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[XAttrMetadata] Refactor and document dependencies
[yt-dlp.git] / README.md
1 <!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
2 <div align="center">
3
4 [![YT-DLP](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/master/.github/banner.svg)](#readme)
5
6 [![Release version](https://img.shields.io/github/v/release/yt-dlp/yt-dlp?color=brightgreen&label=Download&style=for-the-badge)](#release-files "Release")
7 [![PyPi](https://img.shields.io/badge/-PyPi-blue.svg?logo=pypi&labelColor=555555&style=for-the-badge)](https://pypi.org/project/yt-dlp "PyPi")
8 [![Donate](https://img.shields.io/badge/_-Donate-red.svg?logo=githubsponsors&labelColor=555555&style=for-the-badge)](Collaborators.md#collaborators "Donate")
9 [![Matrix](https://img.shields.io/matrix/yt-dlp:matrix.org?color=brightgreen&labelColor=555555&label=&logo=element&style=for-the-badge)](https://matrix.to/#/#yt-dlp:matrix.org "Matrix")
10 [![Discord](https://img.shields.io/discord/807245652072857610?color=blue&labelColor=555555&label=&logo=discord&style=for-the-badge)](https://discord.gg/H5MNcFW63r "Discord")
11 [![Supported Sites](https://img.shields.io/badge/-Supported_Sites-brightgreen.svg?style=for-the-badge)](supportedsites.md "Supported Sites")
12 [![License: Unlicense](https://img.shields.io/badge/-Unlicense-blue.svg?style=for-the-badge)](LICENSE "License")
13 [![CI Status](https://img.shields.io/github/workflow/status/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/Core%20Tests/master?label=Tests&style=for-the-badge)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/actions "CI Status")
14 [![Commits](https://img.shields.io/github/commit-activity/m/yt-dlp/yt-dlp?label=commits&style=for-the-badge)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits "Commit History")
15 [![Last Commit](https://img.shields.io/github/last-commit/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/master?label=&style=for-the-badge)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits "Commit History")
16
17 </div>
18 <!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
19
20 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
22 <!-- MANPAGE: MOVE "USAGE AND OPTIONS" SECTION HERE -->
23
24 <!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
25 * [NEW FEATURES](#new-features)
26 * [Differences in default behavior](#differences-in-default-behavior)
27 * [INSTALLATION](#installation)
28 * [Update](#update)
29 * [Release Files](#release-files)
30 * [Dependencies](#dependencies)
31 * [Compile](#compile)
32 * [USAGE AND OPTIONS](#usage-and-options)
33 * [General Options](#general-options)
34 * [Network Options](#network-options)
35 * [Geo-restriction](#geo-restriction)
36 * [Video Selection](#video-selection)
37 * [Download Options](#download-options)
38 * [Filesystem Options](#filesystem-options)
39 * [Thumbnail Options](#thumbnail-options)
40 * [Internet Shortcut Options](#internet-shortcut-options)
41 * [Verbosity and Simulation Options](#verbosity-and-simulation-options)
42 * [Workarounds](#workarounds)
43 * [Video Format Options](#video-format-options)
44 * [Subtitle Options](#subtitle-options)
45 * [Authentication Options](#authentication-options)
46 * [Post-processing Options](#post-processing-options)
47 * [SponsorBlock Options](#sponsorblock-options)
48 * [Extractor Options](#extractor-options)
49 * [CONFIGURATION](#configuration)
50 * [Authentication with .netrc file](#authentication-with-netrc-file)
51 * [OUTPUT TEMPLATE](#output-template)
52 * [Output template and Windows batch files](#output-template-and-windows-batch-files)
53 * [Output template examples](#output-template-examples)
54 * [FORMAT SELECTION](#format-selection)
55 * [Filtering Formats](#filtering-formats)
56 * [Sorting Formats](#sorting-formats)
57 * [Format Selection examples](#format-selection-examples)
58 * [MODIFYING METADATA](#modifying-metadata)
59 * [Modifying metadata examples](#modifying-metadata-examples)
60 * [EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS](#extractor-arguments)
61 * [PLUGINS](#plugins)
62 * [EMBEDDING YT-DLP](#embedding-yt-dlp)
63 * [Embedding examples](#embedding-examples)
64 * [DEPRECATED OPTIONS](#deprecated-options)
65 * [CONTRIBUTING](CONTRIBUTING.md#contributing-to-yt-dlp)
66 * [Opening an Issue](CONTRIBUTING.md#opening-an-issue)
67 * [Developer Instructions](CONTRIBUTING.md#developer-instructions)
68 * [MORE](#more)
69 <!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
70
71
72 # NEW FEATURES
73
74 * Based on **youtube-dl 2021.12.17 [commit/6508688](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/commit/6508688e88c83bb811653083db9351702cd39a6a)** ([exceptions](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/21)) and **youtube-dlc 2020.11.11-3 [commit/f9401f2](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc/commit/f9401f2a91987068139c5f757b12fc711d4c0cee)**: You get all the features and patches of [youtube-dlc](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc) in addition to the latest [youtube-dl](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl)
75
76 * **[SponsorBlock Integration](#sponsorblock-options)**: You can mark/remove sponsor sections in youtube videos by utilizing the [SponsorBlock](https://sponsor.ajay.app) API
77
78 * **[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))
79
80 * **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 livestreams are not available. See [#31](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/pull/31) for details.
