README.md

   1 % YOUTUBE-DL(1)
   2
   3 # NAME
   4 youtube-dl - download videos from youtube.com or other video platforms
   5
   6 # SYNOPSIS
   7 **youtube-dl** [OPTIONS] URL [URL...]
   8
   9 # DESCRIPTION
  10 **youtube-dl** is a small command-line program to download videos from
  11 YouTube.com and a few more sites. It requires the Python interpreter, version
  12 2.6, 2.7, or 3.3+, and it is not platform specific. It should work on
  13 your Unix box, on Windows or on Mac OS X. It is released to the public domain,
  14 which means you can modify it, redistribute it or use it however you like.
  15
  16 # OPTIONS
  17     -h, --help                 print this help text and exit
  18     --version                  print program version and exit
  19     -U, --update               update this program to latest version. Make sure
  20                                that you have sufficient permissions (run with
  21                                sudo if needed)
  22     -i, --ignore-errors        continue on download errors, for example to to
  23                                skip unavailable videos in a playlist
  24     --abort-on-error           Abort downloading of further videos (in the
  25                                playlist or the command line) if an error occurs
  26     --dump-user-agent          display the current browser identification
  27     --user-agent UA            specify a custom user agent
  28     --referer REF              specify a custom referer, use if the video access
  29                                is restricted to one domain
  30     --list-extractors          List all supported extractors and the URLs they
  31                                would handle
  32     --extractor-descriptions   Output descriptions of all supported extractors
  33     --proxy URL                Use the specified HTTP/HTTPS proxy
  34     --no-check-certificate     Suppress HTTPS certificate validation.
  35     --cache-dir DIR            Location in the filesystem where youtube-dl can
  36                                store downloaded information permanently. By
  37                                default $XDG_CACHE_HOME/youtube-dl or ~/.cache
  38                                /youtube-dl .
  39     --no-cache-dir             Disable filesystem caching
  40
  41 ## Video Selection:
  42     --playlist-start NUMBER    playlist video to start at (default is 1)
  43     --playlist-end NUMBER      playlist video to end at (default is last)
  44     --match-title REGEX        download only matching titles (regex or caseless
  45                                sub-string)
  46     --reject-title REGEX       skip download for matching titles (regex or
  47                                caseless sub-string)
  48     --max-downloads NUMBER     Abort after downloading NUMBER files
  49     --min-filesize SIZE        Do not download any videos smaller than SIZE
  50                                (e.g. 50k or 44.6m)
  51     --max-filesize SIZE        Do not download any videos larger than SIZE (e.g.
  52                                50k or 44.6m)
  53     --date DATE                download only videos uploaded in this date
  54     --datebefore DATE          download only videos uploaded before this date
  55     --dateafter DATE           download only videos uploaded after this date
  56     --no-playlist              download only the currently playing video
  57     --age-limit YEARS          download only videos suitable for the given age
  58     --download-archive FILE    Download only videos not present in the archive
  59                                file. Record all downloaded videos in it.
  60
  61 ## Download Options:
  62     -r, --rate-limit LIMIT     maximum download rate in bytes per second (e.g.
  63                                50K or 4.2M)
  64     -R, --retries RETRIES      number of retries (default is 10)
  65     --buffer-size SIZE         size of download buffer (e.g. 1024 or 16K)
  66                                (default is 1024)
  67     --no-resize-buffer         do not automatically adjust the buffer size. By
  68                                default, the buffer size is automatically resized
  69                                from an initial value of SIZE.
  70
  71 ## Filesystem Options:
  72     -t, --title                use title in file name (default)
  73     --id                       use only video ID in file name
  74     -l, --literal              [deprecated] alias of --title
  75     -A, --auto-number          number downloaded files starting from 00000
  76     -o, --output TEMPLATE      output filename template. Use %(title)s to get
  77                                the title, %(uploader)s for the uploader name,
  78                                %(uploader_id)s for the uploader nickname if
  79                                different, %(autonumber)s to get an automatically
  80                                incremented number, %(ext)s for the filename
  81                                extension, %(format)s for the format description
  82                                (like "22 - 1280x720" or "HD"),%(format_id)s for
  83                                the unique id of the format (like Youtube's
  84                                itags: "137"),%(upload_date)s for the upload date
  85                                (YYYYMMDD), %(extractor)s for the provider
  86                                (youtube, metacafe, etc), %(id)s for the video id
  87                                , %(playlist)s for the playlist the video is in,
  88                                %(playlist_index)s for the position in the
  89                                playlist and %% for a literal percent. Use - to
  90                                output to stdout. Can also be used to download to
  91                                a different directory, for example with -o '/my/d
  92                                ownloads/%(uploader)s/%(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s' .
