3 [](#readme)
5 []
(https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest)
6 []
(https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/actions)
7 [](LICENSE)
8 [](Collaborators.md#collaborators)
9 [](supportedsites.md)
10 []
(https://discord.gg/H5MNcFW63r)
11 []
(https://yt-dlp.readthedocs.io)
12 []
(https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits)
13 []
(https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits)
14 []
(https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest)
15 []
(https://pypi.org/project/yt-dlp)
19 yt-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
21 * [NEW FEATURES](#new-features)
22 * [Differences in default behavior](#differences-in-default-behavior)
23 * [INSTALLATION](#installation)
25 * [Dependencies](#dependencies)
27 * [USAGE AND OPTIONS](#usage-and-options)
28 * [General Options](#general-options)
29 * [Network Options](#network-options)
30 * [Geo-restriction](#geo-restriction)
31 * [Video Selection](#video-selection)
32 * [Download Options](#download-options)
33 * [Filesystem Options](#filesystem-options)
34 * [Thumbnail Options](#thumbnail-options)
35 * [Internet Shortcut Options](#internet-shortcut-options)
36 * [Verbosity and Simulation Options](#verbosity-and-simulation-options)
37 * [Workarounds](#workarounds)
38 * [Video Format Options](#video-format-options)
39 * [Subtitle Options](#subtitle-options)
40 * [Authentication Options](#authentication-options)
41 * [Post-processing Options](#post-processing-options)
42 * [SponsorBlock Options](#sponsorblock-options)
43 * [Extractor Options](#extractor-options)
44 * [CONFIGURATION](#configuration)
45 * [Authentication with .netrc file](#authentication-with-netrc-file)
46 * [OUTPUT TEMPLATE](#output-template)
47 * [Output template and Windows batch files](#output-template-and-windows-batch-files)
48 * [Output template examples](#output-template-examples)
49 * [FORMAT SELECTION](#format-selection)
50 * [Filtering Formats](#filtering-formats)
51 * [Sorting Formats](#sorting-formats)
52 * [Format Selection examples](#format-selection-examples)
53 * [MODIFYING METADATA](#modifying-metadata)
54 * [Modifying metadata examples](#modifying-metadata-examples)
55 * [EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS](#extractor-arguments)
57 * [DEPRECATED OPTIONS](#deprecated-options)
63 The major new features from the latest release of
[blackjack4494/yt-dlc](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc) are:
65 * **
[SponsorBlock Integration](#sponsorblock-options)**: You can mark/remove sponsor sections in youtube videos by utilizing the [SponsorBlock](https://sponsor.ajay.app) API
67 * **[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))
69 * **Merged with youtube-dl
[commit/379f52a](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/commit/379f52a4954013767219d25099cce9e0f9401961)**: (v2021.06
.06) You get all the latest features and patches of
[youtube-dl](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl) in addition to all the features of
[youtube-dlc](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc)
71 * **Merged with animelover1984/youtube-dl**: You get most of the features and improvements from
[animelover1984/youtube-dl](https://github.com/animelover1984/youtube-dl) including
`--write-comments`,
`BiliBiliSearch`,
`BilibiliChannel`, Embedding thumbnail in mp4/ogg/opus, playlist infojson etc. Note that the NicoNico improvements are not available. See
[#31](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/pull/31) for details.
73 * **Youtube improvements**:
74 * All Feeds (
`:ytfav`,
`:ytwatchlater`,
`:ytsubs`,
`:ythistory`,
`:ytrec`) and private playlists supports downloading multiple pages of content
75 * Search (
`ytsearch:`,
`ytsearchdate:`), search URLs and in-channel search works
76 * Mixes supports downloading multiple pages of content
77 * Most (but not all) age-gated content can be downloaded without cookies
78 * Partial workaround for throttling issue
79 * Redirect channel's home URL automatically to
`/video` to preserve the old behaviour
80 * `255kbps` audio is extracted from youtube music if premium cookies are given
81 * Youtube music Albums, channels etc can be downloaded (
[except self-uploaded music](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/723))
83 * **Cookies from browser**: Cookies can be automatically extracted from all major web browsers using
`--cookies-from-browser BROWSER[:PROFILE]`
85 * **Split video by chapters**: Videos can be split into multiple files based on chapters using
`--split-chapters`
87 * **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
89 * **Aria2c with HLS/DASH**: You can use
`aria2c` as the external downloader for DASH(mpd) and HLS(m3u8) formats
91 * **New extractors**: AnimeLab, Philo MSO, Spectrum MSO, SlingTV MSO, Cablevision MSO, Rcs, Gedi, bitwave.tv, mildom, audius, zee5, mtv.it, wimtv, pluto.tv, niconico users, discoveryplus.in, mediathek, NFHSNetwork, nebula, ukcolumn, whowatch, MxplayerShow, parlview (au), YoutubeWebArchive, fancode, Saitosan, ShemarooMe, telemundo, VootSeries, SonyLIVSeries, HotstarSeries, VidioPremier, VidioLive, RCTIPlus, TBS Live, douyin, pornflip, ParamountPlusSeries, ScienceChannel, Utreon, OpenRec, BandcampMusic, blackboardcollaborate, eroprofile albums, mirrativ, BannedVideo, bilibili categories, Epicon, filmmodu, GabTV, HungamaAlbum, ManotoTV, Niconico search, Patreon User, peloton, ProjectVeritas, radiko, StarTV, tiktok user, Tokentube, voicy, TV2HuSeries, biliintl,
17live, NewgroundsUser, peertube channel/playlist, ZenYandex, CAM4, CGTN, damtomo, gotostage, Koo, Mediaite, Mediaklikk, MuseScore, nzherald, Olympics replay, radlive, SovietsCloset, Streamanity, Theta, Chingari
93 * **Fixed/improved extractors**: archive.org, roosterteeth.com, skyit, instagram, itv, SouthparkDe, spreaker, Vlive, akamai, ina, rumble, tennistv, amcnetworks, la7 podcasts, linuxacadamy, nitter, twitcasting, viu, crackle, curiositystream, mediasite, rmcdecouverte, sonyliv, tubi, tenplay, patreon, videa, yahoo, BravoTV, crunchyroll playlist, RTP, viki, Hotstar, vidio, vimeo, mediaset, Mxplayer, nbcolympics, ParamountPlus, Newgrounds, SAML Verizon login, Hungama, afreecatv, aljazeera, ATV, bitchute, camtube, CDA, eroprofile, facebook, HearThisAtIE, iwara, kakao, Motherless, Nova, peertube, pornhub, reddit, tiktok, TV2, TV2Hu, tv5mondeplus, VH1, Viafree, XHamster,
9Now, AnimalPlanet, Arte, CBC, Chingari, comedycentral, DIYNetwork, niconico, dw, funimation, globo, HiDive, NDR, Nuvid, Oreilly, pbs, plutotv, reddit, redtube, soundcloud, SpankBang, VrtNU
95 * **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
97 * **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`)
99 * **Portable Configuration**: Configuration files are automatically loaded from the home and root directories. See [configuration](#configuration) for details
101 * **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`
103 * **Other new options**:
`--print`,
`--sleep-requests`,
`--convert-thumbnails`,
`--write-link`,
`--force-download-archive`,
`--force-overwrites`,
`--break-on-reject` etc
105 * **Improvements**: Regex and other operators in
`--match-filter`, multiple
`--postprocessor-args` and
`--downloader-args`, faster archive checking, more [format selection options](#format-selection) etc
107 * **Plugin extractors**: Extractors can be loaded from an external file. See [plugins](#plugins) for details
109 * **Self-updater**: The releases can be updated using
`yt-dlp -U`
112 See
[changelog](Changelog.md) or [commits](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits) for the full list of changes
115 **PS**: Some of these changes are already in youtube-dlc, but are still unreleased. See [this](Changelog.md#unreleased-changes-in-blackjack4494yt-dlc) for details
117 If you are coming from
[youtube-dl](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl), the amount of changes are very large. Compare
[options](#options) and [supported sites](supportedsites.md) with youtube-dl's to get an idea of the massive number of features/patches [youtube-dlc](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc) has accumulated.
119 ### Differences in default behavior
121 Some of yt-dlp's default options are different from that of youtube-dl and youtube-dlc.
123 * The options
`--id`,
`--auto-number` (
`-A`),
`--title` (
`-t`) and
`--literal` (
`-l`), no longer work. See [removed options](#Removed) for details
124 * `avconv` is not supported as as an alternative to
`ffmpeg`
125 * 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`
126 * 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
127 * The default format selector is
`bv*+ba/b`. This means that if a combined video + audio format that is better than the best video-only format is found, the former will be prefered. Use
`-f bv+ba/b` or
`--compat-options format-spec` to revert this
128 * 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
129 * `--ignore-errors` is enabled by default. Use
`--abort-on-error` or
`--compat-options abort-on-error` to abort on errors instead
130 * 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
131 * `--add-metadata` attaches the
`infojson` to
`mkv` files in addition to writing the metadata when used with
`--write-infojson`. Use
`--compat-options no-attach-info-json` to revert this
132 * `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
133 * The output of
`-F` is listed in a new format. Use
`--compat-options list-formats` to revert this
134 * All *experiences* of a funimation episode are considered as a single video. This behavior breaks existing archives. Use
`--compat-options seperate-video-versions` to extract information from only the default player
135 * Youtube live chat (if available) is considered as a subtitle. Use
`--sub-langs all,-live_chat` to download all subtitles except live chat. You can also use
`--compat-options no-live-chat` to prevent live chat from downloading
136 * Youtube channel URLs are automatically redirected to
`/video`. Append a
`/featured` to the URL to download only the videos in the home page. If the channel does not have a videos tab, we try to download the equivalent
`UU` playlist instead. Also,
`/live` URLs raise an error if there are no live videos instead of silently downloading the entire channel. You may use
`--compat-options no-youtube-channel-redirect` to revert all these redirections
137 * Unavailable videos are also listed for youtube playlists. Use
`--compat-options no-youtube-unavailable-videos` to remove this
138 * 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
139 * Thumbnail embedding in
`mp4` is done with mutagen if possible. Use
`--compat-options embed-thumbnail-atomicparsley` to force the use of AtomicParsley instead
140 * Some private fields such as filenames are removed by default from the infojson. Use
`--no-clean-infojson` or
`--compat-options no-clean-infojson` to revert this
141 * When
`--embed-subs` and
`--write-subs` are used together, the subtitles are written to disk and also embedded in the media file. You can use just
`--embed-subs` to embed the subs and automatically delete the seperate file. See
[#630 (comment)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/630#issuecomment-893659460) for more info.