81
82 * **Youtube improvements**:
83 * All Feeds (`:ytfav`, `:ytwatchlater`, `:ytsubs`, `:ythistory`, `:ytrec`, `:ytnotif`) and private playlists supports downloading multiple pages of content
84 * Search (`ytsearch:`, `ytsearchdate:`), search URLs and in-channel search works
85 * Mixes supports downloading multiple pages of content
86 * Some (but not all) age-gated content can be downloaded without cookies
87 * Fix for [n-sig based throttling](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/issues/29326)
88 * Redirect channel's home URL automatically to `/video` to preserve the old behaviour
89 * `255kbps` audio is extracted (if available) from youtube music when premium cookies are given
90 * Youtube music Albums, channels etc can be downloaded ([except self-uploaded music](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/723))
91 * Download livestreams from the start using `--live-from-start` (experimental)
92
93 * **Cookies from browser**: Cookies can be automatically extracted from all major web browsers using `--cookies-from-browser BROWSER[+KEYRING][:PROFILE]`
94
95 * **Split video by chapters**: Videos can be split into multiple files based on chapters using `--split-chapters`
96
97 * **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
98
99 * **Aria2c with HLS/DASH**: You can use `aria2c` as the external downloader for DASH(mpd) and HLS(m3u8) formats
100
101 * **New and fixed extractors**: Many new extractors have been added and a lot of existing ones have been fixed. See the [changelog](Changelog.md) or the [list of supported sites](supportedsites.md)
102
103 * **New MSOs**: Philo, Spectrum, SlingTV, Cablevision, RCN
104
105 * **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
106
107 * **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`)
108
109 * **Portable Configuration**: Configuration files are automatically loaded from the home and root directories. See [configuration](#configuration) for details
110
111 * **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`
112
113 * **Other new options**: Many new options have been added such as `--concat-playlist`, `--print`, `--wait-for-video`, `--sleep-requests`, `--convert-thumbnails`, `--write-link`, `--force-download-archive`, `--force-overwrites`, `--break-on-reject` etc
114
115 * **Improvements**: Regex and other operators in `--format`/`--match-filter`, multiple `--postprocessor-args` and `--downloader-args`, faster archive checking, more [format selection options](#format-selection), merge multi-video/audio, multiple `--config-locations`, `--exec` at different stages, etc
116
117 * **Plugins**: Extractors and PostProcessors can be loaded from an external file. See [plugins](#plugins) for details
118
119 * **Self-updater**: The releases can be updated using `yt-dlp -U`
120
121 See [changelog](Changelog.md) or [commits](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits) for the full list of changes
122
123 ### Differences in default behavior
124
125 Some of yt-dlp's default options are different from that of youtube-dl and youtube-dlc:
126
127 * The options `--auto-number` (`-A`), `--title` (`-t`) and `--literal` (`-l`), no longer work. See [removed options](#Removed) for details
128 * `avconv` is not supported as an alternative to `ffmpeg`
129 * yt-dlp stores config files in slightly different locations to youtube-dl. See [configuration](#configuration) for a list of correct locations
130 * The default [output template](#output-template) is `%(title)s [%(id)s].%(ext)s`. There is no real reason for this change. This was changed before yt-dlp was ever made public and now there are no plans to change it back to `%(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s`. Instead, you may use `--compat-options filename`
131 * The default [format sorting](#sorting-formats) is different from youtube-dl and prefers higher resolution and better codecs rather than higher bitrates. You can use the `--format-sort` option to change this to any order you prefer, or use `--compat-options format-sort` to use youtube-dl's sorting order
132 * The default format selector is `bv*+ba/b`. This means that if a combined video + audio format that is better than the best video-only format is found, the former will be preferred. Use `-f bv+ba/b` or `--compat-options format-spec` to revert this
133 * Unlike youtube-dlc, yt-dlp does not allow merging multiple audio/video streams into one file by default (since this conflicts with the use of `-f bv*+ba`). If needed, this feature must be enabled using `--audio-multistreams` and `--video-multistreams`. You can also use `--compat-options multistreams` to enable both
134 * `--no-abort-on-error` is enabled by default. Use `--abort-on-error` or `--compat-options abort-on-error` to abort on errors instead
135 * When writing metadata files such as thumbnails, description or infojson, the same information (if available) is also written for playlists. Use `--no-write-playlist-metafiles` or `--compat-options no-playlist-metafiles` to not write these files