  93     --autonumber-size NUMBER   Specifies the number of digits in %(autonumber)s
  94                                when it is present in output filename template or
  95                                --autonumber option is given
  96     --restrict-filenames       Restrict filenames to only ASCII characters, and
  97                                avoid "&" and spaces in filenames
  98     -a, --batch-file FILE      file containing URLs to download ('-' for stdin)
  99     -w, --no-overwrites        do not overwrite files
 100     -c, --continue             resume partially downloaded files
 101     --no-continue              do not resume partially downloaded files (restart
 102                                from beginning)
 103     --cookies FILE             file to read cookies from and dump cookie jar in
 104     --no-part                  do not use .part files
 105     --no-mtime                 do not use the Last-modified header to set the
 106                                file modification time
 107     --write-description        write video description to a .description file
 108     --write-info-json          write video metadata to a .info.json file
 109     --write-annotations        write video annotations to a .annotation file
 110     --write-thumbnail          write thumbnail image to disk
 111
 112 ## Verbosity / Simulation Options:
 113     -q, --quiet                activates quiet mode
 114     -s, --simulate             do not download the video and do not write
 115                                anything to disk
 116     --skip-download            do not download the video
 117     -g, --get-url              simulate, quiet but print URL
 118     -e, --get-title            simulate, quiet but print title
 119     --get-id                   simulate, quiet but print id
 120     --get-thumbnail            simulate, quiet but print thumbnail URL
 121     --get-description          simulate, quiet but print video description
 122     --get-filename             simulate, quiet but print output filename
 123     --get-format               simulate, quiet but print output format
 124     --newline                  output progress bar as new lines
 125     --no-progress              do not print progress bar
 126     --console-title            display progress in console titlebar
 127     -v, --verbose              print various debugging information
 128     --dump-intermediate-pages  print downloaded pages to debug problems(very
 129                                verbose)
 130     --write-pages              Write downloaded pages to files in the current
 131                                directory
 132
 133 ## Video Format Options:
 134     -f, --format FORMAT        video format code, specifiy the order of
 135                                preference using slashes: "-f 22/17/18". "-f mp4"
 136                                and "-f flv" are also supported
 137     --all-formats              download all available video formats
 138     --prefer-free-formats      prefer free video formats unless a specific one
 139                                is requested
 140     --max-quality FORMAT       highest quality format to download
 141     -F, --list-formats         list all available formats (currently youtube
 142                                only)
 143
 144 ## Subtitle Options:
 145     --write-sub                write subtitle file
 146     --write-auto-sub           write automatic subtitle file (youtube only)
 147     --all-subs                 downloads all the available subtitles of the
 148                                video
 149     --list-subs                lists all available subtitles for the video
 150     --sub-format FORMAT        subtitle format (default=srt) ([sbv/vtt] youtube
 151                                only)
 152     --sub-lang LANGS           languages of the subtitles to download (optional)
 153                                separated by commas, use IETF language tags like
 154                                'en,pt'
 155
 156 ## Authentication Options:
 157     -u, --username USERNAME    account username
 158     -p, --password PASSWORD    account password
 159     -n, --netrc                use .netrc authentication data
 160     --video-password PASSWORD  video password (vimeo only)
 161
 162 ## Post-processing Options:
 163     -x, --extract-audio        convert video files to audio-only files (requires
 164                                ffmpeg or avconv and ffprobe or avprobe)
 165     --audio-format FORMAT      "best", "aac", "vorbis", "mp3", "m4a", "opus", or
 166                                "wav"; best by default
 167     --audio-quality QUALITY    ffmpeg/avconv audio quality specification, insert
 168                                a value between 0 (better) and 9 (worse) for VBR
 169                                or a specific bitrate like 128K (default 5)
 170     --recode-video FORMAT      Encode the video to another format if necessary
 171                                (currently supported: mp4|flv|ogg|webm)
 172     -k, --keep-video           keeps the video file on disk after the post-
 173                                processing; the video is erased by default
 174     --no-post-overwrites       do not overwrite post-processed files; the post-
 175                                processed files are overwritten by default
 176     --embed-subs               embed subtitles in the video (only for mp4
 177                                videos)
 178     --add-metadata             add metadata to the files
 179
 180 # CONFIGURATION
 181
 182 You can configure youtube-dl by placing default arguments (such as `--extract-audio --no-mtime` to always extract the audio and not copy the mtime) into `/etc/youtube-dl.conf` and/or `~/.config/youtube-dl.conf`.
 183
 184 # OUTPUT TEMPLATE
 185
 186 The `-o` option allows users to indicate a template for the output file names. The basic usage is not to set any template arguments when downloading a single file, like in `youtube-dl -o funny_video.flv "http://some/video"`. However, it may contain special sequences that will be replaced when downloading each video. The special sequences have the format `%(NAME)s`. To clarify, that is a percent symbol followed by a name in parenthesis, followed by a lowercase S. Allowed names are:
 187
 188  - `id`: The sequence will be replaced by the video identifier.
 189  - `url`: The sequence will be replaced by the video URL.
 190  - `uploader`: The sequence will be replaced by the nickname of the person who uploaded the video.
 191  - `upload_date`: The sequence will be replaced by the upload date in YYYYMMDD format.
 192  - `title`: The sequence will be replaced by the video title.
 193  - `ext`: The sequence will be replaced by the appropriate extension (like flv or mp4).