`--compat-options no-keep-subs` can be used to revert this.
143 For ease of use, a few more compat options are available:
144 * `--compat-options all`: Use all compat options
145 * `--compat-options youtube-dl`: Same as
`--compat-options all,-multistreams`
146 * `--compat-options youtube-dlc`: Same as
`--compat-options all,-no-live-chat,-no-youtube-channel-redirect`
150 yt-dlp is not platform specific. So it should work on your Unix box, on Windows or on macOS
152 You can install yt-dlp using one of the following methods:
153 * Download the binary from the
[latest release](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest) (recommended method)
154 * With Homebrew,
`brew install yt-dlp/taps/yt-dlp`
155 * Use
[PyPI package](https://pypi.org/project/yt-dlp):
`python3 -m pip install --upgrade yt-dlp`
156 * Use pip+git:
`python3 -m pip install --upgrade git+https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp.git@release`
157 * Install master branch:
`python3 -m pip install --upgrade git+https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp`
159 Note that on some systems, you may need to use
`py` or
`python` instead of
`python3`
161 UNIX users (Linux, macOS, BSD) can also install the
[latest release](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest) one of the following ways:
164 sudo curl -L https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp -o /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
165 sudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
169 sudo wget https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp -O /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
170 sudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
174 sudo aria2c https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp -o /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
175 sudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
178 macOS or Linux users that are using Homebrew (formerly known as Linuxbrew for Linux users) can also install it by:
181 brew install yt-dlp/taps/yt-dlp
185 You can use
`yt-dlp -U` to update if you are using the provided release.
186 If you are using
`pip`, simply re-run the same command that was used to install the program.
187 If you have installed using Homebrew, run
`brew upgrade yt-dlp/taps/yt-dlp`
190 Python versions
3.6+ (CPython and PyPy) are supported. Other versions and implementations may or may not work correctly.
192 <!-- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=
26999 -->
193 On 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.
195 While all the other dependancies are optional,
`ffmpeg` and
`ffprobe` are highly recommended
196 * [**ffmpeg** and **ffprobe**](https://www.ffmpeg.org) - Required for
[merging seperate video and audio files](#format-selection) as well as for various [post-processing](#post-processing-options) tasks. Licence [depends on the build](https://www.ffmpeg.org/legal.html)
197 * [**mutagen**](https://github.com/quodlibet/mutagen) - For embedding thumbnail in certain formats. Licenced under
[GPLv2+](https://github.com/quodlibet/mutagen/blob/master/COPYING)
198 * [**pycryptodome**](https://github.com/Legrandin/pycryptodome) - For decrypting various data. Licenced under
[BSD2](https://github.com/Legrandin/pycryptodome/blob/master/LICENSE.rst)
199 * [**websockets**](https://github.com/aaugustin/websockets) - For downloading over websocket. Licenced under
[BSD3](https://github.com/aaugustin/websockets/blob/main/LICENSE)
200 * [**keyring**](https://github.com/jaraco/keyring) - For decrypting cookies of chromium-based browsers on Linux. Licenced under
[MIT](https://github.com/jaraco/keyring/blob/main/LICENSE)
201 * [**AtomicParsley**](https://github.com/wez/atomicparsley) - For embedding thumbnail in mp4/m4a if mutagen is not present. Licenced under
[GPLv2+](https://github.com/wez/atomicparsley/blob/master/COPYING)
202 * [**rtmpdump**](http://rtmpdump.mplayerhq.hu) - For downloading
`rtmp` streams. ffmpeg will be used as a fallback. Licenced under
[GPLv2+](http://rtmpdump.mplayerhq.hu)
203 * [**mplayer**](http://mplayerhq.hu/design7/info.html) or
[**mpv**](https://mpv.io) - For downloading
`rstp` streams. ffmpeg will be used as a fallback. Licenced under
[GPLv2+](https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/blob/master/Copyright)
204 * [**phantomjs**](https://github.com/ariya/phantomjs) - Used in extractors where javascript needs to be run. Licenced under
[BSD3](https://github.com/ariya/phantomjs/blob/master/LICENSE.BSD)
205 * [**sponskrub**](https://github.com/faissaloo/SponSkrub) - For using the now **deprecated**
[sponskrub options](#sponskrub-options). Licenced under [GPLv3+](https://github.com/faissaloo/SponSkrub/blob/master/LICENCE.md)
206 * Any external downloader that you want to use with
`--downloader`
208 To use or redistribute the dependencies, you must agree to their respective licensing terms.
210 Note that the windows releases are already built with the python interpreter, mutagen, pycryptodome and websockets included.
215 To build the Windows executable, you must have pyinstaller (and optionally mutagen, pycryptodome, websockets)
217 python3 -m pip install --upgrade pyinstaller mutagen pycryptodome websockets
219 Once you have all the necessary dependencies installed, just run
`py pyinst.py`. The executable will be built for the same architecture (
32/
64 bit) as the python used to build it.
221 You can also build the executable without any version info or metadata by using:
223 pyinstaller.exe yt_dlp\__main__.py --onefile --name yt-dlp
225 Note that pyinstaller
[does not support](https://github.com/pyinstaller/pyinstaller#requirements-and-tested-platforms) Python installed from the Windows store without using a virtual environment
228 You will need the required build tools:
`python`,
`make` (GNU),
`pandoc`,
`zip`,
`pytest`
229 Then simply run
`make`. You can also run
`make yt-dlp` instead to compile only the binary without updating any of the additional files
231 **Note**: In either platform,
`devscripts\update-version.py` can be used to automatically update the version number
235 yt-dlp [OPTIONS] [--] URL [URL...]
237 `Ctrl+F` is your friend :D
238 <!-- Auto generated -->
241 -h, --help Print this help text and exit
242 --version Print program version and exit
243 -U, --update Update this program to latest version. Make
244 sure that you have sufficient permissions
245 (run with sudo if needed)
246 -i, --ignore-errors Ignore download and postprocessing errors.
247 The download will be considered successfull
248 even if the postprocessing fails
249 --no-abort-on-error Continue with next video on download
250 errors; e.g. to skip unavailable videos in
252 --abort-on-error Abort downloading of further videos if an
253 error occurs (Alias: --no-ignore-errors)
254 --dump-user-agent Display the current user-agent and exit
255 --list-extractors List all supported extractors and exit
256 --extractor-descriptions Output descriptions of all supported
258 --force-generic-extractor Force extraction to use the generic
260 --default-search PREFIX Use this prefix for unqualified URLs. For
261 example "gvsearch2:" downloads two videos
262 from google videos for the search term
263 "large apple". Use the value "auto" to let
264 yt-dlp guess ("auto_warning" to emit a
265 warning when guessing). "error" just throws
266 an error. The default value "fixup_error"
267 repairs broken URLs, but emits an error if
268 this is not possible instead of searching
269 --ignore-config, --no-config Disable loading any configuration files
270 except the one provided by --config-location.
271 When given inside a configuration
272 file, no further configuration files are
273 loaded. Additionally, (for backward
274 compatibility) if this option is found
275 inside the system configuration file, the
276 user configuration is not loaded
277 --config-location PATH Location of the main configuration file;
278 either the path to the config or its
280 --flat-playlist Do not extract the videos of a playlist,
282 --no-flat-playlist Extract the videos of a playlist
283 --mark-watched Mark videos watched (YouTube only)
284 --no-mark-watched Do not mark videos watched (default)
285 --no-colors Do not emit color codes in output
286 --compat-options OPTS Options that can help keep compatibility
287 with youtube-dl or youtube-dlc
288 configurations by reverting some of the
289 changes made in yt-dlp. See "Differences in
290 default behavior" for details
293 --proxy URL Use the specified HTTP/HTTPS/SOCKS proxy.
294 To enable SOCKS proxy, specify a proper
296 socks5://
127.0.0.1:
1080/. Pass in an empty
297 string (--proxy "") for direct connection
298 --socket-timeout SECONDS Time to wait before giving up, in seconds
299 --source-address IP Client-side IP address to bind to
300 -4, --force-ipv4 Make all connections via IPv4
301 -6, --force-ipv6 Make all connections via IPv6
304 --geo-verification-proxy URL Use this proxy to verify the IP address for
305 some geo-restricted sites. The default
306 proxy specified by --proxy (or none, if the
307 option is not present) is used for the
309 --geo-bypass Bypass geographic restriction via faking
310 X-Forwarded-For HTTP header
311 --no-geo-bypass Do not bypass geographic restriction via
312 faking X-Forwarded-For HTTP header
313 --geo-bypass-country CODE Force bypass geographic restriction with
314 explicitly provided two-letter ISO
3166-
2
316 --geo-bypass-ip-block IP_BLOCK Force bypass geographic restriction with
317 explicitly provided IP block in CIDR
321 --playlist-start NUMBER Playlist video to start at (default is
1)
322 --playlist-end NUMBER Playlist video to end at (default is last)
323 --playlist-items ITEM_SPEC Playlist video items to download. Specify
324 indices of the videos in the playlist
325 separated by commas like: "--playlist-items
326 1,
2,
5,
8" if you want to download videos
327 indexed
1,
2,
5,
8 in the playlist. You can
328 specify range: "--playlist-items
329 1-
3,
7,
10-
13", it will download the videos
330 at index
1,
2,
3,
7,
10,
11,
12 and
13
331 --max-downloads NUMBER Abort after downloading NUMBER files
332 --min-filesize SIZE Do not download any videos smaller than
333 SIZE (e.g.
50k or
44.6m)
334 --max-filesize SIZE Do not download any videos larger than SIZE
336 --date DATE Download only videos uploaded in this date.
337 The date can be "YYYYMMDD" or in the format
338 "(now|today)[+-][
0-
9](day|week|month|year)(s)?"
339 --datebefore DATE Download only videos uploaded on or before
340 this date. The date formats accepted is the
342 --dateafter DATE Download only videos uploaded on or after
343 this date. The date formats accepted is the
345 --match-filter FILTER Generic video filter. Any field (see
346 "OUTPUT TEMPLATE") can be compared with a
347 number or a string using the operators
348 defined in "Filtering formats". You can
349 also simply specify a field to match if the
350 field is present and "!field" to check if
351 the field is not present. In addition,
352 Python style regular expression matching
353 can be done using "~=", and multiple
354 filters can be checked with "&". Use a "
\"
355 to escape "&" or quotes if needed. Eg:
356 --match-filter "!is_live & like_count>?
