]> jfr.im git - yt-dlp.git/blame - README.md
[extractor/youtube] Improve description parsing performance (#7315)
[yt-dlp.git] / README.md
CommitLineData
ec2e44fc 1<!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
b31fdeed 2<div align="center">
3
e980017a 4[![YT-DLP](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/master/.github/banner.svg)](#readme)
d9d045e2 5
2fa669f7 6[![Release version](https://img.shields.io/github/v/release/yt-dlp/yt-dlp?color=brightgreen&label=Download&style=for-the-badge)](#installation "Installation")
ae6a1b95 7[![PyPi](https://img.shields.io/badge/-PyPi-blue.svg?logo=pypi&labelColor=555555&style=for-the-badge)](https://pypi.org/project/yt-dlp "PyPi")
fc5fa964 8[![Donate](https://img.shields.io/badge/_-Donate-red.svg?logo=githubsponsors&labelColor=555555&style=for-the-badge)](Collaborators.md#collaborators "Donate")
ae6a1b95 9[![Matrix](https://img.shields.io/matrix/yt-dlp:matrix.org?color=brightgreen&labelColor=555555&label=&logo=element&style=for-the-badge)](https://matrix.to/#/#yt-dlp:matrix.org "Matrix")
10[![Discord](https://img.shields.io/discord/807245652072857610?color=blue&labelColor=555555&label=&logo=discord&style=for-the-badge)](https://discord.gg/H5MNcFW63r "Discord")
fc5fa964 11[![Supported Sites](https://img.shields.io/badge/-Supported_Sites-brightgreen.svg?style=for-the-badge)](supportedsites.md "Supported Sites")
ae6a1b95 12[![License: Unlicense](https://img.shields.io/badge/-Unlicense-blue.svg?style=for-the-badge)](LICENSE "License")
08e29b9f 13[![CI Status](https://img.shields.io/github/actions/workflow/status/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/core.yml?branch=master&label=Tests&style=for-the-badge)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/actions "CI Status")
fc5fa964 14[![Commits](https://img.shields.io/github/commit-activity/m/yt-dlp/yt-dlp?label=commits&style=for-the-badge)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits "Commit History")
46d09f87 15[![Last Commit](https://img.shields.io/github/last-commit/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/master?label=&style=for-the-badge&display_timestamp=committer)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits "Commit History")
c76eb41b 16
b31fdeed 17</div>
ec2e44fc 18<!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
c76eb41b 19
b31fdeed 20yt-dlp is a [youtube-dl](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl) fork based on the now inactive [youtube-dlc](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc). The main focus of this project is adding new features and patches while also keeping up to date with the original project
5c0e5bc4 21
ec2e44fc 22<!-- MANPAGE: MOVE "USAGE AND OPTIONS" SECTION HERE -->
23
24<!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
034b6215 25* [NEW FEATURES](#new-features)
53ed7066 26 * [Differences in default behavior](#differences-in-default-behavior)
c76eb41b 27* [INSTALLATION](#installation)
deae7c17 28 * [Detailed instructions](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Installation)
17fa3ee2 29 * [Update](#update)
0e5927ee 30 * [Release Files](#release-files)
cf59cd4d 31 * [Dependencies](#dependencies)
17fa3ee2 32 * [Compile](#compile)
b31fdeed 33* [USAGE AND OPTIONS](#usage-and-options)
34 * [General Options](#general-options)
50865ca8 35 * [Network Options](#network-options)
b31fdeed 36 * [Geo-restriction](#geo-restriction)
50865ca8 37 * [Video Selection](#video-selection)
38 * [Download Options](#download-options)
39 * [Filesystem Options](#filesystem-options)
b31fdeed 40 * [Thumbnail Options](#thumbnail-options)
50865ca8 41 * [Internet Shortcut Options](#internet-shortcut-options)
0744a815 42 * [Verbosity and Simulation Options](#verbosity-and-simulation-options)
50865ca8 43 * [Workarounds](#workarounds)
44 * [Video Format Options](#video-format-options)
45 * [Subtitle Options](#subtitle-options)
46 * [Authentication Options](#authentication-options)
50865ca8 47 * [Post-processing Options](#post-processing-options)
7a340e0d 48 * [SponsorBlock Options](#sponsorblock-options)
50865ca8 49 * [Extractor Options](#extractor-options)
c76eb41b 50* [CONFIGURATION](#configuration)
304ad45a 51 * [Configuration file encoding](#configuration-file-encoding)
db3ad8a6 52 * [Authentication with netrc](#authentication-with-netrc)
878eac3e 53 * [Notes about environment variables](#notes-about-environment-variables)
c76eb41b 54* [OUTPUT TEMPLATE](#output-template)
50865ca8 55 * [Output template examples](#output-template-examples)
c76eb41b 56* [FORMAT SELECTION](#format-selection)
50865ca8 57 * [Filtering Formats](#filtering-formats)
58 * [Sorting Formats](#sorting-formats)
59 * [Format Selection examples](#format-selection-examples)
73cd218f 60* [MODIFYING METADATA](#modifying-metadata)
61 * [Modifying metadata examples](#modifying-metadata-examples)
5d3a0e79 62* [EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS](#extractor-arguments)
f74980cb 63* [PLUGINS](#plugins)
8e40b9d1
M
64 * [Installing Plugins](#installing-plugins)
65 * [Developing Plugins](#developing-plugins)
8c6f4daa 66* [EMBEDDING YT-DLP](#embedding-yt-dlp)
43cc91ad 67 * [Embedding examples](#embedding-examples)
e167860c 68* [DEPRECATED OPTIONS](#deprecated-options)
8c6f4daa 69* [CONTRIBUTING](CONTRIBUTING.md#contributing-to-yt-dlp)
70 * [Opening an Issue](CONTRIBUTING.md#opening-an-issue)
71 * [Developer Instructions](CONTRIBUTING.md#developer-instructions)
17ffed18 72* [WIKI](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki)
deae7c17 73 * [FAQ](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/FAQ)
ec2e44fc 74<!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
50865ca8 75
76
034b6215 77# NEW FEATURES
91f071af 78
45b2ee6f 79* Merged with **youtube-dl v2021.12.17+ [commit/2dd6c6e](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/commit/2dd6c6e)** ([exceptions](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/21)) and **youtube-dlc v2020.11.11-3+ [commit/f9401f2](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc/commit/f9401f2a91987068139c5f757b12fc711d4c0cee)**: You get all the features and patches of [youtube-dlc](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc) in addition to the latest [youtube-dl](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl)
034b6215 80
304ad45a 81* **[SponsorBlock Integration](#sponsorblock-options)**: You can mark/remove sponsor sections in YouTube videos by utilizing the [SponsorBlock](https://sponsor.ajay.app) API
034b6215 82
7581d246 83* **[Format Sorting](#sorting-formats)**: The default format sorting options have been changed so that higher resolution and better codecs will be now preferred instead of simply using larger bitrate. Furthermore, you can now specify the sort order using `-S`. This allows for much easier format selection than what is possible by simply using `--format` ([examples](#format-selection-examples))
034b6215 84
8e174ba7 85* **Merged with animelover1984/youtube-dl**: You get most of the features and improvements from [animelover1984/youtube-dl](https://github.com/animelover1984/youtube-dl) including `--write-comments`, `BiliBiliSearch`, `BilibiliChannel`, Embedding thumbnail in mp4/ogg/opus, playlist infojson etc. Note that NicoNico livestreams are not available. See [#31](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/pull/31) for details.
29b6000e 86
ae61d108 87* **YouTube improvements**:
c8bc203f 88 * Supports Clips, Stories (`ytstories:<channel UCID>`), Search (including filters)**\***, YouTube Music Search, Channel-specific search, Search prefixes (`ytsearch:`, `ytsearchdate:`)**\***, Mixes, and Feeds (`:ytfav`, `:ytwatchlater`, `:ytsubs`, `:ythistory`, `:ytrec`, `:ytnotif`)
ae61d108 89 * Fix for [n-sig based throttling](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/issues/29326) **\***
90 * Supports some (but not all) age-gated content without cookies
91 * Download livestreams from the start using `--live-from-start` (*experimental*)
92 * `255kbps` audio is extracted (if available) from YouTube Music when premium cookies are given
86973308 93 * Channel URLs download all uploads of the channel, including shorts and live
f20f5fe5 94
304ad45a 95* **Cookies from browser**: Cookies can be automatically extracted from all major web browsers using `--cookies-from-browser BROWSER[+KEYRING][:PROFILE][::CONTAINER]`
245524e6 96
5ec1b6b7 97* **Download time range**: Videos can be downloaded partially based on either timestamps or chapters using `--download-sections`
98
597c1866 99* **Split video by chapters**: Videos can be split into multiple files based on chapters using `--split-chapters`
100
b31fdeed 101* **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 102
b31fdeed 103* **Aria2c with HLS/DASH**: You can use `aria2c` as the external downloader for DASH(mpd) and HLS(m3u8) formats
f20f5fe5 104
e75bb0d6 105* **New and fixed extractors**: Many new extractors have been added and a lot of existing ones have been fixed. See the [changelog](Changelog.md) or the [list of supported sites](supportedsites.md)
86c1a8aa 106
56ba69e4 107* **New MSOs**: Philo, Spectrum, SlingTV, Cablevision, RCN etc.
fac98805 108
3de7c2ce 109* **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 110
597c1866 111* **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 112
d4ada357 113* **Portable Configuration**: Configuration files are automatically loaded from the home and root directories. See [CONFIGURATION](#configuration) for details
0bc0a322 114
418964fa 115* **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 116
fe2ce85a 117* **Other new options**: Many new options have been added such as `--alias`, `--print`, `--concat-playlist`, `--wait-for-video`, `--retry-sleep`, `--sleep-requests`, `--convert-thumbnails`, `--force-download-archive`, `--force-overwrites`, `--break-match-filter` etc
0bc0a322 118
08d30158 119* **Improvements**: Regex and other operators in `--format`/`--match-filter`, multiple `--postprocessor-args` and `--downloader-args`, faster archive checking, more [format selection options](#format-selection), merge multi-video/audio, multiple `--config-locations`, `--exec` at different stages, etc
c69911e4 120
86c1a8aa 121* **Plugins**: Extractors and PostProcessors can be loaded from an external file. See [plugins](#plugins) for details
b31fdeed 122
77df20f1
SS
123* **Self updater**: The releases can be updated using `yt-dlp -U`, and downgraded using `--update-to` if required
124
125* **Nightly builds**: [Automated nightly builds](#update-channels) can be used with `--update-to nightly`
aa837ddf 126
7a5c1cfe 127See [changelog](Changelog.md) or [commits](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits) for the full list of changes
a26c99ac 128
ae61d108 129Features marked with a **\*** have been back-ported to youtube-dl
130
53ed7066 131### Differences in default behavior
132
0930b11f 133Some of yt-dlp's default options are different from that of youtube-dl and youtube-dlc:
53ed7066 134
5b28cef7 135* yt-dlp supports only [Python 3.7+](## "Windows 7"), and *may* remove support for more versions as they [become EOL](https://devguide.python.org/versions/#python-release-cycle); while [youtube-dl still supports Python 2.6+ and 3.2+](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/issues/30568#issue-1118238743)
96565c7e 136* The options `--auto-number` (`-A`), `--title` (`-t`) and `--literal` (`-l`), no longer work. See [removed options](#Removed) for details
b69fd25c 137* `avconv` is not supported as an alternative to `ffmpeg`
d4ada357 138* yt-dlp stores config files in slightly different locations to youtube-dl. See [CONFIGURATION](#configuration) for a list of correct locations
96565c7e 139* 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 140* The default [format sorting](#sorting-formats) is different from youtube-dl and prefers higher resolution and better codecs rather than higher bitrates. You can use the `--format-sort` option to change this to any order you prefer, or use `--compat-options format-sort` to use youtube-dl's sorting order
e75bb0d6 141* The default format selector is `bv*+ba/b`. This means that if a combined video + audio format that is better than the best video-only format is found, the former will be preferred. Use `-f bv+ba/b` or `--compat-options format-spec` to revert this
28b0eb0f 142* Unlike youtube-dlc, yt-dlp does not allow merging multiple audio/video streams into one file by default (since this conflicts with the use of `-f bv*+ba`). If needed, this feature must be enabled using `--audio-multistreams` and `--video-multistreams`. You can also use `--compat-options multistreams` to enable both
08d30158 143* `--no-abort-on-error` is enabled by default. Use `--abort-on-error` or `--compat-options abort-on-error` to abort on errors instead
28b0eb0f 144* When writing metadata files such as thumbnails, description or infojson, the same information (if available) is also written for playlists. Use `--no-write-playlist-metafiles` or `--compat-options no-playlist-metafiles` to not write these files
9222c381 145* `--add-metadata` attaches the `infojson` to `mkv` files in addition to writing the metadata when used with `--write-info-json`. Use `--no-embed-info-json` or `--compat-options no-attach-info-json` to revert this
9e907ebd 146* Some metadata are embedded into different fields when using `--add-metadata` as compared to youtube-dl. Most notably, `comment` field contains the `webpage_url` and `synopsis` contains the `description`. You can [use `--parse-metadata`](#modifying-metadata) to modify this to your liking or use `--compat-options embed-metadata` to revert this
28b0eb0f 147* `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
148* The output of `-F` is listed in a new format. Use `--compat-options list-formats` to revert this
b79f9e30 149* Live chats (if available) are considered as subtitles. Use `--sub-langs all,-live_chat` to download all subtitles except live chat. You can also use `--compat-options no-live-chat` to prevent any live chat/danmaku from downloading
86973308 150* YouTube channel URLs download all uploads of the channel. To download only the videos in a specific tab, pass the tab's URL. If the channel does not show the requested tab, an error will be raised. Also, `/live` URLs raise an error if there are no live videos instead of silently downloading the entire channel. You may use `--compat-options no-youtube-channel-redirect` to revert all these redirections
304ad45a 151* Unavailable videos are also listed for YouTube playlists. Use `--compat-options no-youtube-unavailable-videos` to remove this
1ff88b7a 152* The upload dates extracted from YouTube are in UTC [when available](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/89e4d86171c7b7c997c77d4714542e0383bf0db0/yt_dlp/extractor/youtube.py#L3898-L3900). Use `--compat-options no-youtube-prefer-utc-upload-date` to prefer the non-UTC upload date.
18e674b4 153* 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 154* Thumbnail embedding in `mp4` is done with mutagen if possible. Use `--compat-options embed-thumbnail-atomicparsley` to force the use of AtomicParsley instead
ad54c913 155* Some internal metadata such as filenames are removed by default from the infojson. Use `--no-clean-infojson` or `--compat-options no-clean-infojson` to revert this
e75bb0d6 156* When `--embed-subs` and `--write-subs` are used together, the subtitles are written to disk and also embedded in the media file. You can use just `--embed-subs` to embed the subs and automatically delete the separate file. See [#630 (comment)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/630#issuecomment-893659460) for more info. `--compat-options no-keep-subs` can be used to revert this
168bbc4f 157* `certifi` will be used for SSL root certificates, if installed. If you want to use system certificates (e.g. self-signed), use `--compat-options no-certifi`
1e4fca9a 158* yt-dlp's sanitization of invalid characters in filenames is different/smarter than in youtube-dl. You can use `--compat-options filename-sanitization` to revert to youtube-dl's behavior
ad68b16a 159* yt-dlp tries to parse the external downloader outputs into the standard progress output if possible (Currently implemented: [~~aria2c~~](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/5931)). You can use `--compat-options no-external-downloader-progress` to get the downloader output as-is
93b39cdb 160* yt-dlp versions between 2021.09.01 and 2023.01.02 applies `--match-filter` to nested playlists. This was an unintentional side-effect of [8f18ac](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/8f18aca8717bb0dd49054555af8d386e5eda3a88) and is fixed in [d7b460](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/d7b460d0e5fc710950582baed2e3fc616ed98a80). Use `--compat-options playlist-match-filter` to revert this
53ed7066 161
162For ease of use, a few more compat options are available:
3d3bb168 163
8a82af35 164* `--compat-options all`: Use all compat options (Do NOT use)
93b39cdb 165* `--compat-options youtube-dl`: Same as `--compat-options all,-multistreams,-playlist-match-filter`
166* `--compat-options youtube-dlc`: Same as `--compat-options all,-no-live-chat,-no-youtube-channel-redirect,-playlist-match-filter`
2a06bb4e 167* `--compat-options 2021`: Same as `--compat-options 2022,no-certifi,filename-sanitization,no-youtube-prefer-utc-upload-date`
93b39cdb 168* `--compat-options 2022`: Same as `--compat-options playlist-match-filter,no-external-downloader-progress`. Use this to enable all future compat options
53ed7066 169
f20f5fe5 170
d19bb9c0 171# INSTALLATION
50865ca8 172
fc5fa964 173<!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
174[![Windows](https://img.shields.io/badge/-Windows_x64-blue.svg?style=for-the-badge&logo=windows)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.exe)
17ffed18 175[![Unix](https://img.shields.io/badge/-Linux/BSD-red.svg?style=for-the-badge&logo=linux)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp)
24146491 176[![MacOS](https://img.shields.io/badge/-MacOS-lightblue.svg?style=for-the-badge&logo=apple)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_macos)
17ffed18 177[![PyPi](https://img.shields.io/badge/-PyPi-blue.svg?logo=pypi&labelColor=555555&style=for-the-badge)](https://pypi.org/project/yt-dlp)
fc5fa964 178[![Source Tarball](https://img.shields.io/badge/-Source_tar-green.svg?style=for-the-badge)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.tar.gz)
179[![Other variants](https://img.shields.io/badge/-Other-grey.svg?style=for-the-badge)](#release-files)
3d3bb168 180[![All versions](https://img.shields.io/badge/-All_Versions-lightgrey.svg?style=for-the-badge)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases)
fc5fa964 181<!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
182
c8bc203f 183You can install yt-dlp using [the binaries](#release-files), [pip](https://pypi.org/project/yt-dlp) or one using a third-party package manager. See [the wiki](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Installation) for detailed instructions
0930b11f 184
b8773e63 185
a4211baf 186## UPDATE
4815bbfc 187You can use `yt-dlp -U` to update if you are using the [release binaries](#release-files)
17ffed18 188
c8bc203f 189If you [installed with pip](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Installation#with-pip), simply re-run the same command that was used to install the program
0930b11f 190
8e174ba7 191For other third-party package managers, see [the wiki](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Installation#third-party-package-managers) or refer their documentation
0930b11f 192
77df20f1
SS
193<a id="update-channels"/>
194
195There are currently two release channels for binaries, `stable` and `nightly`.