136 * `--add-metadata` attaches the `infojson` to `mkv` files in addition to writing the metadata when used with `--write-info-json`. Use `--no-embed-info-json` or `--compat-options no-attach-info-json` to revert this
137 * Some metadata are embedded into different fields when using `--add-metadata` as compared to youtube-dl. Most notably, `comment` field contains the `webpage_url` and `synopsis` contains the `description`. You can [use `--parse-metadata`](#modifying-metadata) to modify this to your liking or use `--compat-options embed-metadata` to revert this
138 * `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
139 * The output of `-F` is listed in a new format. Use `--compat-options list-formats` to revert this
140 * 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
141 * 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
142 * 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. For all other tabs, if the channel does not show the requested tab, an error will be raised. Also, `/live` URLs raise an error if there are no live videos instead of silently downloading the entire channel. You may use `--compat-options no-youtube-channel-redirect` to revert all these redirections
143 * Unavailable videos are also listed for youtube playlists. Use `--compat-options no-youtube-unavailable-videos` to remove this
144 * 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
145 * Thumbnail embedding in `mp4` is done with mutagen if possible. Use `--compat-options embed-thumbnail-atomicparsley` to force the use of AtomicParsley instead
146 * 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
147 * When `--embed-subs` and `--write-subs` are used together, the subtitles are written to disk and also embedded in the media file. You can use just `--embed-subs` to embed the subs and automatically delete the separate file. See [#630 (comment)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/630#issuecomment-893659460) for more info. `--compat-options no-keep-subs` can be used to revert this
148 * `certifi` will be used for SSL root certificates, if installed. If you want to use system certificates (e.g. self-signed), use `--compat-options no-certifi`
149 * youtube-dl tries to remove some superfluous punctuations from filenames. While this can sometimes be helpfull, it is often undesirable. So yt-dlp tries to keep the fields in the filenames as close to their original values as possible. You can use `--compat-options filename-sanitization` to revert to youtube-dl's behavior
150
151 For ease of use, a few more compat options are available:
152
153 * `--compat-options all`: Use all compat options
154 * `--compat-options youtube-dl`: Same as `--compat-options all,-multistreams`
155 * `--compat-options youtube-dlc`: Same as `--compat-options all,-no-live-chat,-no-youtube-channel-redirect`
156
157
158 # INSTALLATION
159
160 You can install yt-dlp using one of the following methods:
161
162 ### Using the release binary
163
164 You can simply download the [correct binary file](#release-files) for your OS
165
166 <!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
167 [![Windows](https://img.shields.io/badge/-Windows_x64-blue.svg?style=for-the-badge&logo=windows)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.exe)
168 [![Linux](https://img.shields.io/badge/-Linux/MacOS/BSD-red.svg?style=for-the-badge&logo=linux)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp)
169 [![Source Tarball](https://img.shields.io/badge/-Source_tar-green.svg?style=for-the-badge)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.tar.gz)
170 [![Other variants](https://img.shields.io/badge/-Other-grey.svg?style=for-the-badge)](#release-files)
171 [![All versions](https://img.shields.io/badge/-All_Versions-lightgrey.svg?style=for-the-badge)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases)
172 <!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
173
174 Note: The manpages, shell completion files etc. are available in the [source tarball](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.tar.gz)
175
176 <!-- TODO: Move to Wiki -->
177 In UNIX-like OSes (MacOS, Linux, BSD), you can also install the same in one of the following ways:
178
179 ```
180 sudo curl -L https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp -o /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
181 sudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
182 ```
183
184 ```
185 sudo wget https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp -O /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
186 sudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
187 ```
188
189 ```
190 sudo aria2c https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp --dir /usr/local/bin -o yt-dlp
191 sudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
192 ```
193
194
195 ### With [PIP](https://pypi.org/project/pip)
196
197 You can install the [PyPI package](https://pypi.org/project/yt-dlp) with:
198 ```
199 python3 -m pip install -U yt-dlp
200 ```
201
202 You can install without any of the optional dependencies using:
203 ```
