 codec, or the best video if there is no such video
7a5c1cfe 1415$ yt-dlp -f '(bv*+ba/b)[vcodec^=avc1] / (bv*+ba/b)'
eb8a4433 1416
1417# Download the best video with best codec no better than h264,
1418# or the best video with worst codec if there is no such video
7a5c1cfe 1419$ yt-dlp -S 'codec:h264'
eb8a4433 1420
1421# Download the best video with worst codec no worse than h264,
1422# or the best video with best codec if there is no such video
7a5c1cfe 1423$ yt-dlp -S '+codec:h264'
eb8a4433 1424
1425
1426
1427# More complex examples
1428
e58c22a0 1429# Download the best video no better than 720p preferring framerate greater than 30,
1430# or the worst video (still preferring framerate greater than 30) if there is no such video
7a5c1cfe 1431$ 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 1432
1433# Download the video with the largest resolution no better than 720p,
f8d4ad9a 1434# or the video with the smallest resolution available if there is no such video,
e58c22a0 1435# preferring larger framerate for formats with the same resolution
7a5c1cfe 1436$ yt-dlp -S 'res:720,fps'
eb8a4433 1437
1438
909d24dd 1439
eb8a4433 1440# Download the video with smallest resolution no worse than 480p,
1441# or the video with the largest resolution available if there is no such video,
e58c22a0 1442# preferring better codec and then larger total bitrate for the same resolution
7a5c1cfe 1443$ yt-dlp -S '+res:480,codec,br'
b7770046 1444```
eb8a4433 1445
73cd218f 1446# MODIFYING METADATA
1447
e9f4ccd1 1448The metadata obtained the the extractors can be modified by using `--parse-metadata` and `--replace-in-metadata`
1449
418964fa 1450`--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 1451
2e7781a9 1452The 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 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 1453
1454Note that any field created by this can be used in the [output template](#output-template) and will also affect the media file's metadata added when using `--add-metadata`.
1455
9c2b75b5 1456This option also has a few special uses:
28b0eb0f 1457* 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. Eg: `--parse-metadata "description:(?P<additional_urls>https?://www\.vimeo\.com/\d+)` will download the first vimeo video found in the description
b11d2101 1458* 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. For example, you can use this to set a different "description" and "synopsis". Any value set to the `meta_` field will overwrite all default values.
c31be5b0 1459
1460For reference, these are the fields yt-dlp adds by default to the file metadata:
1461
1462Metadata fields|From
1463:---|:---
1464`title`|`track` or `title`
1465`date`|`upload_date`
1466`description`, `synopsis`|`description`
1467`purl`, `comment`|`webpage_url`
1468`track`|`track_number`
1469`artist`|`artist`, `creator`, `uploader` or `uploader_id`
1470`genre`|`genre`
1471`album`|`album`
1472`album_artist`|`album_artist`
1473`disc`|`disc_number`
1474`show`|`series`
1475`season_number`|`season_number`
1476`episode_id`|`episode` or `episode_id`
1477`episode_sort`|`episode_number`
1478`language` of each stream|From the format's `language`
1479**Note**: The file format may not support some of these fields
1480
73cd218f 1481
1482## Modifying metadata examples
1483
1484Note that on Windows you may need to use double quotes instead of single.
1485
1486```bash
1487# Interpret the title as "Artist - Title"
02aabd45 1488$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata 'title:%(artist)s - %(title)s'
73cd218f 1489
1490# Regex example
02aabd45 1491$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata 'description:Artist - (?P<artist>.+)'
73cd218f 1492
1493# Set title as "Series name S01E05"
02aabd45 1494$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata '%(series)s S%(season_number)02dE%(episode_number)02d:%(title)s'
73cd218f 1495
1496# Set "comment" field in video metadata using description instead of webpage_url
02aabd45 1497$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata 'description:(?s)(?P<meta_comment>.+)' --add-metadata
73cd218f 1498
e9f4ccd1 1499# Replace all spaces and "_" in title and uploader with a `-`
1500$ yt-dlp --replace-in-metadata 'title,uploader' '[ _]' '-'
1501
73cd218f 1502```
1503
5d3a0e79 1504# EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS
1505
34488702 1506Some extractors accept additional arguments which can be passed using `--extractor-args KEY:ARGS`. `ARGS` is a `;` (semicolon) seperated string of `ARG=VAL1,VAL2`. Eg: `--extractor-args "youtube:player_client=android_agegate,web;include_live_dash" --extractor-args "funimation:version=uncut"`
5d3a0e79 1507
1508The following extractors use this feature:
1509* **youtube**
1510 * `skip`: `hls` or `dash` (or both) to skip download of the respective manifests
e7e94f2a 1511 * `player_client`: Clients to extract video data from. The main clients are `web`, `android`, `ios`, `mweb`. These also have `_music`, `_embedded`, `_agegate`, and `_creator` variants (Eg: `web_embedded`) (`mweb` has only `_agegate`). By default, `android,web` is used, but the agegate and creator variants are added as required for age-gated videos. Similarly the music variants are added for `music.youtube.com` urls. You can also use `all` to use all the clients
b6de707d 1512 * `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
57015a4a 1513 * `include_live_dash`: Include live dash formats (These formats don't download properly)
2d6659b9 1514 * `comment_sort`: `top` or `new` (default) - choose comment sorting mode (on YouTube's side).