392389b7 196`stable` is the default channel, and many of its changes have been tested by users of the nightly channel.
197The `nightly` channel has releases built after each push to the master branch, and will have the most recent fixes and additions, but also have more risk of regressions. They are available in [their own repo](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp-nightly-builds/releases).
77df20f1
SS
198
199When using `--update`/`-U`, a release binary will only update to its current channel.
665472a7
SS
200`--update-to CHANNEL` can be used to switch to a different channel when a newer version is available. `--update-to [CHANNEL@]TAG` can also be used to upgrade or downgrade to specific tags from a channel.
201
202You may also use `--update-to <repository>` (`<owner>/<repository>`) to update to a channel on a completely different repository. Be careful with what repository you are updating to though, there is no verification done for binaries from different repositories.
77df20f1
SS
203
204Example usage:
205* `yt-dlp --update-to nightly` change to `nightly` channel and update to its latest release
206* `yt-dlp --update-to stable@2023.02.17` upgrade/downgrade to release to `stable` channel tag `2023.02.17`
207* `yt-dlp --update-to 2023.01.06` upgrade/downgrade to tag `2023.01.06` if it exists on the current channel
665472a7 208* `yt-dlp --update-to example/yt-dlp@2023.03.01` upgrade/downgrade to the release from the `example/yt-dlp` repository, tag `2023.03.01`
cf59cd4d 209
ec2e44fc 210<!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
a4211baf 211## RELEASE FILES
0e5927ee 212
733d8e8f 213#### Recommended
214
215File|Description
216:---|:---
962ffcf8 217[yt-dlp](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp)|Platform-independent [zipimport](https://docs.python.org/3/library/zipimport.html) binary. Needs Python (recommended for **Linux/BSD**)
0930b11f 218[yt-dlp.exe](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.exe)|Windows (Win7 SP1+) standalone x64 binary (recommended for **Windows**)
f2df4071 219[yt-dlp_macos](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_macos)|Universal MacOS (10.15+) standalone executable (recommended for **MacOS**)
733d8e8f 220
221#### Alternatives
222
0e5927ee
R
223File|Description
224:---|:---
0930b11f 225[yt-dlp_x86.exe](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_x86.exe)|Windows (Vista SP2+) standalone x86 (32-bit) binary
8aa0e7cd 226[yt-dlp_min.exe](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_min.exe)|Windows (Win7 SP1+) standalone x64 binary built with `py2exe`<br/> ([Not recommended](#standalone-py2exe-builds-windows))
f2df4071 227[yt-dlp_linux](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_linux)|Linux standalone x64 binary
228[yt-dlp_linux.zip](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_linux.zip)|Unpackaged Linux executable (no auto-update)
17fc3dc4
M
229[yt-dlp_linux_armv7l](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_linux_armv7l)|Linux standalone armv7l (32-bit) binary
230[yt-dlp_linux_aarch64](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_linux_aarch64)|Linux standalone aarch64 (64-bit) binary
0930b11f 231[yt-dlp_win.zip](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_win.zip)|Unpackaged Windows executable (no auto-update)
232[yt-dlp_macos.zip](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_macos.zip)|Unpackaged MacOS (10.15+) executable (no auto-update)
6d916fe7 233[yt-dlp_macos_legacy](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_macos_legacy)|MacOS (10.9+) standalone x64 executable
733d8e8f 234
235#### Misc
236
237File|Description
238:---|:---
17ffed18 239[yt-dlp.tar.gz](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.tar.gz)|Source tarball
0e5927ee 240[SHA2-512SUMS](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/SHA2-512SUMS)|GNU-style SHA512 sums
12647e03 241[SHA2-512SUMS.sig](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/SHA2-512SUMS.sig)|GPG signature file for SHA512 sums
0e5927ee 242[SHA2-256SUMS](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/SHA2-256SUMS)|GNU-style SHA256 sums
12647e03 243[SHA2-256SUMS.sig](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/SHA2-256SUMS.sig)|GPG signature file for SHA256 sums
0e5927ee 244
12647e03
SS
245The public key that can be used to verify the GPG signatures is [available here](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/master/public.key)
246Example usage:
247```
248curl -L https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/raw/master/public.key | gpg --import
249gpg --verify SHA2-256SUMS.sig SHA2-256SUMS
250gpg --verify SHA2-512SUMS.sig SHA2-512SUMS
251```
252<!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
17ffed18 253
ad54c913 254**Note**: The manpages, shell completion (autocomplete) files etc. are available inside the [source tarball](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.tar.gz)
17ffed18 255
a4211baf 256## DEPENDENCIES
eff42759 257Python versions 3.7+ (CPython and PyPy) are supported. Other versions and implementations may or may not work correctly.
b31fdeed 258
c9652aa4 259<!-- Python 3.5+ uses VC++14 and it is already embedded in the binary created
260<!x-- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=26999 --x>
cf59cd4d 261On 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 262-->
fac98805 263
e75bb0d6 264While all the other dependencies are optional, `ffmpeg` and `ffprobe` are highly recommended
ec2e44fc 265
8aa0e7cd 266### Strongly recommended
267
b69fd25c 268* [**ffmpeg** and **ffprobe**](https://www.ffmpeg.org) - Required for [merging separate video and audio files](#format-selection) as well as for various [post-processing](#post-processing-options) tasks. License [depends on the build](https://www.ffmpeg.org/legal.html)
8aa0e7cd 269
8e174ba7 270 There are bugs in ffmpeg that causes various issues when used alongside yt-dlp. Since ffmpeg is such an important dependency, we provide [custom builds](https://github.com/yt-dlp/FFmpeg-Builds#ffmpeg-static-auto-builds) with patches for some of these issues at [yt-dlp/FFmpeg-Builds](https://github.com/yt-dlp/FFmpeg-Builds). See [the readme](https://github.com/yt-dlp/FFmpeg-Builds#patches-applied) for details on the specific issues solved by these builds
271
272 **Important**: What you need is ffmpeg *binary*, **NOT** [the python package of the same name](https://pypi.org/project/ffmpeg)
8aa0e7cd 273
274### Networking
d5820461 275* [**certifi**](https://github.com/certifi/python-certifi)\* - Provides Mozilla's root certificate bundle. Licensed under [MPLv2](https://github.com/certifi/python-certifi/blob/master/LICENSE)
8aa0e7cd 276* [**brotli**](https://github.com/google/brotli)\* or [**brotlicffi**](https://github.com/python-hyper/brotlicffi) - [Brotli](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brotli) content encoding support. Both licensed under MIT <sup>[1](https://github.com/google/brotli/blob/master/LICENSE) [2](https://github.com/python-hyper/brotlicffi/blob/master/LICENSE) </sup>
277* [**websockets**](https://github.com/aaugustin/websockets)\* - For downloading over websocket. Licensed under [BSD-3-Clause](https://github.com/aaugustin/websockets/blob/main/LICENSE)
278
279### Metadata
280
281* [**mutagen**](https://github.com/quodlibet/mutagen)\* - For `--embed-thumbnail` in certain formats. Licensed under [GPLv2+](https://github.com/quodlibet/mutagen/blob/master/COPYING)
282* [**AtomicParsley**](https://github.com/wez/atomicparsley) - For `--embed-thumbnail` in `mp4`/`m4a` files when `mutagen`/`ffmpeg` cannot. Licensed under [GPLv2+](https://github.com/wez/atomicparsley/blob/master/COPYING)
283* [**xattr**](https://github.com/xattr/xattr), [**pyxattr**](https://github.com/iustin/pyxattr) or [**setfattr**](http://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/attr) - For writing xattr metadata (`--xattr`) on **Linux**. Licensed under [MIT](https://github.com/xattr/xattr/blob/master/LICENSE.txt), [LGPL2.1](https://github.com/iustin/pyxattr/blob/master/COPYING) and [GPLv2+](http://git.savannah.nongnu.org/cgit/attr.git/tree/doc/COPYING) respectively
284
285### Misc
286
287* [**pycryptodomex**](https://github.com/Legrandin/pycryptodome)\* - For decrypting AES-128 HLS streams and various other data. Licensed under [BSD-2-Clause](https://github.com/Legrandin/pycryptodome/blob/master/LICENSE.rst)
5d0aeac0 288* [**phantomjs**](https://github.com/ariya/phantomjs) - Used in extractors where javascript needs to be run. Licensed under [BSD-3-Clause](https://github.com/ariya/phantomjs/blob/master/LICENSE.BSD)
8aa0e7cd 289* [**secretstorage**](https://github.com/mitya57/secretstorage) - For `--cookies-from-browser` to access the **Gnome** keyring while decrypting cookies of **Chromium**-based browsers on **Linux**. Licensed under [BSD-3-Clause](https://github.com/mitya57/secretstorage/blob/master/LICENSE)
cf59cd4d 290* Any external downloader that you want to use with `--downloader`
b31fdeed 291
deae7c17 292### Deprecated
8aa0e7cd 293
294* [**avconv** and **avprobe**](https://www.libav.org) - Now **deprecated** alternative to ffmpeg. License [depends on the build](https://libav.org/legal)
295* [**sponskrub**](https://github.com/faissaloo/SponSkrub) - For using the now **deprecated** [sponskrub options](#sponskrub-options). Licensed under [GPLv3+](https://github.com/faissaloo/SponSkrub/blob/master/LICENCE.md)
998a3cae 296* [**rtmpdump**](http://rtmpdump.mplayerhq.hu) - For downloading `rtmp` streams. ffmpeg can be used instead with `--downloader ffmpeg`. Licensed under [GPLv2+](http://rtmpdump.mplayerhq.hu)
297* [**mplayer**](http://mplayerhq.hu/design7/info.html) or [**mpv**](https://mpv.io) - For downloading `rstp`/`mms` streams. ffmpeg can be used instead with `--downloader ffmpeg`. Licensed under [GPLv2+](https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/blob/master/Copyright)
8aa0e7cd 298
cf59cd4d 299To use or redistribute the dependencies, you must agree to their respective licensing terms.
300
f2df4071 301The standalone release binaries are built with the Python interpreter and the packages marked with **\*** included.
d710cc6d 302
8aa0e7cd 303If you do not have the necessary dependencies for a task you are attempting, yt-dlp will warn you. All the currently available dependencies are visible at the top of the `--verbose` output
d710cc6d 304
5f326cf5 305
a4211baf 306## COMPILE
5f326cf5 307
8aa0e7cd 308### Standalone PyInstaller Builds
115add43 309To build the standalone executable, you must have Python and `pyinstaller` (plus any of yt-dlp's [optional dependencies](#dependencies) if needed). Once you have all the necessary dependencies installed, simply run `pyinst.py`. The executable will be built for the same architecture (x86/ARM, 32/64 bit) as the Python used.
e38df8f9 310
8aa0e7cd 311 python3 -m pip install -U pyinstaller -r requirements.txt
312 python3 devscripts/make_lazy_extractors.py
313 python3 pyinst.py
314
315On some systems, you may need to use `py` or `python` instead of `python3`.
316
73ac0e6b 317`pyinst.py` accepts any arguments that can be passed to `pyinstaller`, such as `--onefile/-F` or `--onedir/-D`, which is further [documented here](https://pyinstaller.org/en/stable/usage.html#what-to-generate).
318
8e174ba7 319**Note**: Pyinstaller versions below 4.4 [do not support](https://github.com/pyinstaller/pyinstaller#requirements-and-tested-platforms) Python installed from the Windows store without using a virtual environment.
8aa0e7cd 320
321**Important**: Running `pyinstaller` directly **without** using `pyinst.py` is **not** officially supported. This may or may not work correctly.
7581d246 322
8aa0e7cd 323### Platform-independent Binary (UNIX)
deae7c17 324You will need the build tools `python` (3.7+), `zip`, `make` (GNU), `pandoc`\* and `pytest`\*.
b96a939b 325
8aa0e7cd 326After installing these, simply run `make`.
5f326cf5 327
a831c2ea 328You can also run `make yt-dlp` instead to compile only the binary without updating any of the additional files. (The build tools marked with **\*** are not needed for this)
d19bb9c0 329
8aa0e7cd 330### Standalone Py2Exe Builds (Windows)
331
332While we provide the option to build with [py2exe](https://www.py2exe.org), it is recommended to build [using PyInstaller](#standalone-pyinstaller-builds) instead since the py2exe builds **cannot contain `pycryptodomex`/`certifi` and needs VC++14** on the target computer to run.
333
334If you wish to build it anyway, install Python and py2exe, and then simply run `setup.py py2exe`
335
336 py -m pip install -U py2exe -r requirements.txt
337 py devscripts/make_lazy_extractors.py
338 py setup.py py2exe
339
340### Related scripts
341
d400e261
SS
342* **`devscripts/update-version.py`** - Update the version number based on current date.
343* **`devscripts/set-variant.py`** - Set the build variant of the executable.
344* **`devscripts/make_changelog.py`** - Create a markdown changelog using short commit messages and update `CONTRIBUTORS` file.
8aa0e7cd 345* **`devscripts/make_lazy_extractors.py`** - Create lazy extractors. Running this before building the binaries (any variant) will improve their startup performance. Set the environment variable `YTDLP_NO_LAZY_EXTRACTORS=1` if you wish to forcefully disable lazy extractor loading.
346
d400e261
SS
347Note: See their `--help` for more info.
348
29cb20bd
SS
349### Forking the project
350If you fork the project on GitHub, you can run your fork's [build workflow](.github/workflows/build.yml) to automatically build the selected version(s) as artifacts. Alternatively, you can run the [release workflow](.github/workflows/release.yml) or enable the [nightly workflow](.github/workflows/release-nightly.yml) to create full (pre-)releases.
59a7a13e 351
b31fdeed 352# USAGE AND OPTIONS
6bcd846b 353
ec2e44fc 354<!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
7a5c1cfe 355 yt-dlp [OPTIONS] [--] URL [URL...]
b50e3bc6 356
c2b5f311 357`Ctrl+F` is your friend :D
ec2e44fc 358<!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
c2b5f311 359
ec2e44fc 360<!-- Auto generated -->
c76eb41b 361## General Options:
2dd5a2e3 362 -h, --help Print this help text and exit
363 --version Print program version and exit
70b23409 364 -U, --update Update this program to the latest version
365 --no-update Do not check for updates (default)
77df20f1 366 --update-to [CHANNEL]@[TAG] Upgrade/downgrade to a specific version.
665472a7
SS
367 CHANNEL can be a repository as well. CHANNEL
368 and TAG default to "stable" and "latest"
369 respectively if omitted; See "UPDATE" for
370 details. Supported channels: stable, nightly
2dd5a2e3 371 -i, --ignore-errors Ignore download and postprocessing errors.
372 The download will be considered successful
373 even if the postprocessing fails
374 --no-abort-on-error Continue with next video on download errors;
375 e.g. to skip unavailable videos in a
376 playlist (default)
377 --abort-on-error Abort downloading of further videos if an
378 error occurs (Alias: --no-ignore-errors)
379 --dump-user-agent Display the current user-agent and exit
380 --list-extractors List all supported extractors and exit
381 --extractor-descriptions Output descriptions of all supported
382 extractors and exit
2516cafb 383 --use-extractors NAMES Extractor names to use separated by commas.
fe7866d0 384 You can also use regexes, "all", "default"
385 and "end" (end URL matching); e.g. --ies
386 "holodex.*,end,youtube". Prefix the name
387 with a "-" to exclude it, e.g. --ies
388 default,-generic. Use --list-extractors for
2516cafb 389 a list of extractor names. (Alias: --ies)
62b58c09 390 --default-search PREFIX Use this prefix for unqualified URLs. E.g.
2dd5a2e3 391 "gvsearch2:python" downloads two videos from
392 google videos for the search term "python".
393 Use the value "auto" to let yt-dlp guess
394 ("auto_warning" to emit a warning when
395 guessing). "error" just throws an error. The
396 default value "fixup_error" repairs broken
397 URLs, but emits an error if this is not
398 possible instead of searching
399 --ignore-config Don't load any more configuration files
400 except those given by --config-locations.
401 For backward compatibility, if this option
402 is found inside the system configuration
403 file, the user configuration is not loaded.
404 (Alias: --no-config)
405 --no-config-locations Do not load any custom configuration files
406 (default). When given inside a configuration
407 file, ignore all previous --config-locations
408 defined in the current file
409 --config-locations PATH Location of the main configuration file;
410 either the path to the config or its
6b9e832d 411 containing directory ("-" for stdin). Can be
412 used multiple times and inside other
413 configuration files
2dd5a2e3 414 --flat-playlist Do not extract the videos of a playlist,
415 only list them
c8bc203f 416 --no-flat-playlist Fully extract the videos of a playlist
417 (default)
2dd5a2e3 418 --live-from-start Download livestreams from the start.