204 python3 -m pip install --no-deps -U yt-dlp
205 ```
206
207 If you want to be on the cutting edge, you can also install the master branch with:
208 ```
209 python3 -m pip install --force-reinstall https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/archive/master.tar.gz
210 ```
211
212 Note that on some systems, you may need to use `py` or `python` instead of `python3`
213
214 <!-- TODO: Add to Wiki, Remove Taps -->
215 ### With [Homebrew](https://brew.sh)
216
217 macOS or Linux users that are using Homebrew can also install it by:
218
219 ```
220 brew install yt-dlp/taps/yt-dlp
221 ```
222
223 ## UPDATE
224 You can use `yt-dlp -U` to update if you are [using the provided release](#using-the-release-binary)
225
226 If you [installed with pip](#with-pip), simply re-run the same command that was used to install the program
227
228 If you [installed using Homebrew](#with-homebrew), run `brew upgrade yt-dlp/taps/yt-dlp`
229
230 <!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
231 ## RELEASE FILES
232
233 #### Recommended
234
235 File|Description
236 :---|:---
237 [yt-dlp](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp)|Platform-independant binary. Needs Python (recommended for **Linux/BSD**)
238 [yt-dlp.exe](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.exe)|Windows (Win7 SP1+) standalone x64 binary (recommended for **Windows**)
239 [yt-dlp_macos](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_macos)|MacOS (10.15+) standalone executable (recommended for **MacOS**)
240
241 #### Alternatives
242
243 File|Description
244 :---|:---
245 [yt-dlp_x86.exe](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_x86.exe)|Windows (Vista SP2+) standalone x86 (32-bit) binary
246 [yt-dlp_min.exe](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_min.exe)|Windows (Win7 SP1+) standalone x64 binary built with `py2exe`.<br/> Does not contain `pycryptodomex`, needs VC++14
247 [yt-dlp_win.zip](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_win.zip)|Unpackaged Windows executable (no auto-update)
248 [yt-dlp_macos.zip](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_macos.zip)|Unpackaged MacOS (10.15+) executable (no auto-update)
249
250 #### Misc
251
252 File|Description
253 :---|:---
254 [yt-dlp.tar.gz](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.tar.gz)|Source tarball. Also contains manpages, completions, etc
255 [SHA2-512SUMS](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/SHA2-512SUMS)|GNU-style SHA512 sums
256 [SHA2-256SUMS](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/SHA2-256SUMS)|GNU-style SHA256 sums
257 <!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
258
259 ## DEPENDENCIES
260 Python versions 3.6+ (CPython and PyPy) are supported. Other versions and implementations may or may not work correctly.
261
262 <!-- Python 3.5+ uses VC++14 and it is already embedded in the binary created
263 <!x-- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=26999 --x>
264 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.
265 -->
266
267 While all the other dependencies are optional, `ffmpeg` and `ffprobe` are highly recommended
268
269 * [**ffmpeg** and **ffprobe**](https://www.ffmpeg.org) - Required for [merging separate video and audio files](#format-selection) as well as for various [post-processing](#post-processing-options) tasks. License [depends on the build](https://www.ffmpeg.org/legal.html)
270 * [**mutagen**](https://github.com/quodlibet/mutagen)\* - For embedding thumbnail in certain formats. Licensed under [GPLv2+](https://github.com/quodlibet/mutagen/blob/master/COPYING)
271 * [**pycryptodomex**](https://github.com/Legrandin/pycryptodome)\* - For decrypting AES-128 HLS streams and various other data. Licensed under [BSD-2-Clause](https://github.com/Legrandin/pycryptodome/blob/master/LICENSE.rst)
272 * [**websockets**](https://github.com/aaugustin/websockets)\* - For downloading over websocket. Licensed under [BSD-3-Clause](https://github.com/aaugustin/websockets/blob/main/LICENSE)
273 * [**secretstorage**](https://github.com/mitya57/secretstorage) - For accessing the Gnome keyring while decrypting cookies of Chromium-based browsers on Linux. Licensed under [BSD-3-Clause](https://github.com/mitya57/secretstorage/blob/master/LICENSE)
274 * [**brotli**](https://github.com/google/brotli)\* or [**brotlicffi**](https://github.com/python-hyper/brotlicffi) - [Brotli](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brotli) content encoding support. Both licensed under MIT <sup>[1](https://github.com/google/brotli/blob/master/LICENSE) [2](https://github.com/python-hyper/brotlicffi/blob/master/LICENSE) </sup>
275 * [**certifi**](https://github.com/certifi/python-certifi)\* - Provides Mozilla's root certificate bundle. Licensed under [MPLv2](https://github.com/certifi/python-certifi/blob/master/LICENSE)