100
357 & description~='(?i)
\bcats \& dogs
\b'"
358 matches only videos that are not live, has
359 a like count more than
100 (or the like
360 field is not available), and also has a
361 description that contains the phrase "cats
362 & dogs" (ignoring case)
363 --no-match-filter Do not use generic video filter (default)
364 --no-playlist Download only the video, if the URL refers
365 to a video and a playlist
366 --yes-playlist Download the playlist, if the URL refers to
367 a video and a playlist
368 --age-limit YEARS Download only videos suitable for the given
370 --download-archive FILE Download only videos not listed in the
371 archive file. Record the IDs of all
372 downloaded videos in it
373 --break-on-existing Stop the download process when encountering
374 a file that is in the archive
375 --break-on-reject Stop the download process when encountering
376 a file that has been filtered out
377 --skip-playlist-after-errors N Number of allowed failures until the rest
378 of the playlist is skipped
379 --no-download-archive Do not use archive file (default)
382 -N, --concurrent-fragments N Number of fragments of a dash/hlsnative
383 video that should be download concurrently
385 -r, --limit-rate RATE Maximum download rate in bytes per second
387 --throttled-rate RATE Minimum download rate in bytes per second
388 below which throttling is assumed and the
389 video data is re-extracted (e.g.
100K)
390 -R, --retries RETRIES Number of retries (default is
10), or
392 --fragment-retries RETRIES Number of retries for a fragment (default
393 is
10), or "infinite" (DASH, hlsnative and
395 --skip-unavailable-fragments Skip unavailable fragments for DASH,
396 hlsnative and ISM (default)
397 (Alias: --no-abort-on-unavailable-fragment)
398 --abort-on-unavailable-fragment Abort downloading if a fragment is unavailable
399 (Alias: --no-skip-unavailable-fragments)
400 --keep-fragments Keep downloaded fragments on disk after
401 downloading is finished
402 --no-keep-fragments Delete downloaded fragments after
403 downloading is finished (default)
404 --buffer-size SIZE Size of download buffer (e.g.
1024 or
16K)
406 --resize-buffer The buffer size is automatically resized
407 from an initial value of --buffer-size
409 --no-resize-buffer Do not automatically adjust the buffer size
410 --http-chunk-size SIZE Size of a chunk for chunk-based HTTP
411 downloading (e.g.
10485760 or
10M) (default
412 is disabled). May be useful for bypassing
413 bandwidth throttling imposed by a webserver
415 --playlist-reverse Download playlist videos in reverse order
416 --no-playlist-reverse Download playlist videos in default order
418 --playlist-random Download playlist videos in random order
419 --xattr-set-filesize Set file xattribute ytdl.filesize with
421 --hls-use-mpegts Use the mpegts container for HLS videos;
422 allowing some players to play the video
423 while downloading, and reducing the chance
424 of file corruption if download is
425 interrupted. This is enabled by default for
427 --no-hls-use-mpegts Do not use the mpegts container for HLS
428 videos. This is default when not
429 downloading live streams
430 --downloader [PROTO:]NAME Name or path of the external downloader to
431 use (optionally) prefixed by the protocols
432 (http, ftp, m3u8, dash, rstp, rtmp, mms) to
433 use it for. Currently supports native,
434 aria2c, avconv, axel, curl, ffmpeg, httpie,
435 wget (Recommended: aria2c). You can use
436 this option multiple times to set different
437 downloaders for different protocols. For
438 example, --downloader aria2c --downloader
439 "dash,m3u8:native" will use aria2c for
440 http/ftp downloads, and the native
441 downloader for dash/m3u8 downloads
442 (Alias: --external-downloader)
443 --downloader-args NAME:ARGS Give these arguments to the external
444 downloader. Specify the downloader name and
445 the arguments separated by a colon ":". For
446 ffmpeg, arguments can be passed to
447 different positions using the same syntax
448 as --postprocessor-args. You can use this
449 option multiple times to give different
450 arguments to different downloaders
451 (Alias: --external-downloader-args)
453 ## Filesystem Options:
454 -a, --batch-file FILE File containing URLs to download ('-' for
455 stdin), one URL per line. Lines starting
456 with '#', ';' or ']' are considered as
458 -P, --paths [TYPES:]PATH The paths where the files should be
459 downloaded. Specify the type of file and
460 the path separated by a colon ":". All the
461 same types as --output are supported.
462 Additionally, you can also provide "home"
463 (default) and "temp" paths. All
464 intermediary files are first downloaded to
465 the temp path and then the final files are
466 moved over to the home path after download
467 is finished. This option is ignored if
468 --output is an absolute path
469 -o, --output [TYPES:]TEMPLATE Output filename template; see "OUTPUT
470 TEMPLATE" for details
471 --output-na-placeholder TEXT Placeholder value for unavailable meta
472 fields in output filename template
474 --restrict-filenames Restrict filenames to only ASCII
475 characters, and avoid "&" and spaces in
477 --no-restrict-filenames Allow Unicode characters, "&" and spaces in
479 --windows-filenames Force filenames to be windows compatible
480 --no-windows-filenames Make filenames windows compatible only if
481 using windows (default)
482 --trim-filenames LENGTH Limit the filename length (excluding
483 extension) to the specified number of
485 -w, --no-overwrites Do not overwrite any files
486 --force-overwrites Overwrite all video and metadata files.
487 This option includes --no-continue
488 --no-force-overwrites Do not overwrite the video, but overwrite
489 related files (default)
490 -c, --continue Resume partially downloaded files/fragments
492 --no-continue Do not resume partially downloaded
493 fragments. If the file is not fragmented,
494 restart download of the entire file
495 --part Use .part files instead of writing directly
496 into output file (default)
497 --no-part Do not use .part files - write directly
499 --mtime Use the Last-modified header to set the
500 file modification time (default)
501 --no-mtime Do not use the Last-modified header to set
502 the file modification time
503 --write-description Write video description to a .description
505 --no-write-description Do not write video description (default)
506 --write-info-json Write video metadata to a .info.json file
507 (this may contain personal information)
508 --no-write-info-json Do not write video metadata (default)
509 --write-playlist-metafiles Write playlist metadata in addition to the
510 video metadata when using --write-info-json,
511 --write-description etc. (default)
512 --no-write-playlist-metafiles Do not write playlist metadata when using
513 --write-info-json, --write-description etc.
514 --clean-infojson Remove some private fields such as
515 filenames from the infojson. Note that it
516 could still contain some personal
517 information (default)
518 --no-clean-infojson Write all fields to the infojson
519 --write-comments Retrieve video comments to be placed in the
520 infojson. The comments are fetched even
521 without this option if the extraction is
522 known to be quick (Alias: --get-comments)
523 --no-write-comments Do not retrieve video comments unless the
524 extraction is known to be quick
525 (Alias: --no-get-comments)
526 --load-info-json FILE JSON file containing the video information
527 (created with the "--write-info-json"
529 --cookies FILE File to read cookies from and dump cookie
531 --no-cookies Do not read/dump cookies from/to file
533 --cookies-from-browser BROWSER[:PROFILE]
534 Load cookies from a user profile of the
535 given web browser. Currently supported
536 browsers are: brave, chrome, chromium,
537 edge, firefox, opera, safari, vivaldi. You
538 can specify the user profile name or
539 directory using "BROWSER:PROFILE_NAME" or
540 "BROWSER:PROFILE_PATH". If no profile is
541 given, the most recently accessed one is
543 --no-cookies-from-browser Do not load cookies from browser (default)
544 --cache-dir DIR Location in the filesystem where youtube-dl
545 can store some downloaded information (such
546 as client ids and signatures) permanently.
547 By default $XDG_CACHE_HOME/yt-dlp or
549 --no-cache-dir Disable filesystem caching
550 --rm-cache-dir Delete all filesystem cache files
552 ## Thumbnail Options:
553 --write-thumbnail Write thumbnail image to disk
554 --no-write-thumbnail Do not write thumbnail image to disk
556 --write-all-thumbnails Write all thumbnail image formats to disk
557 --list-thumbnails List available thumbnails of each video.