419 Currently only supported for YouTube
420 (Experimental)
421 --no-live-from-start Download livestreams from the current time
422 (default)
423 --wait-for-video MIN[-MAX] Wait for scheduled streams to become
424 available. Pass the minimum number of
425 seconds (or range) to wait between retries
426 --no-wait-for-video Do not wait for scheduled streams (default)
427 --mark-watched Mark videos watched (even with --simulate)
428 --no-mark-watched Do not mark videos watched (default)
8417f26b
SS
429 --color [STREAM:]POLICY Whether to emit color codes in output,
430 optionally prefixed by the STREAM (stdout or
431 stderr) to apply the setting to. Can be one
432 of "always", "auto" (default), "never", or
433 "no_color" (use non color terminal
434 sequences). Can be used multiple times
2dd5a2e3 435 --compat-options OPTS Options that can help keep compatibility
436 with youtube-dl or youtube-dlc
437 configurations by reverting some of the
438 changes made in yt-dlp. See "Differences in
439 default behavior" for details
440 --alias ALIASES OPTIONS Create aliases for an option string. Unless
441 an alias starts with a dash "-", it is
442 prefixed with "--". Arguments are parsed
443 according to the Python string formatting
62b58c09 444 mini-language. E.g. --alias get-audio,-X
2dd5a2e3 445 "-S=aext:{0},abr -x --audio-format {0}"
446 creates options "--get-audio" and "-X" that
447 takes an argument (ARG0) and expands to
448 "-S=aext:ARG0,abr -x --audio-format ARG0".
449 All defined aliases are listed in the --help
450 output. Alias options can trigger more
962ffcf8 451 aliases; so be careful to avoid defining
2dd5a2e3 452 recursive options. As a safety measure, each
453 alias may be triggered a maximum of 100
64fa820c 454 times. This option can be used multiple times
08c1d0d3 455
149f05c7 456## Network Options:
2dd5a2e3 457 --proxy URL Use the specified HTTP/HTTPS/SOCKS proxy. To
62b58c09
L
458 enable SOCKS proxy, specify a proper scheme,
459 e.g. socks5://user:pass@127.0.0.1:1080/.
460 Pass in an empty string (--proxy "") for
461 direct connection
2dd5a2e3 462 --socket-timeout SECONDS Time to wait before giving up, in seconds
463 --source-address IP Client-side IP address to bind to
464 -4, --force-ipv4 Make all connections via IPv4
465 -6, --force-ipv6 Make all connections via IPv6
8300774c
M
466 --enable-file-urls Enable file:// URLs. This is disabled by
467 default for security reasons.
8c6c88c7 468
b31fdeed 469## Geo-restriction:
2dd5a2e3 470 --geo-verification-proxy URL Use this proxy to verify the IP address for
471 some geo-restricted sites. The default proxy
472 specified by --proxy (or none, if the option
473 is not present) is used for the actual
474 downloading
c1664464 475 --xff VALUE How to fake X-Forwarded-For HTTP header to
476 try bypassing geographic restriction. One of
c8bc203f 477 "default" (only when known to be useful),
478 "never", an IP block in CIDR notation, or a
479 two-letter ISO 3166-2 country code
149f05c7 480
cfcec693 481## Video Selection:
71df9b7f 482 -I, --playlist-items ITEM_SPEC Comma separated playlist_index of the items
7e88d7d7 483 to download. You can specify a range using
484 "[START]:[STOP][:STEP]". For backward
485 compatibility, START-STOP is also supported.
486 Use negative indices to count from the right
487 and negative STEP to download in reverse
62b58c09 488 order. E.g. "-I 1:3,7,-5::2" used on a
71df9b7f 489 playlist of size 15 will download the items
7e88d7d7 490 at index 1,2,3,7,11,13,15
71df9b7f 491 --min-filesize SIZE Abort download if filesize is smaller than
492 SIZE, e.g. 50k or 44.6M
493 --max-filesize SIZE Abort download if filesize is larger than
62b58c09 494 SIZE, e.g. 50k or 44.6M
2dd5a2e3 495 --date DATE Download only videos uploaded on this date.
496 The date can be "YYYYMMDD" or in the format
497 [now|today|yesterday][-N[day|week|month|year]].
29cb20bd
SS
498 E.g. "--date today-2weeks" downloads only
499 videos uploaded on the same day two weeks ago
2dd5a2e3 500 --datebefore DATE Download only videos uploaded on or before
501 this date. The date formats accepted is the
502 same as --date
503 --dateafter DATE Download only videos uploaded on or after
504 this date. The date formats accepted is the
505 same as --date
506 --match-filters FILTER Generic video filter. Any "OUTPUT TEMPLATE"
507 field can be compared with a number or a
508 string using the operators defined in
d4ada357 509 "Filtering Formats". You can also simply
2dd5a2e3 510 specify a field to match if the field is
511 present, use "!field" to check if the field
512 is not present, and "&" to check multiple
513 conditions. Use a "\" to escape "&" or
514 quotes if needed. If used multiple times,
515 the filter matches if atleast one of the
62b58c09 516 conditions are met. E.g. --match-filter
2dd5a2e3 517 !is_live --match-filter "like_count>?100 &
518 description~='(?i)\bcats \& dogs\b'" matches
519 only videos that are not live OR those that
520 have a like count more than 100 (or the like
521 field is not available) and also has a
522 description that contains the phrase "cats &
523 dogs" (caseless). Use "--match-filter -" to
524 interactively ask whether to download each
525 video
c8bc203f 526 --no-match-filters Do not use any --match-filter (default)
fe2ce85a 527 --break-match-filters FILTER Same as "--match-filters" but stops the
528 download process when a video is rejected
529 --no-break-match-filters Do not use any --break-match-filters (default)
2dd5a2e3 530 --no-playlist Download only the video, if the URL refers
531 to a video and a playlist
532 --yes-playlist Download the playlist, if the URL refers to
533 a video and a playlist
534 --age-limit YEARS Download only videos suitable for the given
535 age
536 --download-archive FILE Download only videos not listed in the
537 archive file. Record the IDs of all
538 downloaded videos in it
539 --no-download-archive Do not use archive file (default)
540 --max-downloads NUMBER Abort after downloading NUMBER files
541 --break-on-existing Stop the download process when encountering
542 a file that is in the archive
71df9b7f 543 --break-per-input Alters --max-downloads, --break-on-existing,
354d5fca 544 --break-match-filter, and autonumber to
545 reset per input URL
2dd5a2e3 546 --no-break-per-input --break-on-existing and similar options
547 terminates the entire download queue
548 --skip-playlist-after-errors N Number of allowed failures until the rest of
549 the playlist is skipped
6bcd846b 550
d5a62e4f 551## Download Options:
2dd5a2e3 552 -N, --concurrent-fragments N Number of fragments of a dash/hlsnative
553 video that should be downloaded concurrently
554 (default is 1)
62b58c09
L
555 -r, --limit-rate RATE Maximum download rate in bytes per second,
556 e.g. 50K or 4.2M
2dd5a2e3 557 --throttled-rate RATE Minimum download rate in bytes per second
558 below which throttling is assumed and the
62b58c09 559 video data is re-extracted, e.g. 100K
2dd5a2e3 560 -R, --retries RETRIES Number of retries (default is 10), or
561 "infinite"
562 --file-access-retries RETRIES Number of times to retry on file access
563 error (default is 3), or "infinite"
564 --fragment-retries RETRIES Number of retries for a fragment (default is
565 10), or "infinite" (DASH, hlsnative and ISM)
be5c1ae8 566 --retry-sleep [TYPE:]EXPR Time to sleep between retries in seconds
567 (optionally) prefixed by the type of retry
568 (http (default), fragment, file_access,
569 extractor) to apply the sleep to. EXPR can
570 be a number, linear=START[:END[:STEP=1]] or
571 exp=START[:END[:BASE=2]]. This option can be
572 used multiple times to set the sleep for the
62b58c09 573 different retry types, e.g. --retry-sleep
2dd5a2e3 574 linear=1::2 --retry-sleep fragment:exp=1:20
575 --skip-unavailable-fragments Skip unavailable fragments for DASH,
576 hlsnative and ISM downloads (default)
8e174ba7 577 (Alias: --no-abort-on-unavailable-fragments)
578 --abort-on-unavailable-fragments
2dd5a2e3 579 Abort download if a fragment is unavailable
580 (Alias: --no-skip-unavailable-fragments)
581 --keep-fragments Keep downloaded fragments on disk after
582 downloading is finished
583 --no-keep-fragments Delete downloaded fragments after
584 downloading is finished (default)
62b58c09 585 --buffer-size SIZE Size of download buffer, e.g. 1024 or 16K
2dd5a2e3 586 (default is 1024)
587 --resize-buffer The buffer size is automatically resized
588 from an initial value of --buffer-size
589 (default)
590 --no-resize-buffer Do not automatically adjust the buffer size
591 --http-chunk-size SIZE Size of a chunk for chunk-based HTTP
62b58c09 592 downloading, e.g. 10485760 or 10M (default
2dd5a2e3 593 is disabled). May be useful for bypassing
594 bandwidth throttling imposed by a webserver
595 (experimental)
2dd5a2e3 596 --playlist-random Download playlist videos in random order
7e9a6125 597 --lazy-playlist Process entries in the playlist as they are
598 received. This disables n_entries,
599 --playlist-random and --playlist-reverse
600 --no-lazy-playlist Process videos in the playlist only after
601 the entire playlist is parsed (default)
2dd5a2e3 602 --xattr-set-filesize Set file xattribute ytdl.filesize with
603 expected file size
604 --hls-use-mpegts Use the mpegts container for HLS videos;
605 allowing some players to play the video
606 while downloading, and reducing the chance
607 of file corruption if download is
608 interrupted. This is enabled by default for
609 live streams
610 --no-hls-use-mpegts Do not use the mpegts container for HLS
611 videos. This is default when not downloading
612 live streams
5ec1b6b7 613 --download-sections REGEX Download only chapters whose title matches
614 the given regular expression. Time ranges
615 prefixed by a "*" can also be used in place
616 of chapters to download the specified range.
62b58c09
L
617 Needs ffmpeg. This option can be used
618 multiple times to download multiple
619 sections, e.g. --download-sections
2fa669f7 620 "*10:15-inf" --download-sections "intro"
2dd5a2e3 621 --downloader [PROTO:]NAME Name or path of the external downloader to
622 use (optionally) prefixed by the protocols
623 (http, ftp, m3u8, dash, rstp, rtmp, mms) to
624 use it for. Currently supports native,
625 aria2c, avconv, axel, curl, ffmpeg, httpie,
626 wget. You can use this option multiple times
627 to set different downloaders for different
62b58c09 628 protocols. E.g. --downloader aria2c
2dd5a2e3 629 --downloader "dash,m3u8:native" will use
630 aria2c for http/ftp downloads, and the
631 native downloader for dash/m3u8 downloads
632 (Alias: --external-downloader)
633 --downloader-args NAME:ARGS Give these arguments to the external
634 downloader. Specify the downloader name and
635 the arguments separated by a colon ":". For
636 ffmpeg, arguments can be passed to different
637 positions using the same syntax as
638 --postprocessor-args. You can use this
639 option multiple times to give different
640 arguments to different downloaders (Alias:
641 --external-downloader-args)
d5a62e4f 642
cfcec693 643## Filesystem Options:
2dd5a2e3 644 -a, --batch-file FILE File containing URLs to download ("-" for
645 stdin), one URL per line. Lines starting
646 with "#", ";" or "]" are considered as
647 comments and ignored
648 --no-batch-file Do not read URLs from batch file (default)
649 -P, --paths [TYPES:]PATH The paths where the files should be
650 downloaded. Specify the type of file and the
651 path separated by a colon ":". All the same
652 TYPES as --output are supported.
653 Additionally, you can also provide "home"
654 (default) and "temp" paths. All intermediary
655 files are first downloaded to the temp path
656 and then the final files are moved over to
657 the home path after download is finished.
658 This option is ignored if --output is an
659 absolute path
660 -o, --output [TYPES:]TEMPLATE Output filename template; see "OUTPUT
661 TEMPLATE" for details
662 --output-na-placeholder TEXT Placeholder for unavailable fields in
663 "OUTPUT TEMPLATE" (default: "NA")
664 --restrict-filenames Restrict filenames to only ASCII characters,
665 and avoid "&" and spaces in filenames
666 --no-restrict-filenames Allow Unicode characters, "&" and spaces in
667 filenames (default)
668 --windows-filenames Force filenames to be Windows-compatible
669 --no-windows-filenames Make filenames Windows-compatible only if
670 using Windows (default)
671 --trim-filenames LENGTH Limit the filename length (excluding
672 extension) to the specified number of
673 characters
674 -w, --no-overwrites Do not overwrite any files
675 --force-overwrites Overwrite all video and metadata files. This
676 option includes --no-continue
677 --no-force-overwrites Do not overwrite the video, but overwrite
678 related files (default)
679 -c, --continue Resume partially downloaded files/fragments
680 (default)
681 --no-continue Do not resume partially downloaded
682 fragments. If the file is not fragmented,
683 restart download of the entire file
684 --part Use .part files instead of writing directly
685 into output file (default)
686 --no-part Do not use .part files - write directly into
687 output file
688 --mtime Use the Last-modified header to set the file
689 modification time (default)
690 --no-mtime Do not use the Last-modified header to set
691 the file modification time
64fa820c 692 --write-description Write video description to a .description file
2dd5a2e3 693 --no-write-description Do not write video description (default)
694 --write-info-json Write video metadata to a .info.json file
695 (this may contain personal information)
696 --no-write-info-json Do not write video metadata (default)
697 --write-playlist-metafiles Write playlist metadata in addition to the
698 video metadata when using --write-info-json,
699 --write-description etc. (default)
700 --no-write-playlist-metafiles Do not write playlist metadata when using
701 --write-info-json, --write-description etc.
ad54c913 702 --clean-info-json Remove some internal metadata such as
703 filenames from the infojson (default)
2dd5a2e3 704 --no-clean-info-json Write all fields to the infojson
705 --write-comments Retrieve video comments to be placed in the
706 infojson. The comments are fetched even
707 without this option if the extraction is
708 known to be quick (Alias: --get-comments)
709 --no-write-comments Do not retrieve video comments unless the
710 extraction is known to be quick (Alias:
711 --no-get-comments)
712 --load-info-json FILE JSON file containing the video information
64fa820c 713 (created with the "--write-info-json" option)
2dd5a2e3 714 --cookies FILE Netscape formatted file to read cookies from
715 and dump cookie jar in
716 --no-cookies Do not read/dump cookies from/to file
717 (default)
825d3ce3 718 --cookies-from-browser BROWSER[+KEYRING][:PROFILE][::CONTAINER]
719 The name of the browser to load cookies
720 from. Currently supported browsers are:
721 brave, chrome, chromium, edge, firefox,
722 opera, safari, vivaldi. Optionally, the
723 KEYRING used for decrypting Chromium cookies
724 on Linux, the name/path of the PROFILE to
725 load cookies from, and the CONTAINER name
726 (if Firefox) ("none" for no container) can
727 be given with their respective seperators.
728 By default, all containers of the most
729 recently accessed profile are used.
730 Currently supported keyrings are: basictext,
2e023649 731 gnomekeyring, kwallet, kwallet5, kwallet6
2dd5a2e3 732 --no-cookies-from-browser Do not load cookies from browser (default)
17ffed18 733 --cache-dir DIR Location in the filesystem where yt-dlp can
734 store some downloaded information (such as
735 client ids and signatures) permanently. By
878eac3e 736 default ${XDG_CACHE_HOME}/yt-dlp
2dd5a2e3 737 --no-cache-dir Disable filesystem caching
738 --rm-cache-dir Delete all filesystem cache files
6bcd846b 739
b31fdeed 740## Thumbnail Options:
2dd5a2e3 741 --write-thumbnail Write thumbnail image to disk
64fa820c 742 --no-write-thumbnail Do not write thumbnail image to disk (default)
2dd5a2e3 743 --write-all-thumbnails Write all thumbnail image formats to disk
744 --list-thumbnails List available thumbnails of each video.
745 Simulate unless --no-simulate is used
2b1bd292 746
732044af 747## Internet Shortcut Options:
2dd5a2e3 748 --write-link Write an internet shortcut file, depending
749 on the current platform (.url, .webloc or
750 .desktop). The URL may be cached by the OS
751 --write-url-link Write a .url Windows internet shortcut. The
752 OS caches the URL based on the file path
753 --write-webloc-link Write a .webloc macOS internet shortcut
754 --write-desktop-link Write a .desktop Linux internet shortcut
732044af 755
0744a815 756## Verbosity and Simulation Options:
2dd5a2e3 757 -q, --quiet Activate quiet mode. If used with --verbose,
758 print the log to stderr
d669772c 759 --no-quiet Deactivate quiet mode. (Default)
2dd5a2e3 760 --no-warnings Ignore warnings
761 -s, --simulate Do not download the video and do not write
762 anything to disk
763 --no-simulate Download the video even if printing/listing
764 options are used
765 --ignore-no-formats-error Ignore "No video formats" error. Useful for
766 extracting metadata even if the videos are
767 not actually available for download
768 (experimental)
769 --no-ignore-no-formats-error Throw error when no downloadable video
770 formats are found (default)
771 --skip-download Do not download the video but write all
772 related files (Alias: --no-download)
773 -O, --print [WHEN:]TEMPLATE Field name or output template to print to
774 screen, optionally prefixed with when to
775 print it, separated by a ":". Supported
776 values of "WHEN" are the same as that of
119e40ef 777 --use-postprocessor (default: video).
2dd5a2e3 778 Implies --quiet. Implies --simulate unless
779 --no-simulate or later stages of WHEN are
780 used. This option can be used multiple times
bb66c247 781 --print-to-file [WHEN:]TEMPLATE FILE
2dd5a2e3 782 Append given template to the file. The
783 values of WHEN and TEMPLATE are same as that
784 of --print. FILE uses the same syntax as the
785 output template. This option can be used
786 multiple times
787 -j, --dump-json Quiet, but print JSON information for each
788 video. Simulate unless --no-simulate is
789 used. See "OUTPUT TEMPLATE" for a
790 description of available keys
791 -J, --dump-single-json Quiet, but print JSON information for each
792 url or infojson passed. Simulate unless
793 --no-simulate is used. If the URL refers to
794 a playlist, the whole playlist information
795 is dumped in a single line
796 --force-write-archive Force download archive entries to be written
797 as far as no errors occur, even if -s or
798 another simulation option is used (Alias:
799 --force-download-archive)
800 --newline Output progress bar as new lines
801 --no-progress Do not print progress bar
802 --progress Show progress bar, even if in quiet mode
803 --console-title Display progress in console titlebar
819e0531 804 --progress-template [TYPES:]TEMPLATE
2dd5a2e3 805 Template for progress outputs, optionally
806 prefixed with one of "download:" (default),
807 "download-title:" (the console title),
808 "postprocess:", or "postprocess-title:".