276 * [**xattr**](https://github.com/xattr/xattr), [**pyxattr**](https://github.com/iustin/pyxattr) or [**setfattr**](http://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/attr) - For writing xattr metadata on Linux. Licensed under [MIT](https://github.com/xattr/xattr/blob/master/LICENSE.txt), [LGPL2.1](https://github.com/iustin/pyxattr/blob/master/COPYING) and [GPLv2+](http://git.savannah.nongnu.org/cgit/attr.git/tree/doc/COPYING) respectively
277 * [**AtomicParsley**](https://github.com/wez/atomicparsley) - For embedding thumbnail in mp4/m4a if mutagen/ffmpeg cannot. Licensed under [GPLv2+](https://github.com/wez/atomicparsley/blob/master/COPYING)
278 * [**rtmpdump**](http://rtmpdump.mplayerhq.hu) - For downloading `rtmp` streams. ffmpeg will be used as a fallback. Licensed under [GPLv2+](http://rtmpdump.mplayerhq.hu)
279 * [**mplayer**](http://mplayerhq.hu/design7/info.html) or [**mpv**](https://mpv.io) - For downloading `rstp` streams. ffmpeg will be used as a fallback. Licensed under [GPLv2+](https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/blob/master/Copyright)
280 * [**phantomjs**](https://github.com/ariya/phantomjs) - Used in extractors where javascript needs to be run. Licensed under [BSD-3-Clause](https://github.com/ariya/phantomjs/blob/master/LICENSE.BSD)
281 * [**sponskrub**](https://github.com/faissaloo/SponSkrub) - For using the now **deprecated** [sponskrub options](#sponskrub-options). Licensed under [GPLv3+](https://github.com/faissaloo/SponSkrub/blob/master/LICENCE.md)
282 * Any external downloader that you want to use with `--downloader`
283
284 To use or redistribute the dependencies, you must agree to their respective licensing terms.
285
286 The Windows and MacOS standalone release binaries are built with the Python interpreter and the packages marked with \* included.
287
288 <!-- TODO: ffmpeg has merged this patch. Remove this note once there is new release -->
289 **Note**: There are some regressions in newer ffmpeg versions that causes various issues when used alongside yt-dlp. Since ffmpeg is such an important dependency, we provide [custom builds](https://github.com/yt-dlp/FFmpeg-Builds#ffmpeg-static-auto-builds) with patches for these issues at [yt-dlp/FFmpeg-Builds](https://github.com/yt-dlp/FFmpeg-Builds). See [the readme](https://github.com/yt-dlp/FFmpeg-Builds#patches-applied) for details on the specific issues solved by these builds
290
291
292 ## COMPILE
293
294 **For Windows**:
295 To build the Windows executable, you must have pyinstaller (and any of yt-dlp's optional dependencies if needed). Once you have all the necessary dependencies installed, (optionally) build lazy extractors using `devscripts/make_lazy_extractors.py`, and then just run `pyinst.py`. The executable will be built for the same architecture (32/64 bit) as the python used to build it.
296
297 py -m pip install -U pyinstaller -r requirements.txt
298 py devscripts/make_lazy_extractors.py
299 py pyinst.py
300
301 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
302
303 **For Unix**:
304 You will need the required build tools: `python`, `make` (GNU), `pandoc`, `zip`, `pytest`
305 Then simply run `make`. You can also run `make yt-dlp` instead to compile only the binary without updating any of the additional files
306
307 **Note**: In either platform, `devscripts/update-version.py` can be used to automatically update the version number
308
309 You can also fork the project on github and run your fork's [build workflow](.github/workflows/build.yml) to automatically build a release
310
311 # USAGE AND OPTIONS
312
313 <!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
314 yt-dlp [OPTIONS] [--] URL [URL...]
315
316 `Ctrl+F` is your friend :D
317 <!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
318
319 <!-- Auto generated -->
320 ## General Options:
321 -h, --help Print this help text and exit
322 --version Print program version and exit
323 -U, --update Update this program to latest version. Make
324 sure that you have sufficient permissions
325 (run with sudo if needed)
326 -i, --ignore-errors Ignore download and postprocessing errors.
327 The download will be considered successful
328 even if the postprocessing fails
329 --no-abort-on-error Continue with next video on download
330 errors; e.g. to skip unavailable videos in
331 a playlist (default)
332 --abort-on-error Abort downloading of further videos if an
333 error occurs (Alias: --no-ignore-errors)
334 --dump-user-agent Display the current user-agent and exit
335 --list-extractors List all supported extractors and exit
336 --extractor-descriptions Output descriptions of all supported
337 extractors and exit
338 --force-generic-extractor Force extraction to use the generic
339 extractor
340 --default-search PREFIX Use this prefix for unqualified URLs. For
341 example "gvsearch2:" downloads two videos
342 from google videos for the search term
343 "large apple". Use the value "auto" to let
344 yt-dlp guess ("auto_warning" to emit a
345 warning when guessing). "error" just throws
346 an error. The default value "fixup_error"
347 repairs broken URLs, but emits an error if
348 this is not possible instead of searching
349 --ignore-config Don't load any more configuration files
350 except those given by --config-locations.