558 Simulate unless --no-simulate is used
560 ## Internet Shortcut Options:
561 --write-link Write an internet shortcut file, depending
562 on the current platform (.url, .webloc or
563 .desktop). The URL may be cached by the OS
564 --write-url-link Write a .url Windows internet shortcut. The
565 OS caches the URL based on the file path
566 --write-webloc-link Write a .webloc macOS internet shortcut
567 --write-desktop-link Write a .desktop Linux internet shortcut
569 ## Verbosity and Simulation Options:
570 -q, --quiet Activate quiet mode. If used with
571 --verbose, print the log to stderr
572 --no-warnings Ignore warnings
573 -s, --simulate Do not download the video and do not write
575 --no-simulate Download the video even if printing/listing
577 --ignore-no-formats-error Ignore "No video formats" error. Usefull
578 for extracting metadata even if the videos
579 are not actually available for download
581 --no-ignore-no-formats-error Throw error when no downloadable video
582 formats are found (default)
583 --skip-download Do not download the video but write all
584 related files (Alias: --no-download)
585 -O, --print TEMPLATE Quiet, but print the given fields for each
586 video. Simulate unless --no-simulate is
587 used. Either a field name or same syntax as
588 the output template can be used
589 -j, --dump-json Quiet, but print JSON information for each
590 video. Simulate unless --no-simulate is
591 used. See "OUTPUT TEMPLATE" for a
592 description of available keys
593 -J, --dump-single-json Quiet, but print JSON information for each
594 url or infojson passed. Simulate unless
595 --no-simulate is used. If the URL refers to
596 a playlist, the whole playlist information
597 is dumped in a single line
598 --force-write-archive Force download archive entries to be
599 written as far as no errors occur, even if
600 -s or another simulation option is used
601 (Alias: --force-download-archive)
602 --newline Output progress bar as new lines
603 --no-progress Do not print progress bar
604 --console-title Display progress in console titlebar
605 -v, --verbose Print various debugging information
606 --dump-pages Print downloaded pages encoded using base64
607 to debug problems (very verbose)
608 --write-pages Write downloaded intermediary pages to
609 files in the current directory to debug
611 --print-traffic Display sent and read HTTP traffic
614 --encoding ENCODING Force the specified encoding (experimental)
615 --no-check-certificate Suppress HTTPS certificate validation
616 --prefer-insecure Use an unencrypted connection to retrieve
617 information about the video (Currently
618 supported only for YouTube)
619 --user-agent UA Specify a custom user agent
620 --referer URL Specify a custom referer, use if the video
621 access is restricted to one domain
622 --add-header FIELD:VALUE Specify a custom HTTP header and its value,
623 separated by a colon ":". You can use this
624 option multiple times
625 --bidi-workaround Work around terminals that lack
626 bidirectional text support. Requires bidiv
627 or fribidi executable in PATH
628 --sleep-requests SECONDS Number of seconds to sleep between requests
629 during data extraction
630 --sleep-interval SECONDS Number of seconds to sleep before each
631 download. This is the minimum time to sleep
632 when used along with --max-sleep-interval
633 (Alias: --min-sleep-interval)
634 --max-sleep-interval SECONDS Maximum number of seconds to sleep. Can
635 only be used along with --min-sleep-interval
636 --sleep-subtitles SECONDS Number of seconds to sleep before each
639 ## Video Format Options:
640 -f, --format FORMAT Video format code, see "FORMAT SELECTION"
642 -S, --format-sort SORTORDER Sort the formats by the fields given, see
643 "Sorting Formats" for more details
644 --S-force, --format-sort-force Force user specified sort order to have
645 precedence over all fields, see "Sorting
646 Formats" for more details
647 --no-format-sort-force Some fields have precedence over the user
648 specified sort order (default), see
649 "Sorting Formats" for more details
650 --video-multistreams Allow multiple video streams to be merged
652 --no-video-multistreams Only one video stream is downloaded for
653 each output file (default)
654 --audio-multistreams Allow multiple audio streams to be merged
656 --no-audio-multistreams Only one audio stream is downloaded for
657 each output file (default)
658 --prefer-free-formats Prefer video formats with free containers
659 over non-free ones of same quality. Use
660 with "-S ext" to strictly prefer free
661 containers irrespective of quality
662 --no-prefer-free-formats Don't give any special preference to free
664 --check-formats Check that the formats selected are
665 actually downloadable
666 --no-check-formats Do not check that the formats selected are
667 actually downloadable
668 -F, --list-formats List available formats of each video.
669 Simulate unless --no-simulate is used
670 --merge-output-format FORMAT If a merge is required (e.g.
671 bestvideo+bestaudio), output to given
672 container format. One of mkv, mp4, ogg,
673 webm, flv. Ignored if no merge is required
676 --write-subs Write subtitle file
677 --no-write-subs Do not write subtitle file (default)
678 --write-auto-subs Write automatically generated subtitle file
679 (Alias: --write-automatic-subs)
680 --no-write-auto-subs Do not write auto-generated subtitles
681 (default) (Alias: --no-write-automatic-subs)
682 --list-subs List available subtitles of each video.
683 Simulate unless --no-simulate is used
684 --sub-format FORMAT Subtitle format, accepts formats
685 preference, for example: "srt" or
687 --sub-langs LANGS Languages of the subtitles to download (can
688 be regex) or "all" separated by commas.
689 (Eg: --sub-langs en.*,ja) You can prefix
690 the language code with a "-" to exempt it
691 from the requested languages. (Eg: --sub-
692 langs all,-live_chat) Use --list-subs for a
693 list of available language tags
695 ## Authentication Options:
696 -u, --username USERNAME Login with this account ID
697 -p, --password PASSWORD Account password. If this option is left
698 out, yt-dlp will ask interactively
699 -2, --twofactor TWOFACTOR Two-factor authentication code
700 -n, --netrc Use .netrc authentication data
701 --netrc-location PATH Location of .netrc authentication data;
702 either the path or its containing
703 directory. Defaults to ~/.netrc
704 --video-password PASSWORD Video password (vimeo, youku)
705 --ap-mso MSO Adobe Pass multiple-system operator (TV
706 provider) identifier, use --ap-list-mso for
707 a list of available MSOs
708 --ap-username USERNAME Multiple-system operator account login
709 --ap-password PASSWORD Multiple-system operator account password.
710 If this option is left out, yt-dlp will ask
712 --ap-list-mso List all supported multiple-system
715 ## Post-Processing Options:
716 -x, --extract-audio Convert video files to audio-only files
717 (requires ffmpeg and ffprobe)
718 --audio-format FORMAT Specify audio format to convert the audio
719 to when -x is used. Currently supported
720 formats are: best (default) or one of
721 best|aac|flac|mp3|m4a|opus|vorbis|wav
722 --audio-quality QUALITY Specify ffmpeg audio quality, insert a
723 value between
0 (better) and
9 (worse) for
724 VBR or a specific bitrate like
128K
726 --remux-video FORMAT Remux the video into another container if
727 necessary (currently supported: mp4|mkv|flv
728 |webm|mov|avi|mp3|mka|m4a|ogg|opus). If
729 target container does not support the
730 video/audio codec, remuxing will fail. You
731 can specify multiple rules; Eg.
732 "aac>m4a/mov>mp4/mkv" will remux aac to
733 m4a, mov to mp4 and anything else to mkv.
734 --recode-video FORMAT Re-encode the video into another format if
735 re-encoding is necessary. The syntax and
736 supported formats are the same as --remux-video
737 --postprocessor-args NAME:ARGS Give these arguments to the postprocessors.
738 Specify the postprocessor/executable name
739 and the arguments separated by a colon ":"
740 to give the argument to the specified
741 postprocessor/executable. Supported PP are:
742 Merger, ModifyChapters, SplitChapters,
743 ExtractAudio, VideoRemuxer, VideoConvertor,
744 Metadata, EmbedSubtitle, EmbedThumbnail,
745 SubtitlesConvertor, ThumbnailsConvertor,
746 FixupStretched, FixupM4a, FixupM3u8,
747 FixupTimestamp and FixupDuration. The
748 supported executables are: AtomicParsley,
749 FFmpeg and FFprobe. You can also specify
750 "PP+EXE:ARGS" to give the arguments to the
751 specified executable only when being used
752 by the specified postprocessor.
753 Additionally, for ffmpeg/ffprobe, "_i"/"_o"
754 can be appended to the prefix optionally
755 followed by a number to pass the argument
756 before the specified input/output file. Eg:
757 --ppa "Merger+ffmpeg_i1:-v quiet". You can
758 use this option multiple times to give
759 different arguments to different
760 postprocessors. (Alias: --ppa)
761 -k, --keep-video Keep the intermediate video file on disk
762 after post-processing
763 --no-keep-video Delete the intermediate video file after
764 post-processing (default)
765 --post-overwrites Overwrite post-processed files (default)
766 --no-post-overwrites Do not overwrite post-processed files
767 --embed-subs Embed subtitles in the video (only for mp4,
769 --no-embed-subs Do not embed subtitles (default)
770 --embed-thumbnail Embed thumbnail in the video as cover art
771 --no-embed-thumbnail Do not embed thumbnail (default)
772 --embed-metadata Embed metadata to the video file. Also adds
773 chapters to file unless --no-add-chapters
774 is used (Alias: --add-metadata)
775 --no-embed-metadata Do not add metadata to file (default)
776 (Alias: --no-add-metadata)
777 --embed-chapters Add chapter markers to the video file
778 (Alias: --add-chapters)
779 --no-embed-chapters Do not add chapter markers (default)
780 (Alias: --no-add-chapters)
781 --parse-metadata FROM:TO Parse additional metadata like title/artist
782 from other fields; see "MODIFYING METADATA"
784 --replace-in-metadata FIELDS REGEX REPLACE
785 Replace text in a metadata field using the
786 given regex. This option can be used
788 --xattrs Write metadata to the video file's xattrs
789 (using dublin core and xdg standards)
790 --fixup POLICY Automatically correct known faults of the
791 file. One of never (do nothing), warn (only
792 emit a warning), detect_or_warn (the
793 default; fix file if we can, warn
794 otherwise), force (try fixing even if file
796 --ffmpeg-location PATH Location of the ffmpeg binary; either the
797 path to the binary or its containing
799 --exec CMD Execute a command on the file after
800 downloading and post-processing. Same
801 syntax as the output template can be used
802 to pass any field as arguments to the
803 command. An additional field "filepath"
804 that contains the final path of the
805 downloaded file is also available. If no
806 fields are passed, %(filepath)q is appended
807 to the end of the command. This option can
808 be used multiple times
809 --no-exec Remove any previously defined --exec
810 --exec-before-download CMD Execute a command before the actual
811 download. The syntax is the same as --exec
812 but "filepath" is not available. This
813 option can be used multiple times
814 --no-exec-before-download Remove any previously defined
815 --exec-before-download
816 --convert-subs FORMAT Convert the subtitles to another format
817 (currently supported: srt|vtt|ass|lrc)
818 (Alias: --convert-subtitles)
819 --convert-thumbnails FORMAT Convert the thumbnails to another format
820 (currently supported: jpg|png)
821 --split-chapters Split video into multiple files based on
822 internal chapters. The "chapter:" prefix
823 can be used with "--paths" and "--output"
824 to set the output filename for the split
825 files. See "OUTPUT TEMPLATE" for details
826 --no-split-chapters Do not split video based on chapters
828 --remove-chapters REGEX Remove chapters whose title matches the
829 given regular expression. This option can
830 be used multiple times
831 --no-remove-chapters Do not remove any chapters from the file
833 --force-keyframes-at-cuts Force keyframes around the chapters before
834 removing/splitting them. Requires a
835 reencode and thus is very slow, but the
836 resulting video may have fewer artifacts
838 --no-force-keyframes-at-cuts Do not force keyframes around the chapters
839 when cutting/splitting (default)
841 ## SponsorBlock Options:
842 Make chapter entries for, or remove various segments (sponsor,
843 introductions, etc.) from downloaded YouTube videos using the
844 [SponsorBlock API](https://sponsor.ajay.app)
846 --sponsorblock-mark CATS SponsorBlock categories to create chapters
847 for, separated by commas. Available
848 categories are all, sponsor, intro, outro,
849 selfpromo, interaction, preview,
850 music_offtopic. You can prefix the category
851 with a "-" to exempt it. See
852 https://wiki.sponsor.ajay.app/index.php/Segment_Categories
853 for description of the categories. Eg:
854 --sponsorblock-query all,-preview
855 --sponsorblock-remove CATS SponsorBlock categories to be removed from
856 the video file, separated by commas. If a
857 category is present in both mark and
858 remove, remove takes precedence. The syntax
859 and available categories are the same as
860 for --sponsorblock-mark
861 --sponsorblock-chapter-title TEMPLATE
862 The title template for SponsorBlock
863 chapters created by --sponsorblock-mark.