34488702 1515 * `max_comments`: Maximum amount of comments to download (default all).
7581d246 1516 * `max_comment_depth`: Maximum depth for nested comments. YouTube supports depths 1 or 2 (default).
ac56cf38 1517* **youtubetab**
1518 (YouTube playlists, channels, feeds, etc.)
1519 * `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)
11f9be09 1520
3acf6d38 1521* **funimation**
1522 * `language`: Languages to extract. Eg: `funimation:language=english,japanese`
1523 * `version`: The video version to extract - `uncut` or `simulcast`
1524
73d829c1 1525* **vikiChannel**
1526 * `video_types`: Types of videos to download - one or more of `episodes`, `movies`, `clips`, `trailers`
1527
bc97cdae 1528NOTE: These options may be changed/removed in the future without concern for backward compatibility
5d3a0e79 1529
3acf6d38 1530
f74980cb 1531# PLUGINS
b7770046 1532
3ae5e797 1533Plugins are loaded from `<root-dir>/ytdlp_plugins/<type>/__init__.py`; where `<root-dir>` is the directory of the binary (`<root-dir>/yt-dlp`), or the root directory of the module if you are running directly from source-code (`<root dir>/yt_dlp/__main__.py`). Plugins are currently not supported for the `pip` version
1534
1535Plugins can be of `<type>`s `extractor` or `postprocessor`. Extractor plugins do not need to be enabled from the CLI and are automatically invoked when the input URL is suitable for it. Postprocessor plugins can be invoked using `--use-postprocessor NAME`.
1536
1537See [ytdlp_plugins](ytdlp_plugins) for example plugins.
1538
1539Note 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
1540
1541If you are a plugin author, add [ytdlp-plugins](https://github.com/topics/ytdlp-plugins) as a topic to your repository for discoverability
b7770046 1542
b7770046 1543
8c6f4daa 1544
1545# EMBEDDING YT-DLP
1546
1547yt-dlp makes the best effort to be a good command-line program, and thus should be callable from any programming language.
1548
1549Your 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.
1550
1551From a Python program, you can embed yt-dlp in a more powerful fashion, like this:
1552
1553```python
1554import yt_dlp
1555
1556ydl_opts = {}
1557with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
1558 ydl.download(['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc'])
1559```
1560
1561Most 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#L154-L452).
1562
1563Here's a more complete example of a program that outputs only errors (and a short message after the download is finished), converts the video to an mp3 file, implements a custom postprocessor and prints the final info_dict as json:
1564
1565```python
1566import json
1567
1568import yt_dlp
1569from yt_dlp.postprocessor.common import PostProcessor
1570
1571
1572class MyLogger:
1573 def debug(self, msg):
1574 # For compatability with youtube-dl, both debug and info are passed into debug
1575 # You can distinguish them by the prefix '[debug] '
1576 if msg.startswith('[debug] '):
1577 pass
1578 else:
1579 self.info(msg)
1580
1581 def info(self, msg):
1582 pass
1583
1584 def warning(self, msg):
1585 pass
1586
1587 def error(self, msg):
1588 print(msg)
1589
1590
1591class MyCustomPP(PostProcessor):
1592 def run(self, info):
1593 self.to_screen('Doing stuff')
1594 return [], info
1595
1596
1597def my_hook(d):
1598 if d['status'] == 'finished':
1599 print('Done downloading, now converting ...')