809 The video's fields are accessible under the
810 "info" key and the progress attributes are
62b58c09 811 accessible under "progress" key. E.g.
2dd5a2e3 812 --console-title --progress-template
813 "download-title:%(info.id)s-%(progress.eta)s"
814 -v, --verbose Print various debugging information
815 --dump-pages Print downloaded pages encoded using base64
816 to debug problems (very verbose)
817 --write-pages Write downloaded intermediary pages to files
818 in the current directory to debug problems
819 --print-traffic Display sent and read HTTP traffic
6bcd846b 820
36f35428 821## Workarounds:
2dd5a2e3 822 --encoding ENCODING Force the specified encoding (experimental)
823 --legacy-server-connect Explicitly allow HTTPS connection to servers
824 that do not support RFC 5746 secure
825 renegotiation
826 --no-check-certificates Suppress HTTPS certificate validation
827 --prefer-insecure Use an unencrypted connection to retrieve
828 information about the video (Currently
829 supported only for YouTube)
a5387729 830 --add-headers FIELD:VALUE Specify a custom HTTP header and its value,
2dd5a2e3 831 separated by a colon ":". You can use this
832 option multiple times
833 --bidi-workaround Work around terminals that lack
834 bidirectional text support. Requires bidiv
835 or fribidi executable in PATH
836 --sleep-requests SECONDS Number of seconds to sleep between requests
837 during data extraction
838 --sleep-interval SECONDS Number of seconds to sleep before each
839 download. This is the minimum time to sleep
840 when used along with --max-sleep-interval
841 (Alias: --min-sleep-interval)
842 --max-sleep-interval SECONDS Maximum number of seconds to sleep. Can only
843 be used along with --min-sleep-interval
844 --sleep-subtitles SECONDS Number of seconds to sleep before each
845 subtitle download
36f35428 846
cfcec693 847## Video Format Options:
2dd5a2e3 848 -f, --format FORMAT Video format code, see "FORMAT SELECTION"
849 for more details
850 -S, --format-sort SORTORDER Sort the formats by the fields given, see
851 "Sorting Formats" for more details
852 --format-sort-force Force user specified sort order to have
853 precedence over all fields, see "Sorting
854 Formats" for more details (Alias: --S-force)
855 --no-format-sort-force Some fields have precedence over the user
856 specified sort order (default)
857 --video-multistreams Allow multiple video streams to be merged
858 into a single file
859 --no-video-multistreams Only one video stream is downloaded for each
860 output file (default)
861 --audio-multistreams Allow multiple audio streams to be merged
862 into a single file
863 --no-audio-multistreams Only one audio stream is downloaded for each
864 output file (default)
865 --prefer-free-formats Prefer video formats with free containers
866 over non-free ones of same quality. Use with
867 "-S ext" to strictly prefer free containers
868 irrespective of quality
869 --no-prefer-free-formats Don't give any special preference to free
870 containers (default)
871 --check-formats Make sure formats are selected only from
872 those that are actually downloadable
873 --check-all-formats Check all formats for whether they are
874 actually downloadable
875 --no-check-formats Do not check that the formats are actually
876 downloadable
877 -F, --list-formats List available formats of each video.
878 Simulate unless --no-simulate is used
fc61aff4 879 --merge-output-format FORMAT Containers that may be used when merging
62b58c09 880 formats, separated by "/", e.g. "mp4/mkv".
fc61aff4
LL
881 Ignored if no merge is required. (currently
882 supported: avi, flv, mkv, mov, mp4, webm)
8ae7be3e
PH
883
884## Subtitle Options:
2dd5a2e3 885 --write-subs Write subtitle file
886 --no-write-subs Do not write subtitle file (default)
887 --write-auto-subs Write automatically generated subtitle file
888 (Alias: --write-automatic-subs)
889 --no-write-auto-subs Do not write auto-generated subtitles
890 (default) (Alias: --no-write-automatic-subs)
891 --list-subs List available subtitles of each video.
892 Simulate unless --no-simulate is used
893 --sub-format FORMAT Subtitle format; accepts formats preference,
62b58c09 894 e.g. "srt" or "ass/srt/best"
2dd5a2e3 895 --sub-langs LANGS Languages of the subtitles to download (can
62b58c09
L
896 be regex) or "all" separated by commas, e.g.
897 --sub-langs "en.*,ja". You can prefix the
2dd5a2e3 898 language code with a "-" to exclude it from
62b58c09
L
899 the requested languages, e.g. --sub-langs
900 all,-live_chat. Use --list-subs for a list
2dd5a2e3 901 of available language tags
6bcd846b 902
cfcec693 903## Authentication Options:
2dd5a2e3 904 -u, --username USERNAME Login with this account ID
905 -p, --password PASSWORD Account password. If this option is left
906 out, yt-dlp will ask interactively
907 -2, --twofactor TWOFACTOR Two-factor authentication code
908 -n, --netrc Use .netrc authentication data
909 --netrc-location PATH Location of .netrc authentication data;
910 either the path or its containing directory.
911 Defaults to ~/.netrc
db3ad8a6 912 --netrc-cmd NETRC_CMD Command to execute to get the credentials
d1b21561 913 for an extractor.
2dd5a2e3 914 --video-password PASSWORD Video password (vimeo, youku)
915 --ap-mso MSO Adobe Pass multiple-system operator (TV
916 provider) identifier, use --ap-list-mso for
917 a list of available MSOs
918 --ap-username USERNAME Multiple-system operator account login
919 --ap-password PASSWORD Multiple-system operator account password.
920 If this option is left out, yt-dlp will ask
921 interactively
922 --ap-list-mso List all supported multiple-system operators
923 --client-certificate CERTFILE Path to client certificate file in PEM
924 format. May include the private key
925 --client-certificate-key KEYFILE
926 Path to private key file for client
927 certificate
bb58c9ed 928 --client-certificate-password PASSWORD
2dd5a2e3 929 Password for client certificate private key,
930 if encrypted. If not provided, and the key
931 is encrypted, yt-dlp will ask interactively
f5e008d1 932
c76eb41b 933## Post-Processing Options:
2dd5a2e3 934 -x, --extract-audio Convert video files to audio-only files
935 (requires ffmpeg and ffprobe)
35faefee 936 --audio-format FORMAT Format to convert the audio to when -x is
937 used. (currently supported: best (default),
8dc59305 938 aac, alac, flac, m4a, mp3, opus, vorbis,
e0ab9854 939 wav). You can specify multiple rules using
940 similar syntax as --remux-video
2dd5a2e3 941 --audio-quality QUALITY Specify ffmpeg audio quality to use when
942 converting the audio with -x. Insert a value
943 between 0 (best) and 10 (worst) for VBR or a
944 specific bitrate like 128K (default 5)
945 --remux-video FORMAT Remux the video into another container if
8dc59305 946 necessary (currently supported: avi, flv,
69f5fe45 947 gif, mkv, mov, mp4, webm, aac, aiff, alac,
948 flac, m4a, mka, mp3, ogg, opus, vorbis,
949 wav). If target container does not support
950 the video/audio codec, remuxing will fail.
951 You can specify multiple rules; e.g.
2dd5a2e3 952 "aac>m4a/mov>mp4/mkv" will remux aac to m4a,
35faefee 953 mov to mp4 and anything else to mkv
2dd5a2e3 954 --recode-video FORMAT Re-encode the video into another format if
955 necessary. The syntax and supported formats
956 are the same as --remux-video
957 --postprocessor-args NAME:ARGS Give these arguments to the postprocessors.
958 Specify the postprocessor/executable name
959 and the arguments separated by a colon ":"
960 to give the argument to the specified
961 postprocessor/executable. Supported PP are:
962 Merger, ModifyChapters, SplitChapters,
963 ExtractAudio, VideoRemuxer, VideoConvertor,
964 Metadata, EmbedSubtitle, EmbedThumbnail,
965 SubtitlesConvertor, ThumbnailsConvertor,
966 FixupStretched, FixupM4a, FixupM3u8,
967 FixupTimestamp and FixupDuration. The
968 supported executables are: AtomicParsley,
969 FFmpeg and FFprobe. You can also specify
970 "PP+EXE:ARGS" to give the arguments to the
971 specified executable only when being used by
972 the specified postprocessor. Additionally,
973 for ffmpeg/ffprobe, "_i"/"_o" can be
974 appended to the prefix optionally followed
975 by a number to pass the argument before the
62b58c09 976 specified input/output file, e.g. --ppa
2dd5a2e3 977 "Merger+ffmpeg_i1:-v quiet". You can use
978 this option multiple times to give different
979 arguments to different postprocessors.
980 (Alias: --ppa)
981 -k, --keep-video Keep the intermediate video file on disk
982 after post-processing
983 --no-keep-video Delete the intermediate video file after
984 post-processing (default)
985 --post-overwrites Overwrite post-processed files (default)
986 --no-post-overwrites Do not overwrite post-processed files
987 --embed-subs Embed subtitles in the video (only for mp4,
988 webm and mkv videos)
989 --no-embed-subs Do not embed subtitles (default)
990 --embed-thumbnail Embed thumbnail in the video as cover art
991 --no-embed-thumbnail Do not embed thumbnail (default)
992 --embed-metadata Embed metadata to the video file. Also
993 embeds chapters/infojson if present unless
994 --no-embed-chapters/--no-embed-info-json are
995 used (Alias: --add-metadata)
996 --no-embed-metadata Do not add metadata to file (default)
997 (Alias: --no-add-metadata)
998 --embed-chapters Add chapter markers to the video file
999 (Alias: --add-chapters)
1000 --no-embed-chapters Do not add chapter markers (default) (Alias:
1001 --no-add-chapters)
1002 --embed-info-json Embed the infojson as an attachment to
1003 mkv/mka video files
1004 --no-embed-info-json Do not embed the infojson as an attachment
1005 to the video file
fe74d5b5 1006 --parse-metadata [WHEN:]FROM:TO
1007 Parse additional metadata like title/artist
2dd5a2e3 1008 from other fields; see "MODIFYING METADATA"
fe74d5b5 1009 for details. Supported values of "WHEN" are
1010 the same as that of --use-postprocessor
1011 (default: pre_process)
1012 --replace-in-metadata [WHEN:]FIELDS REGEX REPLACE
2dd5a2e3 1013 Replace text in a metadata field using the
1014 given regex. This option can be used
fe74d5b5 1015 multiple times. Supported values of "WHEN"
1016 are the same as that of --use-postprocessor
1017 (default: pre_process)
2dd5a2e3 1018 --xattrs Write metadata to the video file's xattrs
1019 (using dublin core and xdg standards)
1020 --concat-playlist POLICY Concatenate videos in a playlist. One of
1021 "never", "always", or "multi_video"
1022 (default; only when the videos form a single
1023 show). All the video files must have same
1024 codecs and number of streams to be
1025 concatable. The "pl_video:" prefix can be
1026 used with "--paths" and "--output" to set
1027 the output filename for the concatenated
1028 files. See "OUTPUT TEMPLATE" for details
1029 --fixup POLICY Automatically correct known faults of the
1030 file. One of never (do nothing), warn (only
1031 emit a warning), detect_or_warn (the
1032 default; fix file if we can, warn
1033 otherwise), force (try fixing even if file
1034 already exists)
1035 --ffmpeg-location PATH Location of the ffmpeg binary; either the
64fa820c 1036 path to the binary or its containing directory
2dd5a2e3 1037 --exec [WHEN:]CMD Execute a command, optionally prefixed with
119e40ef 1038 when to execute it, separated by a ":".
1039 Supported values of "WHEN" are the same as
1040 that of --use-postprocessor (default:
1041 after_move). Same syntax as the output
1042 template can be used to pass any field as
ad54c913 1043 arguments to the command. If no fields are
1044 passed, %(filepath,_filename|)q is appended
1045 to the end of the command. This option can
1046 be used multiple times
2dd5a2e3 1047 --no-exec Remove any previously defined --exec
1048 --convert-subs FORMAT Convert the subtitles to another format
8dc59305 1049 (currently supported: ass, lrc, srt, vtt)
2dd5a2e3 1050 (Alias: --convert-subtitles)
1051 --convert-thumbnails FORMAT Convert the thumbnails to another format
00bbc5f1 1052 (currently supported: jpg, png, webp). You
1053 can specify multiple rules using similar
1054 syntax as --remux-video
2dd5a2e3 1055 --split-chapters Split video into multiple files based on
1056 internal chapters. The "chapter:" prefix can
1057 be used with "--paths" and "--output" to set
1058 the output filename for the split files. See
1059 "OUTPUT TEMPLATE" for details
64fa820c 1060 --no-split-chapters Do not split video based on chapters (default)
2dd5a2e3 1061 --remove-chapters REGEX Remove chapters whose title matches the
5ec1b6b7 1062 given regular expression. The syntax is the
1063 same as --download-sections. This option can
2dd5a2e3 1064 be used multiple times
1065 --no-remove-chapters Do not remove any chapters from the file
1066 (default)
5ec1b6b7 1067 --force-keyframes-at-cuts Force keyframes at cuts when
1068 downloading/splitting/removing sections.
1069 This is slow due to needing a re-encode, but
1070 the resulting video may have fewer artifacts
1071 around the cuts
2dd5a2e3 1072 --no-force-keyframes-at-cuts Do not force keyframes around the chapters
1073 when cutting/splitting (default)
1074 --use-postprocessor NAME[:ARGS]
1075 The (case sensitive) name of plugin
1076 postprocessors to be enabled, and
1077 (optionally) arguments to be passed to it,
1078 separated by a colon ":". ARGS are a
1079 semicolon ";" delimited list of NAME=VALUE.
1080 The "when" argument determines when the
1081 postprocessor is invoked. It can be one of
1082 "pre_process" (after video extraction),
1083 "after_filter" (after video passes filter),
119e40ef 1084 "video" (after --format; before
1085 --print/--output), "before_dl" (before each
1086 video download), "post_process" (after each
1087 video download; default), "after_move"
1088 (after moving video file to it's final
1089 locations), "after_video" (after downloading
1090 and processing all formats of a video), or
1091 "playlist" (at end of playlist). This option
1092 can be used multiple times to add different
1093 postprocessors
7a340e0d
NA
1094
1095## SponsorBlock Options:
1096Make chapter entries for, or remove various segments (sponsor,
1097 introductions, etc.) from downloaded YouTube videos using the
8a51f564 1098 [SponsorBlock API](https://sponsor.ajay.app)
1099
2dd5a2e3 1100 --sponsorblock-mark CATS SponsorBlock categories to create chapters
1101 for, separated by commas. Available
1102 categories are sponsor, intro, outro,
1103 selfpromo, preview, filler, interaction,
71df9b7f 1104 music_offtopic, poi_highlight, chapter, all
1105 and default (=all). You can prefix the
1106 category with a "-" to exclude it. See [1]
1107 for description of the categories. E.g.
2dd5a2e3 1108 --sponsorblock-mark all,-preview
1109 [1] https://wiki.sponsor.ajay.app/w/Segment_Categories
1110 --sponsorblock-remove CATS SponsorBlock categories to be removed from
1111 the video file, separated by commas. If a
1112 category is present in both mark and remove,
1113 remove takes precedence. The syntax and
1114 available categories are the same as for
1115 --sponsorblock-mark except that "default"
71df9b7f 1116 refers to "all,-filler" and poi_highlight,
63c547d7 1117 chapter are not available
7a340e0d 1118 --sponsorblock-chapter-title TEMPLATE
2dd5a2e3 1119 An output template for the title of the
1120 SponsorBlock chapters created by
1121 --sponsorblock-mark. The only available
1122 fields are start_time, end_time, category,
1123 categories, name, category_names. Defaults
1124 to "[SponsorBlock]: %(category_names)l"
1125 --no-sponsorblock Disable both --sponsorblock-mark and
1126 --sponsorblock-remove
1127 --sponsorblock-api URL SponsorBlock API location, defaults to
1128 https://sponsor.ajay.app
a9e7f546 1129
78895bd3 1130## Extractor Options:
2dd5a2e3 1131 --extractor-retries RETRIES Number of retries for known extractor errors
1132 (default is 3), or "infinite"
1133 --allow-dynamic-mpd Process dynamic DASH manifests (default)
1134 (Alias: --no-ignore-dynamic-mpd)
1135 --ignore-dynamic-mpd Do not process dynamic DASH manifests
1136 (Alias: --no-allow-dynamic-mpd)
1137 --hls-split-discontinuity Split HLS playlists to different formats at
1138 discontinuities such as ad breaks
1139 --no-hls-split-discontinuity Do not split HLS playlists to different
1140 formats at discontinuities such as ad breaks
1141 (default)
2fa669f7 1142 --extractor-args IE_KEY:ARGS Pass ARGS arguments to the IE_KEY extractor.