864 The same syntax as the output template is
865 used, but the only available fields are
866 start_time, end_time, category, categories,
867 name, category_names. Defaults to
868 "[SponsorBlock]: %(category_names)l"
869 --no-sponsorblock Disable both --sponsorblock-mark and
870 --sponsorblock-remove
871 --sponsorblock-api URL SponsorBlock API location, defaults to
872 https://sponsor.ajay.app
874 ## Extractor Options:
875 --extractor-retries RETRIES Number of retries for known extractor
876 errors (default is
3), or "infinite"
877 --allow-dynamic-mpd Process dynamic DASH manifests (default)
878 (Alias: --no-ignore-dynamic-mpd)
879 --ignore-dynamic-mpd Do not process dynamic DASH manifests
880 (Alias: --no-allow-dynamic-mpd)
881 --hls-split-discontinuity Split HLS playlists to different formats at
882 discontinuities such as ad breaks
883 --no-hls-split-discontinuity Do not split HLS playlists to different
884 formats at discontinuities such as ad
886 --extractor-args KEY:ARGS Pass these arguments to the extractor. See
887 "EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS" for details. You can
888 use this option multiple times to give
889 arguments for different extractors
893 You can configure yt-dlp by placing any supported command line option to a configuration file. The configuration is loaded from the following locations:
895 1. **Main Configuration**: The file given by
`--config-location`
896 1. **Portable Configuration**:
`yt-dlp.conf` in the same directory as the bundled binary. If you are running from source-code (
`<root dir>/yt_dlp/__main__.py`), the root directory is used instead.
897 1. **Home Configuration**:
`yt-dlp.conf` in the home path given by
`-P "home:<path>"`, or in the current directory if no such path is given
898 1. **User Configuration**:
899 * `%XDG_CONFIG_HOME%/yt-dlp/config` (recommended on Linux/macOS)
900 * `%XDG_CONFIG_HOME%/yt-dlp.conf`
901 * `%APPDATA%/yt-dlp/config` (recommended on Windows)
902 * `%APPDATA%/yt-dlp/config.txt`
904 * `~/yt-dlp.conf.txt`
906 `%XDG_CONFIG_HOME%` defaults to
`~/.config` if undefined. On windows,
`~` points to %HOME% if present,
`%USERPROFILE%` (generally
`C:\Users\<user name>`) or
`%HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%`.
907 1. **System Configuration**:
`/etc/yt-dlp.conf`
909 For example, with the following configuration file yt-dlp will always extract the audio, not copy the mtime, use a proxy and save all videos under
`YouTube` directory in your home directory:
911 # Lines starting with # are comments
913 # Always extract audio
916 # Do not copy the mtime
920 --proxy 127.0.0.1:3128
922 # Save all videos under YouTube directory in your home directory
923 -o ~/YouTube/%(title)s.%(ext)s
926 Note that options in configuration file are just the same options aka switches used in regular command line calls; thus there **must be no whitespace** after
`-` or
`--`, e.g.
`-o` or
`--proxy` but not
`- o` or
`-- proxy`.
928 You can use
`--ignore-config` if you want to disable all configuration files for a particular yt-dlp run. If
`--ignore-config` is found inside any configuration file, no further configuration will be loaded. For example, having the option in the portable configuration file prevents loading of user and system configurations. Additionally, (for backward compatibility) if
`--ignore-config` is found inside the system configuration file, the user configuration is not loaded.
930 ### Authentication with `.netrc` file
932 You 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:
935 chmod a-rwx,u+rw $HOME/.netrc
937 After that you can add credentials for an extractor in the following format, where *extractor* is the name of the extractor in lowercase:
939 machine <extractor> login <username> password <password>
943 machine youtube login myaccount@gmail.com password my_youtube_password
944 machine twitch login my_twitch_account_name password my_twitch_password
946 To activate authentication with the
`.netrc` file you should pass
`--netrc` to yt-dlp or place it in the [configuration file](#configuration).
948 The default location of the .netrc file is
`$HOME` (
`~`) in UNIX. On Windows, it is
`%HOME%` if present,
`%USERPROFILE%` (generally
`C:\Users\<user name>`) or
`%HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%`
952 The
`-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.
954 **tl;dr:** [navigate me to examples](#output-template-examples).
956 The 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).
958 It may however also contain special sequences that will be replaced when downloading each video. The special sequences may be formatted according to
[python string formatting operations](https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#printf-style-string-formatting). For example,
`%(NAME)s` or
`%(NAME)05d`. To clarify, that is a percent symbol followed by a name in parentheses, followed by formatting operations.
960 The field names themselves (the part inside the parenthesis) can also have some special formatting:
961 1. **Object traversal**: The dictionaries and lists available in metadata can be traversed by using a
`.` (dot) separator. You can also do python slicing using
`:`. Eg:
`%(tags.0)s`,
`%(subtitles.en.-1.ext)s`,
`%(id.3:7:-1)s`,
`%(formats.:.format_id)s`.
`%()s` refers to the entire infodict. Note that all the fields that become available using this method are not listed below. Use
`-j` to see such fields
962 1. **Addition**: Addition and subtraction of numeric fields can be done using
`+` and
`-` respectively. Eg:
`%(playlist_index+10)03d`,
`%(n_entries+1-playlist_index)d`
963 1. **Date/time Formatting**: Date/time fields can be formatted according to
[strftime formatting](https://docs.python.org/3/library/datetime.html#strftime-and-strptime-format-codes) by specifying it separated from the field name using a
`>`. Eg:
`%(duration>%H-%M-%S)s`,
`%(upload_date>%Y-%m-%d)s`,
`%(epoch-3600>%H-%M-%S)s`
964 1. **Alternatives**: Alternate fields can be specified seperated with a
`,`. Eg:
`%(release_date>%Y,upload_date>%Y|Unknown)s`
965 1. **Default**: A literal default value can be specified for when the field is empty using a
`|` seperator. This overrides
`--output-na-template`. Eg:
`%(uploader|Unknown)s`
966 1. **More Conversions**: In addition to the normal format types
`diouxXeEfFgGcrs`,
`B`,
`j`,
`l`,
`q` can be used for converting to **B**ytes, **j**son, a comma seperated **l**ist (alternate form flag
`#` makes it new line
`\n` seperated) and a string **q**uoted for the terminal, respectively
967 1. **Unicode normalization**: The format type
`U` can be used for NFC
[unicode normalization](https://docs.python.org/3/library/unicodedata.html#unicodedata.normalize). The alternate form flag (
`#`) changes the normalization to NFD and the conversion flag
`+` can be used for NFKC/NFKD compatibility equivalence normalization. Eg:
`%(title)+.100U` is NFKC
969 To summarize, the general syntax for a field is:
971 %(name[.keys][addition][>strf][,alternate][|default])[flags][width][.precision][length]type
974 Additionally, you can set different output templates for the various metadata files separately from the general output template by specifying the type of file followed by the template separated by a colon
`:`. The different file types supported are
`subtitle`,
`thumbnail`,
`description`,
`annotation` (deprecated),
`infojson`,
`pl_thumbnail`,
`pl_description`,
`pl_infojson`,
`chapter`. For example,
`-o '%(title)s.%(ext)s' -o 'thumbnail:%(title)s\%(title)s.%(ext)s'` will put the thumbnails in a folder with the same name as the video.