351 For backward compatibility, if this option
352 is found inside the system configuration
353 file, the user configuration is not loaded.
354 (Alias: --no-config)
355 --no-config-locations Do not load any custom configuration files
356 (default). When given inside a
357 configuration file, ignore all previous
358 --config-locations defined in the current
359 file
360 --config-locations PATH Location of the main configuration file;
361 either the path to the config or its
362 containing directory. Can be used multiple
363 times and inside other configuration files
364 --flat-playlist Do not extract the videos of a playlist,
365 only list them
366 --no-flat-playlist Extract the videos of a playlist
367 --live-from-start Download livestreams from the start.
368 Currently only supported for YouTube
369 (Experimental)
370 --no-live-from-start Download livestreams from the current time
371 (default)
372 --wait-for-video MIN[-MAX] Wait for scheduled streams to become
373 available. Pass the minimum number of
374 seconds (or range) to wait between retries
375 --no-wait-for-video Do not wait for scheduled streams (default)
376 --mark-watched Mark videos watched (even with --simulate)
377 --no-mark-watched Do not mark videos watched (default)
378 --no-colors Do not emit color codes in output
379 --compat-options OPTS Options that can help keep compatibility
380 with youtube-dl or youtube-dlc
381 configurations by reverting some of the
382 changes made in yt-dlp. See "Differences in
383 default behavior" for details
384
385 ## Network Options:
386 --proxy URL Use the specified HTTP/HTTPS/SOCKS proxy.
387 To enable SOCKS proxy, specify a proper
388 scheme. For example
389 socks5://user:pass@127.0.0.1:1080/. Pass in
390 an empty string (--proxy "") for direct
391 connection
392 --socket-timeout SECONDS Time to wait before giving up, in seconds
393 --source-address IP Client-side IP address to bind to
394 -4, --force-ipv4 Make all connections via IPv4
395 -6, --force-ipv6 Make all connections via IPv6
396
397 ## Geo-restriction:
398 --geo-verification-proxy URL Use this proxy to verify the IP address for
399 some geo-restricted sites. The default
400 proxy specified by --proxy (or none, if the
401 option is not present) is used for the
402 actual downloading
403 --geo-bypass Bypass geographic restriction via faking
404 X-Forwarded-For HTTP header (default)
405 --no-geo-bypass Do not bypass geographic restriction via
406 faking X-Forwarded-For HTTP header
407 --geo-bypass-country CODE Force bypass geographic restriction with
408 explicitly provided two-letter ISO 3166-2
409 country code
410 --geo-bypass-ip-block IP_BLOCK Force bypass geographic restriction with
411 explicitly provided IP block in CIDR
412 notation
413
414 ## Video Selection:
415 --playlist-start NUMBER Playlist video to start at (default is 1)
416 --playlist-end NUMBER Playlist video to end at (default is last)
417 --playlist-items ITEM_SPEC Playlist video items to download. Specify
418 indices of the videos in the playlist
419 separated by commas like: "--playlist-items
420 1,2,5,8" if you want to download videos
421 indexed 1, 2, 5, 8 in the playlist. You can
422 specify range: "--playlist-items
423 1-3,7,10-13", it will download the videos
424 at index 1, 2, 3, 7, 10, 11, 12 and 13
425 --min-filesize SIZE Do not download any videos smaller than
426 SIZE (e.g. 50k or 44.6m)
427 --max-filesize SIZE Do not download any videos larger than SIZE
428 (e.g. 50k or 44.6m)
429 --date DATE Download only videos uploaded on this date.
430 The date can be "YYYYMMDD" or in the format
431 "(now|today)[+-][0-9](day|week|month|year)(s)?"