1600
1601
1602ydl_opts = {
1603 'format': 'bestaudio/best',
1604 'postprocessors': [{
1605 'key': 'FFmpegExtractAudio',
1606 'preferredcodec': 'mp3',
1607 'preferredquality': '192',
1608 }],
1609 'logger': MyLogger(),
1610 'progress_hooks': [my_hook],
1611}
1612
1613with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
1614 ydl.add_post_processor(MyCustomPP())
1615 info = ydl.extract_info('https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc')
1616 print(json.dumps(ydl.sanitize_info(info)))
1617```
1618
1619See the public functions in [`yt_dlp/YoutubeDL.py`](yt_dlp/YoutubeDL.py) for other available functions. Eg: `ydl.download`, `ydl.download_with_info_file`
1620
1621
e167860c 1622# DEPRECATED OPTIONS
1623
1624These are all the deprecated options and the current alternative to achieve the same effect
1625
6ccf351a 1626#### Redundant options
1627While these options are redundant, they are still expected to be used due to their ease of use
f4536226 1628
53c18592 1629 --get-description --print description
1630 --get-duration --print duration_string
1631 --get-filename --print filename
1632 --get-format --print format
1633 --get-id --print id
1634 --get-thumbnail --print thumbnail
1635 -e, --get-title --print title
1636 -g, --get-url --print urls
2b8a2973 1637 -j, --dump-json --print "%()j"
8f18aca8 1638 --match-title REGEX --match-filter "title ~= (?i)REGEX"
1639 --reject-title REGEX --match-filter "title !~= (?i)REGEX"
1640 --min-views COUNT --match-filter "view_count >=? COUNT"
1641 --max-views COUNT --match-filter "view_count <=? COUNT"
6ccf351a 1642
1643
1644#### Not recommended
1645While these options still work, their use is not recommended since there are other alternatives to achieve the same
1646
d9aa2332 1647 --all-formats -f all
c32b0aab 1648 --all-subs --sub-langs all --write-subs
b7b04c78 1649 --print-json -j --no-simulate
e167860c 1650 --autonumber-size NUMBER Use string formatting. Eg: %(autonumber)03d
a439a3a4 1651 --autonumber-start NUMBER Use internal field formatting like %(autonumber+NUMBER)s
73cd218f 1652 --metadata-from-title FORMAT --parse-metadata "%(title)s:FORMAT"
52a8a1e1 1653 --hls-prefer-native --downloader "m3u8:native"
1654 --hls-prefer-ffmpeg --downloader "m3u8:ffmpeg"
53ed7066 1655 --list-formats-old --compat-options list-formats (Alias: --no-list-formats-as-table)
1656 --list-formats-as-table --compat-options -list-formats [Default] (Alias: --no-list-formats-old)
5d3a0e79 1657 --youtube-skip-dash-manifest --extractor-args "youtube:skip=dash" (Alias: --no-youtube-include-dash-manifest)
1658 --youtube-skip-hls-manifest --extractor-args "youtube:skip=hls" (Alias: --no-youtube-include-hls-manifest)
1659 --youtube-include-dash-manifest Default (Alias: --no-youtube-skip-dash-manifest)
1660 --youtube-include-hls-manifest Default (Alias: --no-youtube-skip-hls-manifest)
6ccf351a 1661
1662
1663#### Developer options
1664These options are not intended to be used by the end-user
1665
34488702 1666 --test Download only part of video for testing extractors
6ccf351a 1667 --youtube-print-sig-code For testing youtube signatures
88acdbc2 1668 --allow-unplayable-formats List unplayable formats also
1669 --no-allow-unplayable-formats Default
f4536226 1670
1671
1672#### Old aliases
1673These are aliases that are no longer documented for various reasons
1674
1675 --avconv-location --ffmpeg-location
1676 --cn-verification-proxy URL --geo-verification-proxy URL
1677 --dump-headers --print-traffic
1678 --dump-intermediate-pages --dump-pages
1679 --force-write-download-archive --force-write-archive
1680 --load-info --load-info-json
1681 --no-split-tracks --no-split-chapters
e167860c 1682 --no-write-srt --no-write-subs
e167860c 1683 --prefer-unsecure --prefer-insecure
1684 --rate-limit RATE --limit-rate RATE
f4536226 1685 --split-tracks --split-chapters
1686 --srt-lang LANGS --sub-langs LANGS
e167860c 1687 --trim-file-names LENGTH --trim-filenames LENGTH
f4536226 1688 --write-srt --write-subs
e167860c 1689 --yes-overwrites --force-overwrites
f4536226 1690
7a340e0d
NA
1691#### Sponskrub Options
1692Support for [SponSkrub](https://github.com/faissaloo/SponSkrub) has been deprecated in favor of `--sponsorblock`
1693
1694 --sponskrub --sponsorblock-mark all
1695 --no-sponskrub --no-sponsorblock
1696 --sponskrub-cut --sponsorblock-remove all
1697 --no-sponskrub-cut --sponsorblock-remove -all
1698 --sponskrub-force Not applicable
1699 --no-sponskrub-force Not applicable
1700 --sponskrub-location Not applicable
1701 --sponskrub-args Not applicable
1702
f4536226 1703#### No longer supported
1704These options may no longer work as intended
1705
1706 --prefer-avconv avconv is not officially supported by yt-dlp (Alias: --no-prefer-ffmpeg)
1707 --prefer-ffmpeg Default (Alias: --no-prefer-avconv)
1708 -C, --call-home Not implemented
1709 --no-call-home Default
1710 --include-ads No longer supported
1711 --no-include-ads Default
0bb1bc1b 1712 --write-annotations No supported site has annotations now
1713 --no-write-annotations Default
486fb179 1714
1715#### Removed
1716These options were deprecated since 2014 and have now been entirely removed
1717
f4536226 1718 --id -o "%(id)s.%(ext)s"
1719 -A, --auto-number -o "%(autonumber)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s"
1720 -t, --title -o "%(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s"
1721 -l, --literal -o accepts literal names
1722
8c6f4daa 1723# CONTRIBUTING
1724See [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 1725
c2b5f311 1726# MORE
8c6f4daa 1727For FAQ see the [youtube-dl README](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl#faq)