976 The available fields are:
978 - `id` (string): Video identifier
979 - `title` (string): Video title
980 - `url` (string): Video URL
981 - `ext` (string): Video filename extension
982 - `alt_title` (string): A secondary title of the video
983 - `description` (string): The description of the video
984 - `display_id` (string): An alternative identifier for the video
985 - `uploader` (string): Full name of the video uploader
986 - `license` (string): License name the video is licensed under
987 - `creator` (string): The creator of the video
988 - `release_date` (string): The date (YYYYMMDD) when the video was released
989 - `timestamp` (numeric): UNIX timestamp of the moment the video became available
990 - `upload_date` (string): Video upload date (YYYYMMDD)
991 - `uploader_id` (string): Nickname or id of the video uploader
992 - `channel` (string): Full name of the channel the video is uploaded on
993 - `channel_id` (string): Id of the channel
994 - `location` (string): Physical location where the video was filmed
995 - `duration` (numeric): Length of the video in seconds
996 - `duration_string` (string): Length of the video (HH:mm:ss)
997 - `view_count` (numeric): How many users have watched the video on the platform
998 - `like_count` (numeric): Number of positive ratings of the video
999 - `dislike_count` (numeric): Number of negative ratings of the video
1000 - `repost_count` (numeric): Number of reposts of the video
1001 - `average_rating` (numeric): Average rating give by users, the scale used depends on the webpage
1002 - `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)
1003 - `age_limit` (numeric): Age restriction for the video (years)
1004 - `live_status` (string): One of 'is_live', 'was_live', 'is_upcoming', 'not_live'
1005 - `is_live` (boolean): Whether this video is a live stream or a fixed-length video
1006 - `was_live` (boolean): Whether this video was originally a live stream
1007 - `playable_in_embed` (string): Whether this video is allowed to play in embedded players on other sites
1008 - `availability` (string): Whether the video is 'private', 'premium_only', 'subscriber_only', 'needs_auth', 'unlisted' or 'public'
1009 - `start_time` (numeric): Time in seconds where the reproduction should start, as specified in the URL
1010 - `end_time` (numeric): Time in seconds where the reproduction should end, as specified in the URL
1011 - `format` (string): A human-readable description of the format
1012 - `format_id` (string): Format code specified by
`--format`
1013 - `format_note` (string): Additional info about the format
1014 - `width` (numeric): Width of the video
1015 - `height` (numeric): Height of the video
1016 - `resolution` (string): Textual description of width and height
1017 - `tbr` (numeric): Average bitrate of audio and video in KBit/s
1018 - `abr` (numeric): Average audio bitrate in KBit/s
1019 - `acodec` (string): Name of the audio codec in use
1020 - `asr` (numeric): Audio sampling rate in Hertz
1021 - `vbr` (numeric): Average video bitrate in KBit/s
1022 - `fps` (numeric): Frame rate
1023 - `vcodec` (string): Name of the video codec in use
1024 - `container` (string): Name of the container format
1025 - `filesize` (numeric): The number of bytes, if known in advance
1026 - `filesize_approx` (numeric): An estimate for the number of bytes
1027 - `protocol` (string): The protocol that will be used for the actual download
1028 - `extractor` (string): Name of the extractor
1029 - `extractor_key` (string): Key name of the extractor
1030 - `epoch` (numeric): Unix epoch when creating the file
1031 - `autonumber` (numeric): Number that will be increased with each download, starting at
`--autonumber-start`
1032 - `playlist` (string): Name or id of the playlist that contains the video
1033 - `playlist_index` (numeric): Index of the video in the playlist padded with leading zeros according to the total length of the playlist
1034 - `playlist_id` (string): Playlist identifier
1035 - `playlist_title` (string): Playlist title
1036 - `playlist_uploader` (string): Full name of the playlist uploader
1037 - `playlist_uploader_id` (string): Nickname or id of the playlist uploader
1038 - `webpage_url` (string): A URL to the video webpage which if given to yt-dlp should allow to get the same result again
1039 - `original_url` (string): The URL given by the user (or same as
`webpage_url` for playlist entries)
1041 Available for the video that belongs to some logical chapter or section:
1043 - `chapter` (string): Name or title of the chapter the video belongs to
1044 - `chapter_number` (numeric): Number of the chapter the video belongs to
1045 - `chapter_id` (string): Id of the chapter the video belongs to
1047 Available for the video that is an episode of some series or programme:
1049 - `series` (string): Title of the series or programme the video episode belongs to
1050 - `season` (string): Title of the season the video episode belongs to
1051 - `season_number` (numeric): Number of the season the video episode belongs to
1052 - `season_id` (string): Id of the season the video episode belongs to
1053 - `episode` (string): Title of the video episode
1054 - `episode_number` (numeric): Number of the video episode within a season
1055 - `episode_id` (string): Id of the video episode
1057 Available for the media that is a track or a part of a music album:
1059 - `track` (string): Title of the track
1060 - `track_number` (numeric): Number of the track within an album or a disc
1061 - `track_id` (string): Id of the track
1062 - `artist` (string): Artist(s) of the track
1063 - `genre` (string): Genre(s) of the track
1064 - `album` (string): Title of the album the track belongs to
1065 - `album_type` (string): Type of the album
1066 - `album_artist` (string): List of all artists appeared on the album
1067 - `disc_number` (numeric): Number of the disc or other physical medium the track belongs to
1068 - `release_year` (numeric): Year (YYYY) when the album was released
1070 Available for
`chapter:` prefix when using
`--split-chapters` for videos with internal chapters:
1072 - `section_title` (string): Title of the chapter
1073 - `section_number` (numeric): Number of the chapter within the file
1074 - `section_start` (numeric): Start time of the chapter in seconds
1075 - `section_end` (numeric): End time of the chapter in seconds
1077 Available only when used in
`--print`:
1079 - `urls` (string): The URLs of all requested formats, one in each line
1080 - `filename` (string): Name of the video file. Note that the actual filename may be different due to post-processing. Use
`--exec echo` to get the name after all postprocessing is complete
1082 Available only in
`--sponsorblock-chapter-title`:
1084 - `start_time` (numeric): Start time of the chapter in seconds
1085 - `end_time` (numeric): End time of the chapter in seconds
1086 - `categories` (list): The SponsorBlock categories the chapter belongs to
1087 - `category` (string): The smallest SponsorBlock category the chapter belongs to
1088 - `category_names` (list): Friendly names of the categories
1089 - `name` (string): Friendly name of the smallest category
1091 Each aforementioned sequence when referenced in an output template will be replaced by the actual value corresponding to the sequence name. Note that some of the sequences are not guaranteed to be present since they depend on the metadata obtained by a particular extractor. Such sequences will be replaced with placeholder value provided with
`--output-na-placeholder` (
`NA` by default).
1093 For example for
`-o %(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s` and an mp4 video with title
`yt-dlp test video` and id
`BaW_jenozKc`, this will result in a
`yt-dlp test video-BaW_jenozKc.mp4` file created in the current directory.
1095 For numeric sequences you can use numeric related formatting, for example,
`%(view_count)05d` will result in a string with view count padded with zeros up to
5 characters, like in
`00042`.
1097 Output 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.
1099 To use percent literals in an output template use
`%%`. To output to stdout use
`-o -`.
1101 The current default template is
`%(title)s [%(id)s].%(ext)s`.
1103 In 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:
1105 #### Output template and Windows batch files
1107 If you are using an output template inside a Windows batch file then you must escape plain percent characters (
`%`) by doubling, so that
`-o "%(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s"` should become
`-o "%%(title)s-%%(id)s.%%(ext)s"`. However you should not touch
`%`'s that are not plain characters, e.g. environment variables for expansion should stay intact:
`-o "C:\%HOMEPATH%\Desktop\%%(title)s.%%(ext)s"`.
1109 #### Output template examples
1111 Note that on Windows you need to use double quotes instead of single.
1114 $ yt-dlp --get-filename -o '%(title)s.%(ext)s' BaW_jenozKc
1115 youtube-dl test video ''_ä↭𝕐.mp4 # All kinds of weird characters
1117 $ yt-dlp --get-filename -o '%(title)s.%(ext)s' BaW_jenozKc --restrict-filenames
1118 youtube-dl_test_video_.mp4 # A simple file name
1120 # Download YouTube playlist videos in separate directory indexed by video order in a playlist
1121 $ yt-dlp -o '%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s' https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwiyx1dc3P2JR9N8gQaQN_BCvlSlap7re
1123 # Download YouTube playlist videos in separate directories according to their uploaded year
1124 $ yt-dlp -o '%(upload_date>%Y)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s' https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwiyx1dc3P2JR9N8gQaQN_BCvlSlap7re
1126 # Download all playlists of YouTube channel/user keeping each playlist in separate directory:
1127 $ yt-dlp -o '%(uploader)s/%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s' https://www.youtube.com/user/TheLinuxFoundation/playlists
1129 # Download Udemy course keeping each chapter in separate directory under MyVideos directory in your home
1130 $ 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/
1132 # Download entire series season keeping each series and each season in separate directory under C:/MyVideos
1133 $ 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
1135 # Stream the video being downloaded to stdout
1136 $ yt-dlp -o - BaW_jenozKc
1141 By default, yt-dlp tries to download the best available quality if you **don't** pass any options.
1142 This 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`.
1144 The 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.
1146 **tl;dr:** [navigate me to examples](#format-selection-examples).
1148 The simplest case is requesting a specific format, for example with
`-f 22` you can download the format with format code equal to
22. You can get the list of available format codes for particular video using
`--list-formats` or
`-F`. Note that these format codes are extractor specific.
1150 You 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.
1152 You can also use special names to select particular edge case formats:
1154 - `all`: Select all formats
1155 - `mergeall`: Select and merge all formats (Must be used with
`--audio-multistreams`,
`--video-multistreams` or both)
1156 - `b*`,
`best*`: Select the best quality format irrespective of whether it contains video or audio
1157 - `w*`,
`worst*`: Select the worst quality format irrespective of whether it contains video or audio
1158 - `b`,
`best`: Select the best quality format that contains both video and audio. Equivalent to
`best*[vcodec!=none][acodec!=none]`
1159 - `w`,
`worst`: Select the worst quality format that contains both video and audio. Equivalent to
`worst*[vcodec!=none][acodec!=none]`
1160 - `bv`,
`bestvideo`: Select the best quality video-only format. Equivalent to
`best*[acodec=none]`
1161 - `wv`,
`worstvideo`: Select the worst quality video-only format. Equivalent to
`worst*[acodec=none]`
1162 - `bv*`,
`bestvideo*`: Select the best quality format that contains video. It may also contain audio. Equivalent to
`best*[vcodec!=none]`
1163 - `wv*`,
`worstvideo*`: Select the worst quality format that contains video. It may also contain audio. Equivalent to
`worst*[vcodec!=none]`
1164 - `ba`,
`bestaudio`: Select the best quality audio-only format. Equivalent to
`best*[vcodec=none]`
1165 - `wa`,
`worstaudio`: Select the worst quality audio-only format. Equivalent to
`worst*[vcodec=none]`
1166 - `ba*`,
`bestaudio*`: Select the best quality format that contains audio. It may also contain video. Equivalent to
`best*[acodec!=none]`
1167 - `wa*`,
`worstaudio*`: Select the worst quality format that contains audio. It may also contain video. Equivalent to
`worst*[acodec!=none]`
1169 For example, to download the worst quality video-only format you can use
`-f worstvideo`. It is however recommended not to use
`worst` and related options. When your format selector is
`worst`, the format which is worst in all respects is selected. Most of the time, what you actually want is the video with the smallest filesize instead. So it is generally better to use
`-f best -S +size,+br,+res,+fps` instead of
`-f worst`. See [sorting formats](#sorting-formats) for more details.
1171 You 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.
1173 If you want to download multiple videos and they don't have the same formats available, you can specify the order of preference using slashes. Note that formats on the left hand side are preferred, for example
`-f 22/17/18` will download format
22 if it's available, otherwise it will download format
17 if it's available, otherwise it will download format
18 if it's available, otherwise it will complain that no suitable formats are available for download.
1175 If 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`.
1177 You can merge the video and audio of multiple formats into a single file using
`-f <format1>+<format2>+...` (requires ffmpeg installed), for example
`-f bestvideo+bestaudio` will download the best video-only format, the best audio-only format and mux them together with ffmpeg.
1179 **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
1181 Unless
`--video-multistreams` is used, all formats with a video stream except the first one are ignored. Similarly, unless
`--audio-multistreams` is used, all formats with an audio stream except the first one are ignored. For example,
`-f bestvideo+best+bestaudio --video-multistreams --audio-multistreams` will download and merge all
3 given formats. The resulting file will have
2 video streams and
2 audio streams. But
`-f bestvideo+best+bestaudio --no-video-multistreams` will download and merge only
`bestvideo` and
`bestaudio`.