 194  - `epoch`: The sequence will be replaced by the Unix epoch when creating the file.
 195  - `autonumber`: The sequence will be replaced by a five-digit number that will be increased with each download, starting at zero.
 196  - `playlist`: The name or the id of the playlist that contains the video.
 197  - `playlist_index`: The index of the video in the playlist, a five-digit number.
 198
 199 The current default template is `%(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s`.
 200
 201 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:
 202
 203     $ youtube-dl --get-filename -o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc
 204     youtube-dl test video ''_ä↭𝕐.mp4    # All kinds of weird characters
 205     $ youtube-dl --get-filename -o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc --restrict-filenames
 206     youtube-dl_test_video_.mp4          # A simple file name
 207
 208 # VIDEO SELECTION
 209
 210 Videos can be filtered by their upload date using the options `--date`, `--datebefore` or `--dateafter`, they accept dates in two formats:
 211
 212  - Absolute dates: Dates in the format `YYYYMMDD`.
 213  - Relative dates: Dates in the format `(now|today)[+-][0-9](day|week|month|year)(s)?`
 214
 215 Examples:
 216
 217         $ youtube-dl --dateafter now-6months #will only download the videos uploaded in the last 6 months
 218         $ youtube-dl --date 19700101 #will only download the videos uploaded in January 1, 1970
 219         $ youtube-dl --dateafter 20000101 --datebefore 20100101 #will only download the videos uploaded between 2000 and 2010
 220
 221 # FAQ
 222
 223 ### Can you please put the -b option back?
 224
 225 Most people asking this question are not aware that youtube-dl now defaults to downloading the highest available quality as reported by YouTube, which will be 1080p or 720p in some cases, so you no longer need the `-b` option. For some specific videos, maybe YouTube does not report them to be available in a specific high quality format you're interested in. In that case, simply request it with the `-f` option and youtube-dl will try to download it.
 226
 227 ### I get HTTP error 402 when trying to download a video. What's this?
 228
 229 Apparently YouTube requires you to pass a CAPTCHA test if you download too much. We're [considering to provide a way to let you solve the CAPTCHA](https://github.com/rg3/youtube-dl/issues/154), but at the moment, your best course of action is pointing a webbrowser to the youtube URL, solving the CAPTCHA, and restart youtube-dl.
 230
 231 ### I have downloaded a video but how can I play it?
 232
 233 Once the video is fully downloaded, use any video player, such as [vlc](http://www.videolan.org) or [mplayer](http://www.mplayerhq.hu/).
 234
 235 ### The links provided by youtube-dl -g are not working anymore
 236
 237 The URLs youtube-dl outputs require the downloader to have the correct cookies. Use the `--cookies` option to write the required cookies into a file, and advise your downloader to read cookies from that file. Some sites also require a common user agent to be used, use `--dump-user-agent` to see the one in use by youtube-dl.
 238
 239 ### ERROR: no fmt_url_map or conn information found in video info
 240
 241 youtube has switched to a new video info format in July 2011 which is not supported by old versions of youtube-dl. You can update youtube-dl with `sudo youtube-dl --update`.
 242
 243 ### ERROR: unable to download video ###
 244
 245 youtube requires an additional signature since September 2012 which is not supported by old versions of youtube-dl. You can update youtube-dl with `sudo youtube-dl --update`.
 246
 247 ### SyntaxError: Non-ASCII character ###
 248
 249 The error
 250
 251     File "youtube-dl", line 2
 252     SyntaxError: Non-ASCII character '\x93' ...
 253
 254 means you're using an outdated version of Python. Please update to Python 2.6 or 2.7.
 255
 256 ### What is this binary file? Where has the code gone?
 257
 258 Since June 2012 (#342) youtube-dl is packed as an executable zipfile, simply unzip it (might need renaming to `youtube-dl.zip` first on some systems) or clone the git repository, as laid out above. If you modify the code, you can run it by executing the `__main__.py` file. To recompile the executable, run `make youtube-dl`.
 259
 260 ### The exe throws a *Runtime error from Visual C++*
 261
 262 To run the exe you need to install first the [Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package](http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29).
 263
 264 # COPYRIGHT
 265
 266 youtube-dl is released into the public domain by the copyright holders.
 267
 268 This README file was originally written by Daniel Bolton (<https://github.com/dbbolton>) and is likewise released into the public domain.
 269
 270 # BUGS
 271
 272 Bugs and suggestions should be reported at: <https://github.com/rg3/youtube-dl/issues>
 273
 274 Please include:
 275
 276 * Your exact command line, like `youtube-dl -t "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHlDtZ6Oc3s&feature=channel_video_title"`. A common mistake is not to escape the `&`. Putting URLs in quotes should solve this problem.
 277 * If possible re-run the command with `--verbose`, and include the full output, it is really helpful to us.
 278 * The output of `youtube-dl --version`
 279 * The output of `python --version`
 280 * The name and version of your Operating System ("Ubuntu 11.04 x64" or "Windows 7 x64" is usually enough).
 281
 282 For discussions, join us in the irc channel #youtube-dl on freenode.