1143 See "EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS" for details. You
1144 can use this option multiple times to give
2dd5a2e3 1145 arguments for different extractors
17cb02d0 1146
b7770046
U
1147# CONFIGURATION
1148
7a5c1cfe 1149You can configure yt-dlp by placing any supported command line option to a configuration file. The configuration is loaded from the following locations:
e2e43aea 1150
878eac3e 11511. **Main Configuration**:
1152 * The file given by `--config-location`
11531. **Portable Configuration**: (Recommended for portable installations)
1154 * If using a binary, `yt-dlp.conf` in the same directory as the binary
1155 * If running from source-code, `yt-dlp.conf` in the parent directory of `yt_dlp`
11561. **Home Configuration**:
1157 * `yt-dlp.conf` in the home path given by `-P`
1158 * If `-P` is not given, the current directory is searched
e2e43aea 11591. **User Configuration**:
773c272d 1160 * `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp.conf`
878eac3e 1161 * `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp/config` (recommended on Linux/macOS)
8e40b9d1 1162 * `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp/config.txt`
773c272d 1163 * `${APPDATA}/yt-dlp.conf`
878eac3e 1164 * `${APPDATA}/yt-dlp/config` (recommended on Windows)
1165 * `${APPDATA}/yt-dlp/config.txt`
e2e43aea 1166 * `~/yt-dlp.conf`
1167 * `~/yt-dlp.conf.txt`
8e40b9d1
M
1168 * `~/.yt-dlp/config`
1169 * `~/.yt-dlp/config.txt`
3d3bb168 1170
878eac3e 1171 See also: [Notes about environment variables](#notes-about-environment-variables)
11721. **System Configuration**:
1173 * `/etc/yt-dlp.conf`
8e40b9d1
M
1174 * `/etc/yt-dlp/config`
1175 * `/etc/yt-dlp/config.txt`
b7770046 1176
62b58c09 1177E.g. with the following configuration file yt-dlp will always extract the audio, not copy the mtime, use a proxy and save all videos under `YouTube` directory in your home directory:
b7770046
U
1178```
1179# Lines starting with # are comments
1180
1181# Always extract audio
1182-x
1183
1184# Do not copy the mtime
1185--no-mtime
1186
1187# Use this proxy
1188--proxy 127.0.0.1:3128
1189
298f597b 1190# Save all videos under YouTube directory in your home directory
1191-o ~/YouTube/%(title)s.%(ext)s
b7770046
U
1192```
1193
8e174ba7 1194**Note**: Options in configuration file are just the same options aka switches used in regular command line calls; thus there **must be no whitespace** after `-` or `--`, e.g. `-o` or `--proxy` but not `- o` or `-- proxy`. They must also be quoted when necessary as-if it were a UNIX shell.
b7770046 1195
a4211baf 1196You can use `--ignore-config` if you want to disable all configuration files for a particular yt-dlp run. If `--ignore-config` is found inside any configuration file, no further configuration will be loaded. For example, having the option in the portable configuration file prevents loading of home, user, and system configurations. Additionally, (for backward compatibility) if `--ignore-config` is found inside the system configuration file, the user configuration is not loaded.
b7770046 1197
304ad45a 1198### Configuration file encoding
a904a7f8 1199
304ad45a 1200The configuration files are decoded according to the UTF BOM if present, and in the encoding from system locale otherwise.
a904a7f8 1201
88f60feb 1202If you want your file to be decoded differently, add `# coding: ENCODING` to the beginning of the file (e.g. `# coding: shift-jis`). There must be no characters before that, even spaces or BOM.
a904a7f8 1203
db3ad8a6 1204### Authentication with netrc
b7770046 1205
304ad45a 1206You may also want to configure automatic credentials storage for extractors that support authentication (by providing login and password with `--username` and `--password`) in order not to pass credentials as command line arguments on every yt-dlp execution and prevent tracking plain text passwords in the shell command history. You can achieve this using a [`.netrc` file](https://stackoverflow.com/tags/.netrc/info) on a per-extractor basis. For that you will need to create a `.netrc` file in `--netrc-location` and restrict permissions to read/write by only you:
b7770046 1207```
878eac3e 1208touch ${HOME}/.netrc
1209chmod a-rwx,u+rw ${HOME}/.netrc
b7770046
U
1210```
1211After that you can add credentials for an extractor in the following format, where *extractor* is the name of the extractor in lowercase:
1212```
0001fcb5 1213machine <extractor> login <username> password <password>
b7770046 1214```
62b58c09 1215E.g.
b7770046
U
1216```
1217machine youtube login myaccount@gmail.com password my_youtube_password
1218machine twitch login my_twitch_account_name password my_twitch_password
1219```
7a5c1cfe 1220To activate authentication with the `.netrc` file you should pass `--netrc` to yt-dlp or place it in the [configuration file](#configuration).
b7770046 1221
878eac3e 1222The default location of the .netrc file is `~` (see below).
1223
d7cd97e8 1224As an alternative to using the `.netrc` file, which has the disadvantage of keeping your passwords in a plain text file, you can configure a custom shell command to provide the credentials for an extractor. This is done by providing the `--netrc-cmd` parameter, it shall output the credentials in the netrc format and return `0` on success, other values will be treated as an error. `{}` in the command will be replaced by the name of the extractor to make it possible to select the credentials for the right extractor.
db3ad8a6
ND
1225
1226E.g. To use an encrypted `.netrc` file stored as `.authinfo.gpg`
1227```
1228yt-dlp --netrc-cmd 'gpg --decrypt ~/.authinfo.gpg' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc
1229```
1230
1231
878eac3e 1232### Notes about environment variables
1233* Environment variables are normally specified as `${VARIABLE}`/`$VARIABLE` on UNIX and `%VARIABLE%` on Windows; but is always shown as `${VARIABLE}` in this documentation
1234* yt-dlp also allow using UNIX-style variables on Windows for path-like options; e.g. `--output`, `--config-location`
1235* If unset, `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}` defaults to `~/.config` and `${XDG_CACHE_HOME}` to `~/.cache`
1236* On Windows, `~` points to `${HOME}` if present; or, `${USERPROFILE}` or `${HOMEDRIVE}${HOMEPATH}` otherwise
1237* On Windows, `${USERPROFILE}` generally points to `C:\Users\<user name>` and `${APPDATA}` to `${USERPROFILE}\AppData\Roaming`
b7770046
U
1238
1239# OUTPUT TEMPLATE
1240
0202b52a 1241The `-o` option is used to indicate a template for the output file names while `-P` option is used to specify the path each type of file should be saved to.
b7770046 1242
ec2e44fc 1243<!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
b7770046 1244**tl;dr:** [navigate me to examples](#output-template-examples).
ec2e44fc 1245<!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
b7770046 1246
e58c22a0 1247The 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 1248
62b58c09 1249It may however also contain special sequences that will be replaced when downloading each video. The special sequences may be formatted according to [Python string formatting operations](https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#printf-style-string-formatting), e.g. `%(NAME)s` or `%(NAME)05d`. To clarify, that is a percent symbol followed by a name in parentheses, followed by formatting operations.
a439a3a4 1250
1251The field names themselves (the part inside the parenthesis) can also have some special formatting:
3d3bb168 1252
07a1250e 12531. **Object traversal**: The dictionaries and lists available in metadata can be traversed by using a dot `.` separator; e.g. `%(tags.0)s`, `%(subtitles.en.-1.ext)s`. You can do Python slicing with colon `:`; E.g. `%(id.3:7:-1)s`, `%(formats.:.format_id)s`. Curly braces `{}` can be used to build dictionaries with only specific keys; e.g. `%(formats.:.{format_id,height})#j`. An empty field name `%()s` refers to the entire infodict; e.g. `%(.{id,title})s`. Note that all the fields that become available using this method are not listed below. Use `-j` to see such fields
ec2e44fc 1254
62b58c09 12551. **Addition**: Addition and subtraction of numeric fields can be done using `+` and `-` respectively. E.g. `%(playlist_index+10)03d`, `%(n_entries+1-playlist_index)d`
ec2e44fc 1256
62b58c09 12571. **Date/time Formatting**: Date/time fields can be formatted according to [strftime formatting](https://docs.python.org/3/library/datetime.html#strftime-and-strptime-format-codes) by specifying it separated from the field name using a `>`. E.g. `%(duration>%H-%M-%S)s`, `%(upload_date>%Y-%m-%d)s`, `%(epoch-3600>%H-%M-%S)s`
ec2e44fc 1258
62b58c09 12591. **Alternatives**: Alternate fields can be specified separated with a `,`. E.g. `%(release_date>%Y,upload_date>%Y|Unknown)s`
ec2e44fc 1260
ec9311c4 12611. **Replacement**: A replacement value can be specified using a `&` separator according to the [`str.format` mini-language](https://docs.python.org/3/library/string.html#format-specification-mini-language). If the field is *not* empty, this replacement value will be used instead of the actual field content. This is done after alternate fields are considered; thus the replacement is used if *any* of the alternative fields is *not* empty. E.g. `%(chapters&has chapters|no chapters)s`, `%(title&TITLE={:>20}|NO TITLE)s`
e978789f 1262
17ffed18 12631. **Default**: A literal default value can be specified for when the field is empty using a `|` separator. This overrides `--output-na-placeholder`. E.g. `%(uploader|Unknown)s`
ec2e44fc 1264
9b9dad11 12651. **More Conversions**: In addition to the normal format types `diouxXeEfFgGcrs`, yt-dlp additionally supports converting to `B` = **B**ytes, `j` = **j**son (flag `#` for pretty-printing, `+` for Unicode), `h` = HTML escaping, `l` = a comma separated **l**ist (flag `#` for `\n` newline-separated), `q` = a string **q**uoted for the terminal (flag `#` to split a list into different arguments), `D` = add **D**ecimal suffixes (e.g. 10M) (flag `#` to use 1024 as factor), and `S` = **S**anitize as filename (flag `#` for restricted)
ec2e44fc 1266
d5d1df8a 12671. **Unicode normalization**: The format type `U` can be used for NFC [Unicode normalization](https://docs.python.org/3/library/unicodedata.html#unicodedata.normalize). The alternate form flag (`#`) changes the normalization to NFD and the conversion flag `+` can be used for NFKC/NFKD compatibility equivalence normalization. E.g. `%(title)+.100U` is NFKC
a439a3a4 1268
1269To summarize, the general syntax for a field is:
1270```
e978789f 1271%(name[.keys][addition][>strf][,alternate][&replacement][|default])[flags][width][.precision][length]type
a439a3a4 1272```
de6000d9 1273
62b58c09 1274Additionally, you can set different output templates for the various metadata files separately from the general output template by specifying the type of file followed by the template separated by a colon `:`. The different file types supported are `subtitle`, `thumbnail`, `description`, `annotation` (deprecated), `infojson`, `link`, `pl_thumbnail`, `pl_description`, `pl_infojson`, `chapter`, `pl_video`. E.g. `-o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" -o "thumbnail:%(title)s\%(title)s.%(ext)s"` will put the thumbnails in a folder with the same name as the video. If any of the templates is empty, that type of file will not be written. E.g. `--write-thumbnail -o "thumbnail:"` will write thumbnails only for playlists and not for video.
e29663c6 1275
4815bbfc 1276<a id="outtmpl-postprocess-note"/>
7aaf4cd2 1277
8e174ba7 1278**Note**: Due to post-processing (i.e. merging etc.), the actual output filename might differ. Use `--print after_move:filepath` to get the name after all post-processing is complete.
7aaf4cd2 1279
e29663c6 1280The available fields are:
b7770046
U
1281
1282 - `id` (string): Video identifier
1283 - `title` (string): Video title
455a15e2 1284 - `fulltitle` (string): Video title ignoring live timestamp and generic title
b7770046
U
1285 - `ext` (string): Video filename extension
1286 - `alt_title` (string): A secondary title of the video
597c1866 1287 - `description` (string): The description of the video
b7770046
U
1288 - `display_id` (string): An alternative identifier for the video
1289 - `uploader` (string): Full name of the video uploader
1290 - `license` (string): License name the video is licensed under
1291 - `creator` (string): The creator of the video
b7770046 1292 - `timestamp` (numeric): UNIX timestamp of the moment the video became available
ae6a1b95 1293 - `upload_date` (string): Video upload date in UTC (YYYYMMDD)
e6f21b3d 1294 - `release_timestamp` (numeric): UNIX timestamp of the moment the video was released
ae6a1b95 1295 - `release_date` (string): The date (YYYYMMDD) when the video was released in UTC
f0d785d3 1296 - `modified_timestamp` (numeric): UNIX timestamp of the moment the video was last modified
ae6a1b95 1297 - `modified_date` (string): The date (YYYYMMDD) when the video was last modified in UTC
b7770046
U
1298 - `uploader_id` (string): Nickname or id of the video uploader
1299 - `channel` (string): Full name of the channel the video is uploaded on
1300 - `channel_id` (string): Id of the channel
6c73052c 1301 - `channel_follower_count` (numeric): Number of followers of the channel
8213ce28 1302 - `channel_is_verified` (boolean): Whether the channel is verified on the platform
b7770046
U
1303 - `location` (string): Physical location where the video was filmed
1304 - `duration` (numeric): Length of the video in seconds
53c18592 1305 - `duration_string` (string): Length of the video (HH:mm:ss)
b7770046 1306 - `view_count` (numeric): How many users have watched the video on the platform
867c66ff 1307 - `concurrent_view_count` (numeric): How many users are currently watching the video on the platform.
b7770046
U
1308 - `like_count` (numeric): Number of positive ratings of the video
1309 - `dislike_count` (numeric): Number of negative ratings of the video
1310 - `repost_count` (numeric): Number of reposts of the video
1311 - `average_rating` (numeric): Average rating give by users, the scale used depends on the webpage
277d6ff5 1312 - `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 1313 - `age_limit` (numeric): Age restriction for the video (years)
e325a21a 1314 - `live_status` (string): One of "not_live", "is_live", "is_upcoming", "was_live", "post_live" (was live, but VOD is not yet processed)
b7770046 1315 - `is_live` (boolean): Whether this video is a live stream or a fixed-length video
f76ede8e 1316 - `was_live` (boolean): Whether this video was originally a live stream
6cfda058 1317 - `playable_in_embed` (string): Whether this video is allowed to play in embedded players on other sites
940a67a3 1318 - `availability` (string): Whether the video is "private", "premium_only", "subscriber_only", "needs_auth", "unlisted" or "public"
b7770046
U
1319 - `start_time` (numeric): Time in seconds where the reproduction should start, as specified in the URL
1320 - `end_time` (numeric): Time in seconds where the reproduction should end, as specified in the URL
b7770046
U
1321 - `extractor` (string): Name of the extractor
1322 - `extractor_key` (string): Key name of the extractor
455a15e2 1323 - `epoch` (numeric): Unix epoch of when the information extraction was completed
b7770046 1324 - `autonumber` (numeric): Number that will be increased with each download, starting at `--autonumber-start`
9c906919 1325 - `video_autonumber` (numeric): Number that will be increased with each video
e6f21b3d 1326 - `n_entries` (numeric): Total number of extracted items in the playlist
455a15e2 1327 - `playlist_id` (string): Identifier of the playlist that contains the video
1328 - `playlist_title` (string): Name of the playlist that contains the video
1329 - `playlist` (string): `playlist_id` or `playlist_title`
f0d785d3 1330 - `playlist_count` (numeric): Total number of items in the playlist. May not be known if entire playlist is not extracted
e6f21b3d 1331 - `playlist_index` (numeric): Index of the video in the playlist padded with leading zeros according the final index
1332 - `playlist_autonumber` (numeric): Position of the video in the playlist download queue padded with leading zeros according to the total length of the playlist
b7770046
U
1333 - `playlist_uploader` (string): Full name of the playlist uploader
1334 - `playlist_uploader_id` (string): Nickname or id of the playlist uploader
bd99f6e6 1335 - `webpage_url` (string): A URL to the video webpage which if given to yt-dlp should allow to get the same result again
0bb322b9 1336 - `webpage_url_basename` (string): The basename of the webpage URL
1337 - `webpage_url_domain` (string): The domain of the webpage URL
bd99f6e6 1338 - `original_url` (string): The URL given by the user (or same as `webpage_url` for playlist entries)
d2c8aadf 1339
1340All the fields in [Filtering Formats](#filtering-formats) can also be used
b7770046
U
1341
1342Available for the video that belongs to some logical chapter or section:
1343
1344 - `chapter` (string): Name or title of the chapter the video belongs to
1345 - `chapter_number` (numeric): Number of the chapter the video belongs to
1346 - `chapter_id` (string): Id of the chapter the video belongs to
1347
1348Available for the video that is an episode of some series or programme:
1349
1350 - `series` (string): Title of the series or programme the video episode belongs to
1351 - `season` (string): Title of the season the video episode belongs to
1352 - `season_number` (numeric): Number of the season the video episode belongs to
1353 - `season_id` (string): Id of the season the video episode belongs to
1354 - `episode` (string): Title of the video episode
1355 - `episode_number` (numeric): Number of the video episode within a season
1356 - `episode_id` (string): Id of the video episode
1357
1358Available for the media that is a track or a part of a music album:
1359
1360 - `track` (string): Title of the track
1361 - `track_number` (numeric): Number of the track within an album or a disc
1362 - `track_id` (string): Id of the track
1363 - `artist` (string): Artist(s) of the track
1364 - `genre` (string): Genre(s) of the track
1365 - `album` (string): Title of the album the track belongs to
1366 - `album_type` (string): Type of the album
1367 - `album_artist` (string): List of all artists appeared on the album
1368 - `disc_number` (numeric): Number of the disc or other physical medium the track belongs to
1369 - `release_year` (numeric): Year (YYYY) when the album was released
1370
5ec1b6b7 1371Available only when using `--download-sections` and for `chapter:` prefix when using `--split-chapters` for videos with internal chapters:
72755351 1372
1373 - `section_title` (string): Title of the chapter
1374 - `section_number` (numeric): Number of the chapter within the file
1375 - `section_start` (numeric): Start time of the chapter in seconds
1376 - `section_end` (numeric): End time of the chapter in seconds
1377
53c18592 1378Available only when used in `--print`:
1379
1380 - `urls` (string): The URLs of all requested formats, one in each line
7aaf4cd2 1381 - `filename` (string): Name of the video file. Note that the [actual filename may differ](#outtmpl-postprocess-note)
ed5835b4 1382 - `formats_table` (table): The video format table as printed by `--list-formats`
1383 - `thumbnails_table` (table): The thumbnail format table as printed by `--list-thumbnails`
1384 - `subtitles_table` (table): The subtitle format table as printed by `--list-subs`
1385 - `automatic_captions_table` (table): The automatic subtitle format table as printed by `--list-subs`
1386
ad54c913 1387 Available only after the video is downloaded (`post_process`/`after_move`):
7a340e0d 1388
ad54c913 1389 - `filepath`: Actual path of downloaded video file
1390
7a340e0d
NA
1391Available only in `--sponsorblock-chapter-title`:
1392
1393 - `start_time` (numeric): Start time of the chapter in seconds
1394 - `end_time` (numeric): End time of the chapter in seconds
1338ae3b 1395 - `categories` (list): The [SponsorBlock categories](https://wiki.sponsor.ajay.app/w/Types#Category) the chapter belongs to
7a340e0d
NA
1396 - `category` (string): The smallest SponsorBlock category the chapter belongs to
1397 - `category_names` (list): Friendly names of the categories
1398 - `name` (string): Friendly name of the smallest category
1338ae3b 1399 - `type` (string): The [SponsorBlock action type](https://wiki.sponsor.ajay.app/w/Types#Action_Type) of the chapter
53c18592 1400
62b58c09 1401Each aforementioned sequence when referenced in an output template will be replaced by the actual value corresponding to the sequence name. E.g. for `-o %(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s` and an mp4 video with title `yt-dlp test video` and id `BaW_jenozKc`, this will result in a `yt-dlp test video-BaW_jenozKc.mp4` file created in the current directory.