`best` is ignored since another format containing a video stream (
`bestvideo`) has already been selected. The order of the formats is therefore important.
`-f best+bestaudio --no-audio-multistreams` will download and merge both formats while
`-f bestaudio+best --no-audio-multistreams` will ignore
`best` and download only
`bestaudio`.
1183 ## Filtering Formats
1185 You can also filter the video formats by putting a condition in brackets, as in
`-f "best[height=720]"` (or
`-f "[filesize>10M]"`).
1187 The following numeric meta fields can be used with comparisons
`<`,
`<=`,
`>`,
`>=`,
`=` (equals),
`!=` (not equals):
1189 - `filesize`: The number of bytes, if known in advance
1190 - `width`: Width of the video, if known
1191 - `height`: Height of the video, if known
1192 - `tbr`: Average bitrate of audio and video in KBit/s
1193 - `abr`: Average audio bitrate in KBit/s
1194 - `vbr`: Average video bitrate in KBit/s
1195 - `asr`: Audio sampling rate in Hertz
1198 Also filtering work for comparisons
`=` (equals),
`^=` (starts with),
`$=` (ends with),
`*=` (contains) and following string meta fields:
1200 - `ext`: File extension
1201 - `acodec`: Name of the audio codec in use
1202 - `vcodec`: Name of the video codec in use
1203 - `container`: Name of the container format
1204 - `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`)
1205 - `format_id`: A short description of the format
1206 - `language`: Language code
1208 Any string comparison may be prefixed with negation
`!` in order to produce an opposite comparison, e.g.
`!*=` (does not contain).
1210 Note that none of the aforementioned meta fields are guaranteed to be present since this solely depends on the metadata obtained by particular extractor, i.e. the metadata offered by the website. Any other field made available by the extractor can also be used for filtering.
1212 Formats for which the value is not known are excluded unless you put a question mark (
`?`) after the operator. You can combine format filters, so
`-f "[height<=?720][tbr>500]"` selects up to
720p videos (or videos where the height is not known) with a bitrate of at least
500 KBit/s. You can also use the filters with
`all` to download all formats that satisfy the filter. For example,
`-f "all[vcodec=none]"` selects all audio-only formats.
1214 Format selectors can also be grouped using parentheses, for example if you want to download the best mp4 and webm formats with a height lower than
480 you can use
`-f '(mp4,webm)[height<480]'`.
1218 You can change the criteria for being considered the
`best` by using
`-S` (
`--format-sort`). The general format for this is
`--format-sort field1,field2...`.
1220 The available fields are:
1222 - `hasvid`: Gives priority to formats that has a video stream
1223 - `hasaud`: Gives priority to formats that has a audio stream
1224 - `ie_pref`: The format preference as given by the extractor
1225 - `lang`: Language preference as given by the extractor
1226 - `quality`: The quality of the format as given by the extractor
1227 - `source`: Preference of the source as given by the extractor
1228 - `proto`: Protocol used for download (
`https`/
`ftps` >
`http`/
`ftp` >
`m3u8_native`/
`m3u8` >
`http_dash_segments`>
`websocket_frag` > other >
`mms`/
`rtsp` > unknown >
`f4f`/
`f4m`)
1229 - `vcodec`: Video Codec (
`av01` >
`vp9.2` >
`vp9` >
`h265` >
`h264` >
`vp8` >
`h263` >
`theora` > other > unknown)
1230 - `acodec`: Audio Codec (
`opus` >
`vorbis` >
`aac` >
`mp4a` >
`mp3` >
`ac3` >
`dts` > other > unknown)
1231 - `codec`: Equivalent to
`vcodec,acodec`
1232 - `vext`: Video Extension (
`mp4` >
`webm` >
`flv` > other > unknown). If
`--prefer-free-formats` is used,
`webm` is prefered.
1233 - `aext`: Audio Extension (
`m4a` >
`aac` >
`mp3` >
`ogg` >
`opus` >
`webm` > other > unknown). If
`--prefer-free-formats` is used, the order changes to
`opus` >
`ogg` >
`webm` >
`m4a` >
`mp3` >
`aac`.
1234 - `ext`: Equivalent to
`vext,aext`
1235 - `filesize`: Exact filesize, if know in advance. This will be unavailable for mu38 and DASH formats.
1236 - `fs_approx`: Approximate filesize calculated from the manifests
1237 - `size`: Exact filesize if available, otherwise approximate filesize
1238 - `height`: Height of video
1239 - `width`: Width of video
1240 - `res`: Video resolution, calculated as the smallest dimension.
1241 - `fps`: Framerate of video
1242 - `tbr`: Total average bitrate in KBit/s
1243 - `vbr`: Average video bitrate in KBit/s
1244 - `abr`: Average audio bitrate in KBit/s
1245 - `br`: Equivalent to using
`tbr,vbr,abr`
1246 - `asr`: Audio sample rate in Hz
1248 **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.
1250 All fields, unless specified otherwise, are sorted in descending order. To reverse this, prefix the field with a
`+`. Eg:
`+res` prefers format with the smallest resolution. Additionally, you can suffix a preferred value for the fields, separated by a
`:`. Eg:
`res:720` prefers larger videos, but no larger than
720p and the smallest video if there are no videos less than
720p. For
`codec` and
`ext`, you can provide two preferred values, the first for video and the second for audio. Eg:
`+codec:avc:m4a` (equivalent to
`+vcodec:avc,+acodec:m4a`) sets the video codec preference to
`h264` >
`h265` >
`vp9` >
`vp9.2` >
`av01` >
`vp8` >
`h263` >
`theora` and audio codec preference to
`mp4a` >
`aac` >
`vorbis` >
`opus` >
`mp3` >
`ac3` >
`dts`. You can also make the sorting prefer the nearest values to the provided by using
`~` as the delimiter. Eg:
`filesize~1G` prefers the format with filesize closest to
1 GiB.
1252 The 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
`--force-format-sort`. Apart from these, the default order used is:
`lang,quality,res,fps,codec:vp9.2,size,br,asr,proto,ext,hasaud,source,id`. The extractors may override this default order, but they cannot override the user-provided order.
1254 Note that the default has
`codec:vp9.2`; i.e.
`av1` is not prefered
1256 If 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`.
1258 **Tip**: You can use the
`-v -F` to see how the formats have been sorted (worst to best).
1260 ## Format Selection examples
1262 Note that on Windows you may need to use double quotes instead of single.
1265 # Download and merge the best video-only format and the best audio-only format,
1266 # or download the best combined format if video-only format is not available
1267 $ yt-dlp -f 'bv+ba/b'
1269 # Download best format that contains video,
1270 # and if it doesn't already have an audio stream, merge it with best audio-only format
1271 $ yt-dlp -f 'bv*+ba/b'
1276 # Download the best video-only format and the best audio-only format without merging them
1277 # For this case, an output template should be used since
1278 # by default, bestvideo and bestaudio will have the same file name.
1279 $ yt-dlp -f 'bv,ba' -o '%(title)s.f%(format_id)s.%(ext)s'
1281 # Download and merge the best format that has a video stream,
1282 # and all audio-only formats into one file
1283 $ yt-dlp -f 'bv*+mergeall[vcodec=none]' --audio-multistreams
1285 # Download and merge the best format that has a video stream,
1286 # and the best 2 audio-only formats into one file
1287 $ yt-dlp -f 'bv*+ba+ba.2' --audio-multistreams
1290 # The following examples show the old method (without -S) of format selection
1291 # and how to use -S to achieve a similar but (generally) better result
1293 # Download the worst video available (old method)
1294 $ yt-dlp -f 'wv*+wa/w'
1296 # Download the best video available but with the smallest resolution
1299 # Download the smallest video available
1300 $ yt-dlp -S '+size,+br'
1304 # Download the best mp4 video available, or the best video if no mp4 available
1305 $ yt-dlp -f 'bv*[ext=mp4]+ba[ext=m4a]/b[ext=mp4] / bv*+ba/b'
1307 # Download the best video with the best extension
1308 # (For video, mp4 > webm > flv. For audio, m4a > aac > mp3 ...)
1313 # Download the best video available but no better than 480p,
1314 # or the worst video if there is no video under 480p
1315 $ yt-dlp -f 'bv*[height<=480]+ba/b[height<=480] / wv*+ba/w'
1317 # Download the best video available with the largest height but no better than 480p,
1318 # or the best video with the smallest resolution if there is no video under 480p
1319 $ yt-dlp -S 'height:480'
1321 # Download the best video available with the largest resolution but no better than 480p,
1322 # or the best video with the smallest resolution if there is no video under 480p
1323 # Resolution is determined by using the smallest dimension.
1324 # So this works correctly for vertical videos as well
1325 $ yt-dlp -S 'res:480'
1329 # Download the best video (that also has audio) but no bigger than 50 MB,
1330 # or the worst video (that also has audio) if there is no video under 50 MB
1331 $ yt-dlp -f 'b[filesize<50M] / w'
1333 # Download largest video (that also has audio) but no bigger than 50 MB,
1334 # or the smallest video (that also has audio) if there is no video under 50 MB
1335 $ yt-dlp -f 'b' -S 'filesize:50M'
1337 # Download best video (that also has audio) that is closest in size to 50 MB
1338 $ yt-dlp -f 'b' -S 'filesize~50M'
1342 # Download best video available via direct link over HTTP/HTTPS protocol,
1343 # or the best video available via any protocol if there is no such video
1344 $ yt-dlp -f '(bv*+ba/b)[protocol^=http][protocol!*=dash] / (bv*+ba/b)'
1346 # Download best video available via the best protocol
1347 # (https/ftps > http/ftp > m3u8_native > m3u8 > http_dash_segments ...)