432 --datebefore DATE Download only videos uploaded on or before
433 this date. The date formats accepted is the
434 same as --date
435 --dateafter DATE Download only videos uploaded on or after
436 this date. The date formats accepted is the
437 same as --date
438 --match-filters FILTER Generic video filter. Any field (see
439 "OUTPUT TEMPLATE") can be compared with a
440 number or a string using the operators
441 defined in "Filtering formats". You can
442 also simply specify a field to match if the
443 field is present, use "!field" to check if
444 the field is not present, and "&" to check
445 multiple conditions. Use a "\" to escape
446 "&" or quotes if needed. If used multiple
447 times, the filter matches if atleast one of
448 the conditions are met. Eg: --match-filter
449 !is_live --match-filter "like_count>?100 &
450 description~='(?i)\bcats \& dogs\b'"
451 matches only videos that are not live OR
452 those that have a like count more than 100
453 (or the like field is not available) and
454 also has a description that contains the
455 phrase "cats & dogs" (ignoring case). Use
456 "--match-filter -" to interactively ask
457 whether to download each video
458 --no-match-filter Do not use generic video filter (default)
459 --no-playlist Download only the video, if the URL refers
460 to a video and a playlist
461 --yes-playlist Download the playlist, if the URL refers to
462 a video and a playlist
463 --age-limit YEARS Download only videos suitable for the given
464 age
465 --download-archive FILE Download only videos not listed in the
466 archive file. Record the IDs of all
467 downloaded videos in it
468 --no-download-archive Do not use archive file (default)
469 --max-downloads NUMBER Abort after downloading NUMBER files
470 --break-on-existing Stop the download process when encountering
471 a file that is in the archive
472 --break-on-reject Stop the download process when encountering
473 a file that has been filtered out
474 --break-per-input Make --break-on-existing and --break-on-
475 reject act only on the current input URL
476 --no-break-per-input --break-on-existing and --break-on-reject
477 terminates the entire download queue
478 --skip-playlist-after-errors N Number of allowed failures until the rest
479 of the playlist is skipped
480
481 ## Download Options:
482 -N, --concurrent-fragments N Number of fragments of a dash/hlsnative
483 video that should be downloaded
484 concurrently (default is 1)
485 -r, --limit-rate RATE Maximum download rate in bytes per second
486 (e.g. 50K or 4.2M)
487 --throttled-rate RATE Minimum download rate in bytes per second
488 below which throttling is assumed and the
489 video data is re-extracted (e.g. 100K)
490 -R, --retries RETRIES Number of retries (default is 10), or
491 "infinite"
492 --file-access-retries RETRIES Number of times to retry on file access
493 error (default is 3), or "infinite"
494 --fragment-retries RETRIES Number of retries for a fragment (default
495 is 10), or "infinite" (DASH, hlsnative and
496 ISM)
497 --skip-unavailable-fragments Skip unavailable fragments for DASH,
498 hlsnative and ISM (default)
499 (Alias: --no-abort-on-unavailable-fragment)
500 --abort-on-unavailable-fragment Abort downloading if a fragment is unavailable
501 (Alias: --no-skip-unavailable-fragments)
502 --keep-fragments Keep downloaded fragments on disk after
503 downloading is finished
504 --no-keep-fragments Delete downloaded fragments after
505 downloading is finished (default)
506 --buffer-size SIZE Size of download buffer (e.g. 1024 or 16K)
507 (default is 1024)
508 --resize-buffer The buffer size is automatically resized
509 from an initial value of --buffer-size
510 (default)
511 --no-resize-buffer Do not automatically adjust the buffer size
512 --http-chunk-size SIZE Size of a chunk for chunk-based HTTP
513 downloading (e.g. 10485760 or 10M) (default
514 is disabled). May be useful for bypassing
515 bandwidth throttling imposed by a webserver
516 (experimental)
517 --playlist-reverse Download playlist videos in reverse order
518 --no-playlist-reverse Download playlist videos in default order
519 (default)
520 --playlist-random Download playlist videos in random order
521 --xattr-set-filesize Set file xattribute ytdl.filesize with
522 expected file size
523 --hls-use-mpegts Use the mpegts container for HLS videos;
524 allowing some players to play the video
525 while downloading, and reducing the chance
526 of file corruption if download is
527 interrupted. This is enabled by default for
528 live streams
529 --no-hls-use-mpegts Do not use the mpegts container for HLS
530 videos. This is default when not
531 downloading live streams
532 --downloader [PROTO:]NAME Name or path of the external downloader to
533 use (optionally) prefixed by the protocols
534 (http, ftp, m3u8, dash, rstp, rtmp, mms) to
535 use it for. Currently supports native,
536 aria2c, avconv, axel, curl, ffmpeg, httpie,
537 wget. You can use this option multiple
538 times to set different downloaders for
539 different protocols. For example,
540 --downloader aria2c --downloader
541 "dash,m3u8:native" will use aria2c for
542 http/ftp downloads, and the native
543 downloader for dash/m3u8 downloads (Alias:
544 --external-downloader)
545 --downloader-args NAME:ARGS Give these arguments to the external
546 downloader. Specify the downloader name and
547 the arguments separated by a colon ":". For
548 ffmpeg, arguments can be passed to
549 different positions using the same syntax
550 as --postprocessor-args. You can use this
551 option multiple times to give different
552 arguments to different downloaders (Alias:
553 --external-downloader-args)
554
555 ## Filesystem Options:
556 -a, --batch-file FILE File containing URLs to download ("-" for
557 stdin), one URL per line. Lines starting
558 with "#", ";" or "]" are considered as
559 comments and ignored
560 --no-batch-file Do not read URLs from batch file (default)
561 -P, --paths [TYPES:]PATH The paths where the files should be
562 downloaded. Specify the type of file and
563 the path separated by a colon ":". All the
564 same TYPES as --output are supported.