49a57e70 1402
8e174ba7 1403**Note**: Some of the sequences are not guaranteed to be present since they depend on the metadata obtained by a particular extractor. Such sequences will be replaced with placeholder value provided with `--output-na-placeholder` (`NA` by default).
b7770046 1404
0930b11f 1405**Tip**: Look at the `-j` output to identify which fields are available for the particular URL
b7770046 1406
62b58c09 1407For numeric sequences you can use [numeric related formatting](https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#printf-style-string-formatting); e.g. `%(view_count)05d` will result in a string with view count padded with zeros up to 5 characters, like in `00042`.
b7770046 1408
940a67a3 1409Output templates can also contain arbitrary hierarchical path, e.g. `-o "%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s"` which will result in downloading each video in a directory corresponding to this path template. Any missing directory will be automatically created for you.
b7770046
U
1410
1411To use percent literals in an output template use `%%`. To output to stdout use `-o -`.
1412
91ebc640 1413The current default template is `%(title)s [%(id)s].%(ext)s`.
b7770046 1414
f304da8a 1415In some cases, you don't want special characters such as 中, spaces, or &, such as when transferring the downloaded filename to a Windows system or the filename through an 8bit-unsafe channel. In these cases, add the `--restrict-filenames` flag to get a shorter title.
b7770046 1416
b7770046
U
1417#### Output template examples
1418
b7770046 1419```bash
d2c8aadf 1420$ yt-dlp --print filename -o "test video.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc
9222c381 1421test video.webm # Literal name with correct extension
1422
d2c8aadf 1423$ yt-dlp --print filename -o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc
9222c381 1424youtube-dl test video ''_ä↭𝕐.webm # All kinds of weird characters
b7770046 1425
d2c8aadf 1426$ yt-dlp --print filename -o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc --restrict-filenames
9222c381 1427youtube-dl_test_video_.webm # Restricted file name
b7770046
U
1428
1429# Download YouTube playlist videos in separate directory indexed by video order in a playlist
940a67a3 1430$ yt-dlp -o "%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s" "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwiyx1dc3P2JR9N8gQaQN_BCvlSlap7re"
b7770046 1431
b050d210 1432# Download YouTube playlist videos in separate directories according to their uploaded year
940a67a3 1433$ yt-dlp -o "%(upload_date>%Y)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwiyx1dc3P2JR9N8gQaQN_BCvlSlap7re"
e29663c6 1434
e978789f 1435# Prefix playlist index with " - " separator, but only if it is available
ad54c913 1436$ yt-dlp -o "%(playlist_index&{} - |)s%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc "https://www.youtube.com/user/TheLinuxFoundation/playlists"
e978789f 1437
b7770046 1438# Download all playlists of YouTube channel/user keeping each playlist in separate directory:
940a67a3 1439$ yt-dlp -o "%(uploader)s/%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s" "https://www.youtube.com/user/TheLinuxFoundation/playlists"
b7770046
U
1440
1441# Download Udemy course keeping each chapter in separate directory under MyVideos directory in your home
940a67a3 1442$ yt-dlp -u user -p password -P "~/MyVideos" -o "%(playlist)s/%(chapter_number)s - %(chapter)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "https://www.udemy.com/java-tutorial"
b7770046
U
1443
1444# Download entire series season keeping each series and each season in separate directory under C:/MyVideos
940a67a3 1445$ 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 1446
6a34813a 1447# Download video as "C:\MyVideos\uploader\title.ext", subtitles as "C:\MyVideos\subs\uploader\title.ext"
1448# and put all temporary files in "C:\MyVideos\tmp"
1449$ yt-dlp -P "C:/MyVideos" -P "temp:tmp" -P "subtitle:subs" -o "%(uploader)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenoz --write-subs
1450
1451# Download video as "C:\MyVideos\uploader\title.ext" and subtitles as "C:\MyVideos\uploader\subs\title.ext"
1452$ yt-dlp -P "C:/MyVideos" -o "%(uploader)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s" -o "subtitle:%(uploader)s/subs/%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc --write-subs
1453
b7770046 1454# Stream the video being downloaded to stdout
7a5c1cfe 1455$ yt-dlp -o - BaW_jenozKc
b7770046
U
1456```
1457
1458# FORMAT SELECTION
1459
7a5c1cfe
P
1460By default, yt-dlp tries to download the best available quality if you **don't** pass any options.
1461This 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 1462
c111cefa 1463**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.
1464
eff63539 1465The 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 1466
ec2e44fc 1467<!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
b7770046 1468**tl;dr:** [navigate me to examples](#format-selection-examples).
ec2e44fc 1469<!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
b7770046 1470
62b58c09 1471The simplest case is requesting a specific format; e.g. with `-f 22` you can download the format with format code equal to 22. You can get the list of available format codes for particular video using `--list-formats` or `-F`. Note that these format codes are extractor specific.
b7770046
U
1472
1473You 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.
1474
fa9f30b8 1475You can use `-f -` to interactively provide the format selector *for each video*
1476
b7770046
U
1477You can also use special names to select particular edge case formats:
1478
59a7a13e 1479 - `all`: Select **all formats** separately
1480 - `mergeall`: Select and **merge all formats** (Must be used with `--audio-multistreams`, `--video-multistreams` or both)
30389593 1481 - `b*`, `best*`: Select the best quality format that **contains either** a video or an audio or both (ie; `vcodec!=none or acodec!=none`)
59a7a13e 1482 - `b`, `best`: Select the best quality format that **contains both** video and audio. Equivalent to `best*[vcodec!=none][acodec!=none]`
1483 - `bv`, `bestvideo`: Select the best quality **video-only** format. Equivalent to `best*[acodec=none]`
1484 - `bv*`, `bestvideo*`: Select the best quality format that **contains video**. It may also contain audio. Equivalent to `best*[vcodec!=none]`
1485 - `ba`, `bestaudio`: Select the best quality **audio-only** format. Equivalent to `best*[vcodec=none]`
ae6a1b95 1486 - `ba*`, `bestaudio*`: Select the best quality format that **contains audio**. It may also contain video. Equivalent to `best*[acodec!=none]` ([Do not use!](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/979#issuecomment-919629354))
59a7a13e 1487 - `w*`, `worst*`: Select the worst quality format that contains either a video or an audio
909d24dd 1488 - `w`, `worst`: Select the worst quality format that contains both video and audio. Equivalent to `worst*[vcodec!=none][acodec!=none]`
909d24dd 1489 - `wv`, `worstvideo`: Select the worst quality video-only format. Equivalent to `worst*[acodec=none]`
909d24dd 1490 - `wv*`, `worstvideo*`: Select the worst quality format that contains video. It may also contain audio. Equivalent to `worst*[vcodec!=none]`
909d24dd 1491 - `wa`, `worstaudio`: Select the worst quality audio-only format. Equivalent to `worst*[vcodec=none]`
909d24dd 1492 - `wa*`, `worstaudio*`: Select the worst quality format that contains audio. It may also contain video. Equivalent to `worst*[acodec!=none]`
b7770046 1493
d4ada357 1494For example, to download the worst quality video-only format you can use `-f worstvideo`. It is however recommended not to use `worst` and related options. When your format selector is `worst`, the format which is worst in all respects is selected. Most of the time, what you actually want is the video with the smallest filesize instead. So it is generally better to use `-S +size` or more rigorously, `-S +size,+br,+res,+fps` instead of `-f worst`. See [Sorting Formats](#sorting-formats) for more details.
eff63539 1495
1496You 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 1497
304ad45a 1498If you want to download multiple videos, and they don't have the same formats available, you can specify the order of preference using slashes. Note that formats on the left hand side are preferred; e.g. `-f 22/17/18` will download format 22 if it's available, otherwise it will download format 17 if it's available, otherwise it will download format 18 if it's available, otherwise it will complain that no suitable formats are available for download.
b7770046
U
1499
1500If 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`.
1501
62b58c09 1502You can merge the video and audio of multiple formats into a single file using `-f <format1>+<format2>+...` (requires ffmpeg installed); e.g. `-f bestvideo+bestaudio` will download the best video-only format, the best audio-only format and mux them together with ffmpeg.
d806c9fd 1503
1504**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
1505
304ad45a 1506Unless `--video-multistreams` is used, all formats with a video stream except the first one are ignored. Similarly, unless `--audio-multistreams` is used, all formats with an audio stream except the first one are ignored. E.g. `-f bestvideo+best+bestaudio --video-multistreams --audio-multistreams` will download and merge all 3 given formats. The resulting file will have 2 video streams and 2 audio streams. But `-f bestvideo+best+bestaudio --no-video-multistreams` will download and merge only `bestvideo` and `bestaudio`. `best` is ignored since another format containing a video stream (`bestvideo`) has already been selected. The order of the formats is therefore important. `-f best+bestaudio --no-audio-multistreams` will download only `best` while `-f bestaudio+best --no-audio-multistreams` will ignore `best` and download only `bestaudio`.
eb8a4433 1507
1508## Filtering Formats
1509
b7770046
U
1510You can also filter the video formats by putting a condition in brackets, as in `-f "best[height=720]"` (or `-f "[filesize>10M]"`).
1511
1512The following numeric meta fields can be used with comparisons `<`, `<=`, `>`, `>=`, `=` (equals), `!=` (not equals):
1513
1514 - `filesize`: The number of bytes, if known in advance
d2c8aadf 1515 - `filesize_approx`: An estimate for the number of bytes
b7770046
U
1516 - `width`: Width of the video, if known
1517 - `height`: Height of the video, if known
105bfd90 1518 - `aspect_ratio`: Aspect ratio of the video, if known
b7770046
U
1519 - `tbr`: Average bitrate of audio and video in KBit/s
1520 - `abr`: Average audio bitrate in KBit/s
1521 - `vbr`: Average video bitrate in KBit/s
1522 - `asr`: Audio sampling rate in Hertz
1523 - `fps`: Frame rate
d2c8aadf 1524 - `audio_channels`: The number of audio channels
1525 - `stretched_ratio`: `width:height` of the video's pixels, if not square
b7770046 1526
1ce9a3cb 1527Also filtering work for comparisons `=` (equals), `^=` (starts with), `$=` (ends with), `*=` (contains), `~=` (matches regex) and following string meta fields:
b7770046 1528
d2c8aadf 1529 - `url`: Video URL
b7770046
U
1530 - `ext`: File extension
1531 - `acodec`: Name of the audio codec in use
1532 - `vcodec`: Name of the video codec in use
1533 - `container`: Name of the container format
1534 - `protocol`: The protocol that will be used for the actual download, lower-case (`http`, `https`, `rtsp`, `rtmp`, `rtmpe`, `mms`, `f4m`, `ism`, `http_dash_segments`, `m3u8`, or `m3u8_native`)
29f7c58a 1535 - `language`: Language code
d2c8aadf 1536 - `dynamic_range`: The dynamic range of the video
1537 - `format_id`: A short description of the format
1538 - `format`: A human-readable description of the format
1539 - `format_note`: Additional info about the format
1540 - `resolution`: Textual description of width and height
b7770046 1541
1ce9a3cb 1542Any string comparison may be prefixed with negation `!` in order to produce an opposite comparison, e.g. `!*=` (does not contain). The comparand of a string comparison needs to be quoted with either double or single quotes if it contains spaces or special characters other than `._-`.
b7770046 1543
8e174ba7 1544**Note**: None of the aforementioned meta fields are guaranteed to be present since this solely depends on the metadata obtained by particular extractor, i.e. the metadata offered by the website. Any other field made available by the extractor can also be used for filtering.
b7770046 1545
62b58c09 1546Formats 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, e.g. `-f "all[vcodec=none]"` selects all audio-only formats.
b7770046 1547
62b58c09 1548Format selectors can also be grouped using parentheses; e.g. `-f "(mp4,webm)[height<480]"` will download the best pre-merged mp4 and webm formats with a height lower than 480.
b7770046 1549
eb8a4433 1550## Sorting Formats
1551
2e7781a9 1552You can change the criteria for being considered the `best` by using `-S` (`--format-sort`). The general format for this is `--format-sort field1,field2...`.
1553
1554The available fields are:
eb8a4433 1555
304ad45a 1556 - `hasvid`: Gives priority to formats that have a video stream
1557 - `hasaud`: Gives priority to formats that have an audio stream
ed8d87f9 1558 - `ie_pref`: The format preference
1559 - `lang`: The language preference
1560 - `quality`: The quality of the format
1561 - `source`: The preference of the source
d80d98e7 1562 - `proto`: Protocol used for download (`https`/`ftps` > `http`/`ftp` > `m3u8_native`/`m3u8` > `http_dash_segments`> `websocket_frag` > `mms`/`rtsp` > `f4f`/`f4m`)
1563 - `vcodec`: Video Codec (`av01` > `vp9.2` > `vp9` > `h265` > `h264` > `vp8` > `h263` > `theora` > other)
a5387729 1564 - `acodec`: Audio Codec (`flac`/`alac` > `wav`/`aiff` > `opus` > `vorbis` > `aac` > `mp4a` > `mp3` > `ac4` > `eac3` > `ac3` > `dts` > other)
eb8a4433 1565 - `codec`: Equivalent to `vcodec,acodec`
29ca4082 1566 - `vext`: Video Extension (`mp4` > `mov` > `webm` > `flv` > other). If `--prefer-free-formats` is used, `webm` is preferred.
f2e9fa3e 1567 - `aext`: Audio Extension (`m4a` > `aac` > `mp3` > `ogg` > `opus` > `webm` > other). If `--prefer-free-formats` is used, the order changes to `ogg` > `opus` > `webm` > `mp3` > `m4a` > `aac`
63be1aab 1568 - `ext`: Equivalent to `vext,aext`
0930b11f 1569 - `filesize`: Exact filesize, if known in advance
63be1aab 1570 - `fs_approx`: Approximate filesize calculated from the manifests
1571 - `size`: Exact filesize if available, otherwise approximate filesize
eb8a4433 1572 - `height`: Height of video
1573 - `width`: Width of video
63be1aab 1574 - `res`: Video resolution, calculated as the smallest dimension.
1575 - `fps`: Framerate of video
49a57e70 1576 - `hdr`: The dynamic range of the video (`DV` > `HDR12` > `HDR10+` > `HDR10` > `HLG` > `SDR`)
b8ed0f15 1577 - `channels`: The number of audio channels
63be1aab 1578 - `tbr`: Total average bitrate in KBit/s
1579 - `vbr`: Average video bitrate in KBit/s
1580 - `abr`: Average audio bitrate in KBit/s
1581 - `br`: Equivalent to using `tbr,vbr,abr`
1582 - `asr`: Audio sample rate in Hz
d806c9fd 1583
1584**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 1585
62b58c09 1586All fields, unless specified otherwise, are sorted in descending order. To reverse this, prefix the field with a `+`. E.g. `+res` prefers format with the smallest resolution. Additionally, you can suffix a preferred value for the fields, separated by a `:`. E.g. `res:720` prefers larger videos, but no larger than 720p and the smallest video if there are no videos less than 720p. For `codec` and `ext`, you can provide two preferred values, the first for video and the second for audio. E.g. `+codec:avc:m4a` (equivalent to `+vcodec:avc,+acodec:m4a`) sets the video codec preference to `h264` > `h265` > `vp9` > `vp9.2` > `av01` > `vp8` > `h263` > `theora` and audio codec preference to `mp4a` > `aac` > `vorbis` > `opus` > `mp3` > `ac3` > `dts`. You can also make the sorting prefer the nearest values to the provided by using `~` as the delimiter. E.g. `filesize~1G` prefers the format with filesize closest to 1 GiB.
9ee4f0bb 1587
7e798d72 1588The fields `hasvid` and `ie_pref` are always given highest priority in sorting, irrespective of the user-defined order. This behaviour can be changed by using `--format-sort-force`. Apart from these, the default order used is: `lang,quality,res,fps,hdr:12,vcodec:vp9.2,channels,acodec,size,br,asr,proto,ext,hasaud,source,id`. The extractors may override this default order, but they cannot override the user-provided order.
eb8a4433 1589
7e798d72 1590Note that the default has `vcodec:vp9.2`; i.e. `av1` is not preferred. Similarly, the default for hdr is `hdr:12`; i.e. dolby vision is not preferred. These choices are made since DV and AV1 formats are not yet fully compatible with most devices. This may be changed in the future as more devices become capable of smoothly playing back these formats.
eb8a4433 1591
e58c22a0 1592If 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 1593
1594**Tip**: You can use the `-v -F` to see how the formats have been sorted (worst to best).
1595
eb8a4433 1596## Format Selection examples
b7770046 1597
b7770046 1598```bash
e58c22a0 1599# Download and merge the best video-only format and the best audio-only format,
909d24dd 1600# or download the best combined format if video-only format is not available
940a67a3 1601$ yt-dlp -f "bv+ba/b"
909d24dd 1602
1603# Download best format that contains video,
1604# and if it doesn't already have an audio stream, merge it with best audio-only format
940a67a3 1605$ yt-dlp -f "bv*+ba/b"
2af884ff 1606
1607# Same as above
7a5c1cfe 1608$ yt-dlp
909d24dd 1609
6fd35a11 1610# Download the best video-only format and the best audio-only format without merging them
1611# For this case, an output template should be used since
1612# by default, bestvideo and bestaudio will have the same file name.