1352 # Download the best video with h264 codec, or the best video if there is no such video
1353 $ yt-dlp -f '(bv*+ba/b)[vcodec^=avc1] / (bv*+ba/b)'
1355 # Download the best video with best codec no better than h264,
1356 # or the best video with worst codec if there is no such video
1357 $ yt-dlp -S 'codec:h264'
1359 # Download the best video with worst codec no worse than h264,
1360 # or the best video with best codec if there is no such video
1361 $ yt-dlp -S '+codec:h264'
1365 # More complex examples
1367 # Download the best video no better than 720p preferring framerate greater than 30,
1368 # or the worst video (still preferring framerate greater than 30) if there is no such video
1369 $ yt-dlp -f '((bv*[fps>30]/bv*)[height<=720]/(wv*[fps>30]/wv*)) + ba / (b[fps>30]/b)[height<=720]/(w[fps>30]/w)'
1371 # Download the video with the largest resolution no better than 720p,
1372 # or the video with the smallest resolution available if there is no such video,
1373 # preferring larger framerate for formats with the same resolution
1374 $ yt-dlp -S 'res:720,fps'
1378 # Download the video with smallest resolution no worse than 480p,
1379 # or the video with the largest resolution available if there is no such video,
1380 # preferring better codec and then larger total bitrate for the same resolution
1381 $ yt-dlp -S '+res:480,codec,br'
1384 # MODIFYING METADATA
1386 The metadata obtained the the extractors can be modified by using
`--parse-metadata` and
`--replace-in-metadata`
1388 `--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.
1390 The general syntax of
`--parse-metadata FROM:TO` is to give the name of a field or an
[output template](#output-template) to extract data from, and the format to interpret it as, separated by a colon `:`. Either a [python regular expression](https://docs.python.org/3/library/re.html#regular-expression-syntax) with named capture groups or a similar syntax to the [output template](#output-template) (only
`%(field)s` formatting is supported) can be used for
`TO`. The option can be used multiple times to parse and modify various fields.
1392 Note that any field created by this can be used in the [output template](#output-template) and will also affect the media file's metadata added when using
`--add-metadata`.
1394 This option also has a few special uses:
1395 * You can download an additional URL based on the metadata of the currently downloaded video. To do this, set the field
`additional_urls` to the URL that you want to download. Eg:
`--parse-metadata "description:(?P<additional_urls>https?://www\.vimeo\.com/\d+)` will download the first vimeo video found in the description
1396 * You can use this to change the metadata that is embedded in the media file. To do this, set the value of the corresponding field with a
`meta_` prefix. For example, any value you set to
`meta_description` field will be added to the
`description` field in the file. For example, you can use this to set a different "description" and "synopsis"
1398 For reference, these are the fields yt-dlp adds by default to the file metadata:
1400 Metadata fields|From
1402 `title`|
`track` or
`title`
1403 `date`|
`upload_date`
1404 `description`,
`synopsis`|
`description`
1405 `purl`,
`comment`|
`webpage_url`
1406 `track`|
`track_number`
1407 `artist`|
`artist`,
`creator`,
`uploader` or
`uploader_id`
1410 `album_artist`|
`album_artist`
1411 `disc`|
`disc_number`
1413 `season_number`|
`season_number`
1414 `episode_id`|
`episode` or
`episode_id`
1415 `episode_sort`|
`episode_number`
1416 `language` of each stream|From the format's
`language`
1417 **Note**: The file format may not support some of these fields
1420 ## Modifying metadata examples
1422 Note that on Windows you may need to use double quotes instead of single.
1425 # Interpret the title as "Artist - Title"
1426 $ yt-dlp --parse-metadata 'title:%(artist)s - %(title)s'
1429 $ yt-dlp --parse-metadata 'description:Artist - (?P<artist>.+)'
1431 # Set title as "Series name S01E05"
1432 $ yt-dlp --parse-metadata '%(series)s S%(season_number)02dE%(episode_number)02d:%(title)s'
1434 # Set "comment" field in video metadata using description instead of webpage_url
1435 $ yt-dlp --parse-metadata 'description:(?s)(?P<meta_comment>.+)' --add-metadata
1437 # Replace all spaces and "_" in title and uploader with a `-`
1438 $ yt-dlp --replace-in-metadata 'title,uploader' '[ _]' '-'
1442 # EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS
1444 Some extractors accept additional arguments which can be passed using
`--extractor-args KEY:ARGS`.
`ARGS` is a
`;` (semicolon) seperated string of
`ARG=VAL1,VAL2`. Eg:
`--extractor-args "youtube:player_client=android_agegate,web;include_live_dash" --extractor-args "funimation:version=uncut"`
1446 The following extractors use this feature:
1448 * `skip`:
`hls` or
`dash` (or both) to skip download of the respective manifests
1449 * `player_client`: Clients to extract video data from. The main clients are
`web`,
`android`,
`ios`,
`mweb`. These also have
`_music`,
`_embedded`,
`_agegate`, and
`_creator` variants (Eg:
`web_embedded`) (
`mweb` has only
`_agegate`). By default,
`android,web` is used, but the agegate and creator variants are added as required for age-gated videos. Similarly the music variants are added for
`music.youtube.com` urls. You can also use
`all` to use all the clients
1450 * `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
1451 * `include_live_dash`: Include live dash formats (These formats don't download properly)
1452 * `comment_sort`:
`top` or
`new` (default) - choose comment sorting mode (on YouTube's side).
1453 * `max_comments`: Maximum amount of comments to download (default all).
1454 * `max_comment_depth`: Maximum depth for nested comments. YouTube supports depths
1 or
2 (default).
1457 * `language`: Languages to extract. Eg:
`funimation:language=english,japanese`
1458 * `version`: The video version to extract -
`uncut` or
`simulcast`
1461 * `video_types`: Types of videos to download - one or more of
`episodes`,
`movies`,
`clips`,
`trailers`
1463 NOTE: These options may be changed/removed in the future without concern for backward compatibility
1468 Plugins are loaded from
`<root-dir>/ytdlp_plugins/<type>/__init__.py`. Currently only
`extractor` plugins are supported. Support for
`downloader` and
`postprocessor` plugins may be added in the future. See [ytdlp_plugins](ytdlp_plugins) for example.
1470 **Note**:
`<root-dir>` is the directory of the binary (
`<root-dir>/yt-dlp`), or the root directory of the module if you are running directly from source-code (
`<root dir>/yt_dlp/__main__.py`)
1472 # DEPRECATED OPTIONS
1474 These are all the deprecated options and the current alternative to achieve the same effect
1476 #### Redundant options
1477 While these options are redundant, they are still expected to be used due to their ease of use
1479 --get-description --print description
1480 --get-duration --print duration_string
1481 --get-filename --print filename
1482 --get-format --print format
1484 --get-thumbnail --print thumbnail
1485 -e, --get-title --print title
1486 -g, --get-url --print urls
1487 -j, --dump-json --print "%()j"
1488 --match-title REGEX --match-filter "title ~= (?i)REGEX"
1489 --reject-title REGEX --match-filter "title !~= (?i)REGEX"
1490 --min-views COUNT --match-filter "view_count >=? COUNT"
1491 --max-views COUNT --match-filter "view_count <=? COUNT"
1494 #### Not recommended
1495 While these options still work, their use is not recommended since there are other alternatives to achieve the same
1497 --all-formats -f all
1498 --all-subs --sub-langs all --write-subs
1499 --print-json -j --no-simulate
1500 --autonumber-size NUMBER Use string formatting. Eg: %(autonumber)
03d
1501 --autonumber-start NUMBER Use internal field formatting like %(autonumber+NUMBER)s
1502 --metadata-from-title FORMAT --parse-metadata "%(title)s:FORMAT"
1503 --hls-prefer-native --downloader "m3u8:native"
1504 --hls-prefer-ffmpeg --downloader "m3u8:ffmpeg"
1505 --list-formats-old --compat-options list-formats (Alias: --no-list-formats-as-table)
1506 --list-formats-as-table --compat-options -list-formats [Default] (Alias: --no-list-formats-old)
1507 --youtube-skip-dash-manifest --extractor-args "youtube:skip=dash" (Alias: --no-youtube-include-dash-manifest)
1508 --youtube-skip-hls-manifest --extractor-args "youtube:skip=hls" (Alias: --no-youtube-include-hls-manifest)
1509 --youtube-include-dash-manifest Default (Alias: --no-youtube-skip-dash-manifest)
1510 --youtube-include-hls-manifest Default (Alias: --no-youtube-skip-hls-manifest)
1513 #### Developer options
1514 These options are not intended to be used by the end-user
1516 --test Download only part of video for testing extractors
1517 --youtube-print-sig-code For testing youtube signatures
1518 --allow-unplayable-formats List unplayable formats also
1519 --no-allow-unplayable-formats Default
1523 These are aliases that are no longer documented for various reasons
1525 --avconv-location --ffmpeg-location
1526 --cn-verification-proxy URL --geo-verification-proxy URL
1527 --dump-headers --print-traffic
1528 --dump-intermediate-pages --dump-pages
1529 --force-write-download-archive --force-write-archive
1530 --load-info --load-info-json
1531 --no-split-tracks --no-split-chapters
1532 --no-write-srt --no-write-subs
1533 --prefer-unsecure --prefer-insecure
1534 --rate-limit RATE --limit-rate RATE
1535 --split-tracks --split-chapters
1536 --srt-lang LANGS --sub-langs LANGS
1537 --trim-file-names LENGTH --trim-filenames LENGTH
1538 --write-srt --write-subs
1539 --yes-overwrites --force-overwrites
1541 #### Sponskrub Options
1542 Support for
[SponSkrub](https://github.com/faissaloo/SponSkrub) has been deprecated in favor of
`--sponsorblock`
1544 --sponskrub --sponsorblock-mark all
1545 --no-sponskrub --no-sponsorblock
1546 --sponskrub-cut --sponsorblock-remove all
1547 --no-sponskrub-cut --sponsorblock-remove -all
1548 --sponskrub-force Not applicable
1549 --no-sponskrub-force Not applicable
1550 --sponskrub-location Not applicable
1551 --sponskrub-args Not applicable
1553 #### No longer supported
1554 These options may no longer work as intended
1556 --prefer-avconv avconv is not officially supported by yt-dlp (Alias: --no-prefer-ffmpeg)
1557 --prefer-ffmpeg Default (Alias: --no-prefer-avconv)
1558 -C, --call-home Not implemented
1559 --no-call-home Default
1560 --include-ads No longer supported
1561 --no-include-ads Default
1562 --write-annotations No supported site has annotations now
1563 --no-write-annotations Default
1566 These options were deprecated since
2014 and have now been entirely removed
1568 --id -o "%(id)s.%(ext)s"
1569 -A, --auto-number -o "%(autonumber)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s"
1570 -t, --title -o "%(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s"
1571 -l, --literal -o accepts literal names
1575 For FAQ, Developer Instructions etc., see the
[original README](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl#faq)
projects / yt-dlp.git / blob