940a67a3 1613$ yt-dlp -f "bv,ba" -o "%(title)s.f%(format_id)s.%(ext)s"
909d24dd 1614
f8d4ad9a 1615# Download and merge the best format that has a video stream,
1616# and all audio-only formats into one file
940a67a3 1617$ yt-dlp -f "bv*+mergeall[vcodec=none]" --audio-multistreams
f8d4ad9a 1618
1619# Download and merge the best format that has a video stream,
1620# and the best 2 audio-only formats into one file
940a67a3 1621$ yt-dlp -f "bv*+ba+ba.2" --audio-multistreams
909d24dd 1622
6fd35a11 1623
1624# The following examples show the old method (without -S) of format selection
f8d4ad9a 1625# and how to use -S to achieve a similar but (generally) better result
6fd35a11 1626
1627# Download the worst video available (old method)
940a67a3 1628$ yt-dlp -f "wv*+wa/w"
eb8a4433 1629
1630# Download the best video available but with the smallest resolution
940a67a3 1631$ yt-dlp -S "+res"
eb8a4433 1632
1633# Download the smallest video available
940a67a3 1634$ yt-dlp -S "+size,+br"
eb8a4433 1635
1636
909d24dd 1637
eb8a4433 1638# Download the best mp4 video available, or the best video if no mp4 available
940a67a3 1639$ yt-dlp -f "bv*[ext=mp4]+ba[ext=m4a]/b[ext=mp4] / bv*+ba/b"
eb8a4433 1640
1641# Download the best video with the best extension
29ca4082 1642# (For video, mp4 > mov > webm > flv. For audio, m4a > aac > mp3 ...)
940a67a3 1643$ yt-dlp -S "ext"
eb8a4433 1644
1645
909d24dd 1646
eb8a4433 1647# Download the best video available but no better than 480p,
1648# or the worst video if there is no video under 480p
940a67a3 1649$ yt-dlp -f "bv*[height<=480]+ba/b[height<=480] / wv*+ba/w"
b7770046 1650
eb8a4433 1651# Download the best video available with the largest height but no better than 480p,
1652# or the best video with the smallest resolution if there is no video under 480p
940a67a3 1653$ yt-dlp -S "height:480"
b7770046 1654
eb8a4433 1655# Download the best video available with the largest resolution but no better than 480p,
1656# or the best video with the smallest resolution if there is no video under 480p
1657# Resolution is determined by using the smallest dimension.
1658# So this works correctly for vertical videos as well
940a67a3 1659$ yt-dlp -S "res:480"
b7770046 1660
b7770046 1661
909d24dd 1662
eb8a4433 1663# Download the best video (that also has audio) but no bigger than 50 MB,
1664# or the worst video (that also has audio) if there is no video under 50 MB
940a67a3 1665$ yt-dlp -f "b[filesize<50M] / w"
eb8a4433 1666
1667# Download largest video (that also has audio) but no bigger than 50 MB,
1668# or the smallest video (that also has audio) if there is no video under 50 MB
940a67a3 1669$ yt-dlp -f "b" -S "filesize:50M"
eb8a4433 1670
1671# Download best video (that also has audio) that is closest in size to 50 MB
940a67a3 1672$ yt-dlp -f "b" -S "filesize~50M"
eb8a4433 1673
1674
909d24dd 1675
eb8a4433 1676# Download best video available via direct link over HTTP/HTTPS protocol,
1677# or the best video available via any protocol if there is no such video
940a67a3 1678$ yt-dlp -f "(bv*+ba/b)[protocol^=http][protocol!*=dash] / (bv*+ba/b)"
eb8a4433 1679
1680# Download best video available via the best protocol
1681# (https/ftps > http/ftp > m3u8_native > m3u8 > http_dash_segments ...)
940a67a3 1682$ yt-dlp -S "proto"
eb8a4433 1683
1684
909d24dd 1685
1ce9a3cb
LF
1686# Download the best video with either h264 or h265 codec,
1687# or the best video if there is no such video
1688$ yt-dlp -f "(bv*[vcodec~='^((he|a)vc|h26[45])']+ba) / (bv*+ba/b)"
eb8a4433 1689
1690# Download the best video with best codec no better than h264,
1691# or the best video with worst codec if there is no such video
940a67a3 1692$ yt-dlp -S "codec:h264"
eb8a4433 1693
1694# Download the best video with worst codec no worse than h264,
1695# or the best video with best codec if there is no such video
940a67a3 1696$ yt-dlp -S "+codec:h264"
eb8a4433 1697
1698
1699
1700# More complex examples
1701
e58c22a0 1702# Download the best video no better than 720p preferring framerate greater than 30,
1703# or the worst video (still preferring framerate greater than 30) if there is no such video
940a67a3 1704$ 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 1705
1706# Download the video with the largest resolution no better than 720p,
f8d4ad9a 1707# or the video with the smallest resolution available if there is no such video,
e58c22a0 1708# preferring larger framerate for formats with the same resolution
940a67a3 1709$ yt-dlp -S "res:720,fps"
eb8a4433 1710
1711
909d24dd 1712
eb8a4433 1713# Download the video with smallest resolution no worse than 480p,
1714# or the video with the largest resolution available if there is no such video,
e58c22a0 1715# preferring better codec and then larger total bitrate for the same resolution
940a67a3 1716$ yt-dlp -S "+res:480,codec,br"
b7770046 1717```
eb8a4433 1718
73cd218f 1719# MODIFYING METADATA
1720
a4211baf 1721The metadata obtained by the extractors can be modified by using `--parse-metadata` and `--replace-in-metadata`
e9f4ccd1 1722
418964fa 1723`--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 1724
46d09f87 1725The general syntax of `--parse-metadata FROM:TO` is to give the name of a field or an [output template](#output-template) to extract data from, and the format to interpret it as, separated by a colon `:`. Either a [python regular expression](https://docs.python.org/3/library/re.html#regular-expression-syntax) with named capture groups, a single field name, or a similar syntax to the [output template](#output-template) (only `%(field)s` formatting is supported) can be used for `TO`. The option can be used multiple times to parse and modify various fields.
73cd218f 1726
46d09f87 1727Note that these options preserve their relative order, allowing replacements to be made in parsed fields and viceversa. Also, any field thus created can be used in the [output template](#output-template) and will also affect the media file's metadata added when using `--embed-metadata`.
73cd218f 1728
9c2b75b5 1729This option also has a few special uses:
3d3bb168 1730
c8bc203f 1731* You can download an additional URL based on the metadata of the currently downloaded video. To do this, set the field `additional_urls` to the URL that you want to download. E.g. `--parse-metadata "description:(?P<additional_urls>https?://www\.vimeo\.com/\d+)"` will download the first vimeo video found in the description
3d3bb168 1732
62b58c09 1733* You can use this to change the metadata that is embedded in the media file. To do this, set the value of the corresponding field with a `meta_` prefix. For example, any value you set to `meta_description` field will be added to the `description` field in the file - you can use this to set a different "description" and "synopsis". To modify the metadata of individual streams, use the `meta<n>_` prefix (e.g. `meta1_language`). Any value set to the `meta_` field will overwrite all default values.
c31be5b0 1734
08d30158 1735**Note**: Metadata modification happens before format selection, post-extraction and other post-processing operations. Some fields may be added or changed during these steps, overriding your changes.
1736
c31be5b0 1737For reference, these are the fields yt-dlp adds by default to the file metadata:
1738
08d30158 1739Metadata fields | From
1740:--------------------------|:------------------------------------------------
1741`title` | `track` or `title`
1742`date` | `upload_date`
1743`description`, `synopsis` | `description`
1744`purl`, `comment` | `webpage_url`
1745`track` | `track_number`
1746`artist` | `artist`, `creator`, `uploader` or `uploader_id`
1747`genre` | `genre`
1748`album` | `album`
1749`album_artist` | `album_artist`
1750`disc` | `disc_number`
1751`show` | `series`
1752`season_number` | `season_number`
1753`episode_id` | `episode` or `episode_id`
1754`episode_sort` | `episode_number`
1755`language` of each stream | the format's `language`
1756
c31be5b0 1757**Note**: The file format may not support some of these fields
1758
73cd218f 1759
1760## Modifying metadata examples
1761
73cd218f 1762```bash
1763# Interpret the title as "Artist - Title"
940a67a3 1764$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "title:%(artist)s - %(title)s"
73cd218f 1765
1766# Regex example
940a67a3 1767$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "description:Artist - (?P<artist>.+)"
73cd218f 1768
1769# Set title as "Series name S01E05"
940a67a3 1770$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "%(series)s S%(season_number)02dE%(episode_number)02d:%(title)s"
73cd218f 1771
a44ca5a4 1772# Prioritize uploader as the "artist" field in video metadata
2fa669f7 1773$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "%(uploader|)s:%(meta_artist)s" --embed-metadata
a44ca5a4 1774
1775# Set "comment" field in video metadata using description instead of webpage_url,
1776# handling multiple lines correctly
2fa669f7 1777$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "description:(?s)(?P<meta_comment>.+)" --embed-metadata
73cd218f 1778
8aa0e7cd 1779# Do not set any "synopsis" in the video metadata
1780$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata ":(?P<meta_synopsis>)"
1781
0930b11f 1782# Remove "formats" field from the infojson by setting it to an empty string
7f9c6a63 1783$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "video::(?P<formats>)" --write-info-json
0930b11f 1784
e9f4ccd1 1785# Replace all spaces and "_" in title and uploader with a `-`
940a67a3 1786$ yt-dlp --replace-in-metadata "title,uploader" "[ _]" "-"
e9f4ccd1 1787
73cd218f 1788```
1789
5d3a0e79 1790# EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS
1791
62b58c09 1792Some extractors accept additional arguments which can be passed using `--extractor-args KEY:ARGS`. `ARGS` is a `;` (semicolon) separated string of `ARG=VAL1,VAL2`. E.g. `--extractor-args "youtube:player-client=android_embedded,web;include_live_dash" --extractor-args "funimation:version=uncut"`
5d3a0e79 1793
a5387729 1794Note: In CLI, `ARG` can use `-` instead of `_`; e.g. `youtube:player-client"` becomes `youtube:player_client"`
1795
5d3a0e79 1796The following extractors use this feature:
96565c7e 1797
1798#### youtube
8e174ba7 1799* `lang`: Prefer translated metadata (`title`, `description` etc) of this language code (case-sensitive). By default, the video primary language metadata is preferred, with a fallback to `en` translated. See [youtube.py](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/c26f9b991a0681fd3ea548d535919cec1fbbd430/yt_dlp/extractor/youtube.py#L381-L390) for list of supported content language codes
8aa0e7cd 1800* `skip`: One or more of `hls`, `dash` or `translated_subs` to skip extraction of the m3u8 manifests, dash manifests and [auto-translated subtitles](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/4090#issuecomment-1158102032) respectively
1e75d97d 1801* `player_client`: Clients to extract video data from. The main clients are `web`, `android` and `ios` with variants `_music`, `_embedded`, `_embedscreen`, `_creator` (e.g. `web_embedded`); and `mweb` and `tv_embedded` (agegate bypass) with no variants. By default, `ios,android,web` is used, but `tv_embedded` and `creator` variants are added as required for age-gated videos. Similarly, the music variants are added for `music.youtube.com` urls. You can use `all` to use all the clients, and `default` for the default clients.
96565c7e 1802* `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
96565c7e 1803* `comment_sort`: `top` or `new` (default) - choose comment sorting mode (on YouTube's side)
a44ca5a4 1804* `max_comments`: Limit the amount of comments to gather. Comma-separated list of integers representing `max-comments,max-parents,max-replies,max-replies-per-thread`. Default is `all,all,all,all`
1805 * E.g. `all,all,1000,10` will get a maximum of 1000 replies total, with up to 10 replies per thread. `1000,all,100` will get a maximum of 1000 comments, with a maximum of 100 replies total
86cb9221 1806* `include_duplicate_formats`: Extract formats with identical content but different URLs or protocol. This is useful if some of the formats are unavailable or throttled.
4d37720a 1807* `include_incomplete_formats`: Extract formats that cannot be downloaded completely (live dash and post-live m3u8)
1e4fca9a 1808* `innertube_host`: Innertube API host to use for all API requests; e.g. `studio.youtube.com`, `youtubei.googleapis.com`. Note that cookies exported from one subdomain will not work on others
2ae778b8 1809* `innertube_key`: Innertube API key to use for all API requests
96565c7e 1810
1811#### youtubetab (YouTube playlists, channels, feeds, etc.)
1812* `skip`: One or more of `webpage` (skip initial webpage download), `authcheck` (allow the download of playlists requiring authentication when no initial webpage is downloaded. This may cause unwanted behavior, see [#1122](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/pull/1122) for more details)
5225df50 1813* `approximate_date`: Extract approximate `upload_date` and `timestamp` in flat-playlist. This may cause date-based filters to be slightly off
96565c7e 1814
3b021eac 1815#### generic
5cc0a8fd 1816* `fragment_query`: Passthrough any query in mpd/m3u8 manifest URLs to their fragments if no value is provided, or else apply the query string given as `fragment_query=VALUE`. Does not apply to ffmpeg
1817* `variant_query`: Passthrough the master m3u8 URL query to its variant playlist URLs if no value is provided, or else apply the query string given as `variant_query=VALUE`
c2e0fc40 1818* `hls_key`: An HLS AES-128 key URI *or* key (as hex), and optionally the IV (as hex), in the form of `(URI|KEY)[,IV]`; e.g. `generic:hls_key=ABCDEF1234567980,0xFEDCBA0987654321`. Passing any of these values will force usage of the native HLS downloader and override the corresponding values found in the m3u8 playlist
93e7c699 1819* `is_live`: Bypass live HLS detection and manually set `live_status` - a value of `false` will set `not_live`, any other value (or no value) will set `is_live`
3b021eac 1820
96565c7e 1821#### funimation
304ad45a 1822* `language`: Audio languages to extract, e.g. `funimation:language=english,japanese`
96565c7e 1823* `version`: The video version to extract - `uncut` or `simulcast`
1824
cb1553e9 1825#### crunchyrollbeta (Crunchyroll)
62b58c09 1826* `format`: Which stream type(s) to extract (default: `adaptive_hls`). Potentially useful values include `adaptive_hls`, `adaptive_dash`, `vo_adaptive_hls`, `vo_adaptive_dash`, `download_hls`, `download_dash`, `multitrack_adaptive_hls_v2`
dfea94f8 1827* `hardsub`: Preference order for which hardsub versions to extract, or `all` (default: `None` = no hardsubs), e.g. `crunchyrollbeta:hardsub=en-US,None`
706dfe44 1828
96565c7e 1829#### vikichannel
1830* `video_types`: Types of videos to download - one or more of `episodes`, `movies`, `clips`, `trailers`
73d829c1 1831
7bdcb4a4
LNO
1832#### niconico
1833* `segment_duration`: Segment duration in milliseconds for HLS-DMC formats. Use it at your own risk since this feature **may result in your account termination.**
1834
aa4b0545 1835#### youtubewebarchive
1836* `check_all`: Try to check more at the cost of more requests. One or more of `thumbnails`, `captures`
1837
d43de682
M
1838#### gamejolt
1839* `comment_sort`: `hot` (default), `you` (cookies needed), `top`, `new` - choose comment sorting mode (on GameJolt's side)
1840
26f2aa3d
AG
1841#### hotstar
1842* `res`: resolution to ignore - one or more of `sd`, `hd`, `fhd`
1843* `vcodec`: vcodec to ignore - one or more of `h264`, `h265`, `dvh265`
1844* `dr`: dynamic range to ignore - one or more of `sdr`, `hdr10`, `dv`
1845
046cab39 1846#### tiktok
c4cbd3be 1847* `api_hostname`: Hostname to use for mobile API requests, e.g. `api-h2.tiktokv.com`
62b58c09
L
1848* `app_version`: App version to call mobile APIs with - should be set along with `manifest_app_version`, e.g. `20.2.1`
1849* `manifest_app_version`: Numeric app version to call mobile APIs with, e.g. `221`
046cab39 1850
7eaf7f9a 1851#### rokfinchannel
62b58c09 1852* `tab`: Which tab to download - one of `new`, `top`, `videos`, `podcasts`, `streams`, `stacks`
7eaf7f9a 1853
7a26ce26 1854#### twitter
147e62fc 1855* `legacy_api`: Force usage of the legacy Twitter API instead of the GraphQL API for tweet extraction. Has no effect if login cookies are passed
7eaf7f9a 1856
7f9c6a63 1857#### wrestleuniverse
ef8fb7f0 1858* `device_id`: UUID value assigned by the website and used to enforce device limits for paid livestream content. Can be found in browser local storage
1859
7f9c6a63 1860#### twitch
1861* `client_id`: Client ID value to be sent with GraphQL requests, e.g. `twitch:client_id=kimne78kx3ncx6brgo4mv6wki5h1ko`
01231feb 1862
81c8b9bd 1863#### nhkradirulive (NHK らじる★らじる LIVE)
1864* `area`: Which regional variation to extract. Valid areas are: `sapporo`, `sendai`, `tokyo`, `nagoya`, `osaka`, `hiroshima`, `matsuyama`, `fukuoka`. Defaults to `tokyo`
1865
8e174ba7 1866**Note**: These options may be changed/removed in the future without concern for backward compatibility
5d3a0e79 1867
ec2e44fc 1868<!-- MANPAGE: MOVE "INSTALLATION" SECTION HERE -->
1869
3acf6d38 1870
f74980cb 1871# PLUGINS
b7770046 1872
8e40b9d1 1873Note that **all** plugins are imported even if not invoked, and that **there are no checks** performed on plugin code. **Use plugins at your own risk and only if you trust the code!**
3ae5e797 1874
8e40b9d1
M
1875Plugins can be of `<type>`s `extractor` or `postprocessor`.
1876- Extractor plugins do not need to be enabled from the CLI and are automatically invoked when the input URL is suitable for it.
1877- Extractor plugins take priority over builtin extractors.
1878- Postprocessor plugins can be invoked using `--use-postprocessor NAME`.
3ae5e797 1879
3ae5e797 1880
8e40b9d1 1881Plugins are loaded from the namespace packages `yt_dlp_plugins.extractor` and `yt_dlp_plugins.postprocessor`.
3ae5e797 1882
8e40b9d1
M
1883In other words, the file structure on the disk looks something like:
1884
1885 yt_dlp_plugins/
1886 extractor/
1887 myplugin.py
1888 postprocessor/
1889 myplugin.py
1890
1891yt-dlp looks for these `yt_dlp_plugins` namespace folders in many locations (see below) and loads in plugins from **all** of them.
b7770046 1892
deae7c17 1893See the [wiki for some known plugins](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Plugins)
1894
8e40b9d1
M
1895## Installing Plugins
1896
1897Plugins can be installed using various methods and locations.
1898
18991. **Configuration directories**:
1900 Plugin packages (containing a `yt_dlp_plugins` namespace folder) can be dropped into the following standard [configuration locations](#configuration):
1901 * **User Plugins**
1902 * `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp/plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/` (recommended on Linux/macOS)
1903 * `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1904 * `${APPDATA}/yt-dlp/plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/` (recommended on Windows)
773c272d 1905 * `${APPDATA}/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
8e40b9d1
M
1906 * `~/.yt-dlp/plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1907 * `~/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1908 * **System Plugins**
1909 * `/etc/yt-dlp/plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1910 * `/etc/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
c8bc203f 19112. **Executable location**: Plugin packages can similarly be installed in a `yt-dlp-plugins` directory under the executable location (recommended for portable installations):
8e40b9d1
M
1912 * Binary: where `<root-dir>/yt-dlp.exe`, `<root-dir>/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1913 * Source: where `<root-dir>/yt_dlp/__main__.py`, `<root-dir>/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1914
19153. **pip and other locations in `PYTHONPATH`**
e756f45b 1916 * Plugin packages can be installed and managed using `pip`. See [yt-dlp-sample-plugins](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp-sample-plugins) for an example.
8e174ba7 1917 * Note: plugin files between plugin packages installed with pip must have unique filenames.
8e40b9d1
M
1918 * Any path in `PYTHONPATH` is searched in for the `yt_dlp_plugins` namespace folder.
1919 * Note: This does not apply for Pyinstaller/py2exe builds.
1920
1921
8e174ba7 1922`.zip`, `.egg` and `.whl` archives containing a `yt_dlp_plugins` namespace folder in their root are also supported as plugin packages.
1923* e.g. `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp/plugins/mypluginpkg.zip` where `mypluginpkg.zip` contains `yt_dlp_plugins/<type>/myplugin.py`
8e40b9d1 1924
8e174ba7 1925Run yt-dlp with `--verbose` to check if the plugin has been loaded.
8e40b9d1
M
1926
1927## Developing Plugins
1928
8e174ba7 1929See the [yt-dlp-sample-plugins](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp-sample-plugins) repo for a template plugin package and the [Plugin Development](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Plugin-Development) section of the wiki for a plugin development guide.
8e40b9d1 1930
8e174ba7 1931All public classes with a name ending in `IE`/`PP` are imported from each file for extractors and postprocessors repectively. This respects underscore prefix (e.g. `_MyBasePluginIE` is private) and `__all__`. Modules can similarly be excluded by prefixing the module name with an underscore (e.g. `_myplugin.py`).
e756f45b 1932
773c272d 1933To replace an existing extractor with a subclass of one, set the `plugin_name` class keyword argument (e.g. `class MyPluginIE(ABuiltInIE, plugin_name='myplugin')` will replace `ABuiltInIE` with `MyPluginIE`). Since the extractor replaces the parent, you should exclude the subclass extractor from being imported separately by making it private using one of the methods described above.
8e40b9d1 1934
8e174ba7 1935If you are a plugin author, add [yt-dlp-plugins](https://github.com/topics/yt-dlp-plugins) as a topic to your repository for discoverability.
b7770046 1936
8e40b9d1 1937See the [Developer Instructions](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md#developer-instructions) on how to write and test an extractor.
8c6f4daa 1938
1939# EMBEDDING YT-DLP
1940
1941yt-dlp makes the best effort to be a good command-line program, and thus should be callable from any programming language.
1942
1943Your 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.
1944
1945From a Python program, you can embed yt-dlp in a more powerful fashion, like this:
1946
1947```python
59a7a13e 1948from yt_dlp import YoutubeDL
8c6f4daa 1949
3d3bb168 1950URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
1951with YoutubeDL() as ydl:
1952 ydl.download(URLS)
8c6f4daa 1953```
1954
a5387729 1955Most 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#L184).
8c6f4daa 1956
43cc91ad 1957**Tip**: If you are porting your code from youtube-dl to yt-dlp, one important point to look out for is that we do not guarantee the return value of `YoutubeDL.extract_info` to be json serializable, or even be a dictionary. It will be dictionary-like, but if you want to ensure it is a serializable dictionary, pass it through `YoutubeDL.sanitize_info` as shown in the [example below](#extracting-information)
3d3bb168 1958
1959## Embedding examples
1960
43cc91ad 1961#### Extracting information
8c6f4daa 1962
1963```python
1964import json
8c6f4daa 1965import yt_dlp
8c6f4daa 1966
3d3bb168 1967URL = 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc'
1968
1969# ℹ️ See help(yt_dlp.YoutubeDL) for a list of available options and public functions
1970ydl_opts = {}
1971with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
1972 info = ydl.extract_info(URL, download=False)
1973
1974 # ℹ️ ydl.sanitize_info makes the info json-serializable
1975 print(json.dumps(ydl.sanitize_info(info)))
1976```
43cc91ad 1977#### Download using an info-json
3d3bb168 1978
1979```python
1980import yt_dlp
1981
1982INFO_FILE = 'path/to/video.info.json'
1983
1984with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL() as ydl:
1985 error_code = ydl.download_with_info_file(INFO_FILE)
1986
1987print('Some videos failed to download' if error_code
1988 else 'All videos successfully downloaded')
1989```
1990
43cc91ad 1991#### Extract audio
3d3bb168 1992
1993```python
1994import yt_dlp
1995
1996URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
1997
1998ydl_opts = {
0a41f331 1999 'format': 'm4a/bestaudio/best',
3d3bb168 2000 # ℹ️ See help(yt_dlp.postprocessor) for a list of available Postprocessors and their arguments
2001 'postprocessors': [{ # Extract audio using ffmpeg
2002 'key': 'FFmpegExtractAudio',
2003 'preferredcodec': 'm4a',
2004 }]
2005}
2006
2007with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
2008 error_code = ydl.download(URLS)
2009```
0a41f331 2010
2011#### Filter videos
2012
2013```python
2014import yt_dlp
2015
2016URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
2017
2018def longer_than_a_minute(info, *, incomplete):
2019 """Download only videos longer than a minute (or with unknown duration)"""
2020 duration = info.get('duration')
2021 if duration and duration < 60:
2022 return 'The video is too short'
2023
2024ydl_opts = {
2025 'match_filter': longer_than_a_minute,
2026}
2027
2028with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
2029 error_code = ydl.download(URLS)
2030```
2031
43cc91ad 2032#### Adding logger and progress hook
3d3bb168 2033
2034```python
2035import yt_dlp
2036
2037URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
8c6f4daa 2038
2039class MyLogger:
2040 def debug(self, msg):
e75bb0d6 2041 # For compatibility with youtube-dl, both debug and info are passed into debug
8c6f4daa 2042 # You can distinguish them by the prefix '[debug] '
2043 if msg.startswith('[debug] '):
2044 pass
2045 else:
2046 self.info(msg)
2047
2048 def info(self, msg):
2049 pass
2050
2051 def warning(self, msg):
2052 pass
2053
2054 def error(self, msg):
2055 print(msg)
2056
2057
3d3bb168 2058# ℹ️ See "progress_hooks" in help(yt_dlp.YoutubeDL)
2059def my_hook(d):
2060 if d['status'] == 'finished':
2061 print('Done downloading, now post-processing ...')
2062
2063
2064ydl_opts = {
2065 'logger': MyLogger(),
2066 'progress_hooks': [my_hook],
2067}
2068
2069with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
2070 ydl.download(URLS)
2071```
2072
43cc91ad 2073#### Add a custom PostProcessor
3d3bb168 2074
2075```python
2076import yt_dlp
2077
2078URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
2079
2080# ℹ️ See help(yt_dlp.postprocessor.PostProcessor)
59a7a13e 2081class MyCustomPP(yt_dlp.postprocessor.PostProcessor):
8c6f4daa 2082 def run(self, info):
2083 self.to_screen('Doing stuff')
2084 return [], info
2085
2086
3d3bb168 2087with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL() as ydl:
8aa0e7cd 2088 # ℹ️ "when" can take any value in yt_dlp.utils.POSTPROCESS_WHEN
2089 ydl.add_post_processor(MyCustomPP(), when='pre_process')
3d3bb168 2090 ydl.download(URLS)
2091```
8c6f4daa 2092
2093
43cc91ad 2094#### Use a custom format selector
3d3bb168 2095
2096```python
2097import yt_dlp
2098
c8bc203f 2099URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
3d3bb168 2100
093a1710 2101def format_selector(ctx):
2102 """ Select the best video and the best audio that won't result in an mkv.
3d3bb168 2103 NOTE: This is just an example and does not handle all cases """
093a1710 2104
2105 # formats are already sorted worst to best
2106 formats = ctx.get('formats')[::-1]
2107
2108 # acodec='none' means there is no audio
2109 best_video = next(f for f in formats
2110 if f['vcodec'] != 'none' and f['acodec'] == 'none')
2111
2112 # find compatible audio extension
2113 audio_ext = {'mp4': 'm4a', 'webm': 'webm'}[best_video['ext']]
2114 # vcodec='none' means there is no video
2115 best_audio = next(f for f in formats if (
2116 f['acodec'] != 'none' and f['vcodec'] == 'none' and f['ext'] == audio_ext))
2117
3d3bb168 2118 # These are the minimum required fields for a merged format
093a1710 2119 yield {
093a1710 2120 'format_id': f'{best_video["format_id"]}+{best_audio["format_id"]}',
2121 'ext': best_video['ext'],
2122 'requested_formats': [best_video, best_audio],
e75bb0d6 2123 # Must be + separated list of protocols
093a1710 2124 'protocol': f'{best_video["protocol"]}+{best_audio["protocol"]}'
2125 }
2126
2127
8c6f4daa 2128ydl_opts = {
093a1710 2129 'format': format_selector,
8c6f4daa 2130}
2131
2132with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
3d3bb168 2133 ydl.download(URLS)
8c6f4daa 2134```
2135
ec2e44fc 2136<!-- MANPAGE: MOVE "NEW FEATURES" SECTION HERE -->
2137
e167860c 2138# DEPRECATED OPTIONS
2139
2140These are all the deprecated options and the current alternative to achieve the same effect
2141
8130779d 2142#### Almost redundant options
2143While these options are almost the same as their new counterparts, there are some differences that prevents them being redundant
2144
2145 -j, --dump-json --print "%()j"
2146 -F, --list-formats --print formats_table
0bfc53d0 2147 --list-thumbnails --print thumbnails_table --print playlist:thumbnails_table
8130779d 2148 --list-subs --print automatic_captions_table --print subtitles_table
2149
6ccf351a 2150#### Redundant options
2151While these options are redundant, they are still expected to be used due to their ease of use
f4536226 2152
53c18592 2153 --get-description --print description
2154 --get-duration --print duration_string
2155 --get-filename --print filename
2156 --get-format --print format
2157 --get-id --print id
2158 --get-thumbnail --print thumbnail
2159 -e, --get-title --print title
2160 -g, --get-url --print urls
8f18aca8 2161 --match-title REGEX --match-filter "title ~= (?i)REGEX"
2162 --reject-title REGEX --match-filter "title !~= (?i)REGEX"
2163 --min-views COUNT --match-filter "view_count >=? COUNT"
2164 --max-views COUNT --match-filter "view_count <=? COUNT"
fe2ce85a 2165 --break-on-reject Use --break-match-filter
8b7539d2 2166 --user-agent UA --add-header "User-Agent:UA"
2167 --referer URL --add-header "Referer:URL"
7e88d7d7 2168 --playlist-start NUMBER -I NUMBER:
2169 --playlist-end NUMBER -I :NUMBER
2170 --playlist-reverse -I ::-1
2171 --no-playlist-reverse Default
8417f26b 2172 --no-colors --color no_color
6ccf351a 2173
2174
2175#### Not recommended
2176While these options still work, their use is not recommended since there are other alternatives to achieve the same
2177
fe7866d0 2178 --force-generic-extractor --ies generic,default
1e43a6f7 2179 --exec-before-download CMD --exec "before_dl:CMD"
2180 --no-exec-before-download --no-exec
d9aa2332 2181 --all-formats -f all
c32b0aab 2182 --all-subs --sub-langs all --write-subs
b7b04c78 2183 --print-json -j --no-simulate
62b58c09 2184 --autonumber-size NUMBER Use string formatting, e.g. %(autonumber)03d
a439a3a4 2185 --autonumber-start NUMBER Use internal field formatting like %(autonumber+NUMBER)s
19b824f6 2186 --id -o "%(id)s.%(ext)s"
73cd218f 2187 --metadata-from-title FORMAT --parse-metadata "%(title)s:FORMAT"
52a8a1e1 2188 --hls-prefer-native --downloader "m3u8:native"
2189 --hls-prefer-ffmpeg --downloader "m3u8:ffmpeg"
53ed7066 2190 --list-formats-old --compat-options list-formats (Alias: --no-list-formats-as-table)
2191 --list-formats-as-table --compat-options -list-formats [Default] (Alias: --no-list-formats-old)
5d3a0e79 2192 --youtube-skip-dash-manifest --extractor-args "youtube:skip=dash" (Alias: --no-youtube-include-dash-manifest)
2193 --youtube-skip-hls-manifest --extractor-args "youtube:skip=hls" (Alias: --no-youtube-include-hls-manifest)
2194 --youtube-include-dash-manifest Default (Alias: --no-youtube-skip-dash-manifest)
2195 --youtube-include-hls-manifest Default (Alias: --no-youtube-skip-hls-manifest)
c1664464 2196 --geo-bypass --xff "default"
2197 --no-geo-bypass --xff "never"
2198 --geo-bypass-country CODE --xff CODE
2199 --geo-bypass-ip-block IP_BLOCK --xff IP_BLOCK
6ccf351a 2200
2201
2202#### Developer options
2203These options are not intended to be used by the end-user
2204
34488702 2205 --test Download only part of video for testing extractors
f95b9dee 2206 --load-pages Load pages dumped by --write-pages
6ccf351a 2207 --youtube-print-sig-code For testing youtube signatures
88acdbc2 2208 --allow-unplayable-formats List unplayable formats also
2209 --no-allow-unplayable-formats Default
f4536226 2210
2211
2212#### Old aliases
2213These are aliases that are no longer documented for various reasons
2214
2215 --avconv-location --ffmpeg-location
3856407a 2216 --clean-infojson --clean-info-json
f4536226 2217 --cn-verification-proxy URL --geo-verification-proxy URL
2218 --dump-headers --print-traffic
2219 --dump-intermediate-pages --dump-pages
2220 --force-write-download-archive --force-write-archive
2221 --load-info --load-info-json
3856407a 2222 --no-clean-infojson --no-clean-info-json
f4536226 2223 --no-split-tracks --no-split-chapters
e167860c 2224 --no-write-srt --no-write-subs
e167860c 2225 --prefer-unsecure --prefer-insecure
2226 --rate-limit RATE --limit-rate RATE
f4536226 2227 --split-tracks --split-chapters
2228 --srt-lang LANGS --sub-langs LANGS
e167860c 2229 --trim-file-names LENGTH --trim-filenames LENGTH
f4536226 2230 --write-srt --write-subs
e167860c 2231 --yes-overwrites --force-overwrites
f4536226 2232
7a340e0d 2233#### Sponskrub Options
f304da8a 2234Support for [SponSkrub](https://github.com/faissaloo/SponSkrub) has been deprecated in favor of the `--sponsorblock` options
7a340e0d
NA
2235
2236 --sponskrub --sponsorblock-mark all
2237 --no-sponskrub --no-sponsorblock
2238 --sponskrub-cut --sponsorblock-remove all
2239 --no-sponskrub-cut --sponsorblock-remove -all
2240 --sponskrub-force Not applicable
2241 --no-sponskrub-force Not applicable
2242 --sponskrub-location Not applicable
2243 --sponskrub-args Not applicable
2244
f4536226 2245#### No longer supported
2246These options may no longer work as intended
2247
2248 --prefer-avconv avconv is not officially supported by yt-dlp (Alias: --no-prefer-ffmpeg)
2249 --prefer-ffmpeg Default (Alias: --no-prefer-avconv)
2250 -C, --call-home Not implemented
2251 --no-call-home Default
2252 --include-ads No longer supported
2253 --no-include-ads Default
0bb1bc1b 2254 --write-annotations No supported site has annotations now
2255 --no-write-annotations Default
1e8fe57e 2256 --compat-options seperate-video-versions No longer needed
486fb179 2257
2258#### Removed
2259These options were deprecated since 2014 and have now been entirely removed
2260
f4536226 2261 -A, --auto-number -o "%(autonumber)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s"
3d3bb168 2262 -t, -l, --title, --literal -o "%(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s"
f4536226 2263
8c6f4daa 2264# CONTRIBUTING
2265See [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 2266
17ffed18 2267# WIKI
2268See the [Wiki](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki) for more information