565 Additionally, you can also provide "home"
566 (default) and "temp" paths. All
567 intermediary files are first downloaded to
568 the temp path and then the final files are
569 moved over to the home path after download
570 is finished. This option is ignored if
571 --output is an absolute path
572 -o, --output [TYPES:]TEMPLATE Output filename template; see "OUTPUT
573 TEMPLATE" for details
574 --output-na-placeholder TEXT Placeholder value for unavailable meta
575 fields in output filename template
576 (default: "NA")
577 --restrict-filenames Restrict filenames to only ASCII
578 characters, and avoid "&" and spaces in
579 filenames
580 --no-restrict-filenames Allow Unicode characters, "&" and spaces in
581 filenames (default)
582 --windows-filenames Force filenames to be Windows-compatible
583 --no-windows-filenames Make filenames Windows-compatible only if
584 using Windows (default)
585 --trim-filenames LENGTH Limit the filename length (excluding
586 extension) to the specified number of
587 characters
588 -w, --no-overwrites Do not overwrite any files
589 --force-overwrites Overwrite all video and metadata files.
590 This option includes --no-continue
591 --no-force-overwrites Do not overwrite the video, but overwrite
592 related files (default)
593 -c, --continue Resume partially downloaded files/fragments
594 (default)
595 --no-continue Do not resume partially downloaded
596 fragments. If the file is not fragmented,
597 restart download of the entire file
598 --part Use .part files instead of writing directly
599 into output file (default)
600 --no-part Do not use .part files - write directly
601 into output file
602 --mtime Use the Last-modified header to set the
603 file modification time (default)
604 --no-mtime Do not use the Last-modified header to set
605 the file modification time
606 --write-description Write video description to a .description
607 file
608 --no-write-description Do not write video description (default)
609 --write-info-json Write video metadata to a .info.json file
610 (this may contain personal information)
611 --no-write-info-json Do not write video metadata (default)
612 --write-playlist-metafiles Write playlist metadata in addition to the
613 video metadata when using --write-info-json,
614 --write-description etc. (default)
615 --no-write-playlist-metafiles Do not write playlist metadata when using
616 --write-info-json, --write-description etc.
617 --clean-info-json Remove some private fields such as
618 filenames from the infojson. Note that it
619 could still contain some personal
620 information (default)
621 --no-clean-info-json Write all fields to the infojson
622 --write-comments Retrieve video comments to be placed in the
623 infojson. The comments are fetched even
624 without this option if the extraction is
625 known to be quick (Alias: --get-comments)
626 --no-write-comments Do not retrieve video comments unless the
627 extraction is known to be quick (Alias:
628 --no-get-comments)
629 --load-info-json FILE JSON file containing the video information
630 (created with the "--write-info-json"
631 option)
632 --cookies FILE Netscape formatted file to read cookies
633 from and dump cookie jar in
634 --no-cookies Do not read/dump cookies from/to file
635 (default)
636 --cookies-from-browser BROWSER[+KEYRING][:PROFILE]
637 The name of the browser and (optionally)
638 the name/path of the profile to load
639 cookies from, separated by a ":". Currently
640 supported browsers are: brave, chrome,
641 chromium, edge, firefox, opera, safari,
642 vivaldi. By default, the most recently
643 accessed profile is used. The keyring used
644 for decrypting Chromium cookies on Linux
645 can be (optionally) specified after the
646 browser name separated by a "+". Currently
647 supported keyrings are: basictext,
648 gnomekeyring, kwallet
649 --no-cookies-from-browser Do not load cookies from browser (default)
650 --cache-dir DIR Location in the filesystem where youtube-dl
651 can store some downloaded information (such
652 as client ids and signatures) permanently.
653 By default $XDG_CACHE_HOME/yt-dlp or
654 ~/.cache/yt-dlp
655 --no-cache-dir Disable filesystem caching
656 --rm-cache-dir Delete all filesystem cache files
657
658 ## Thumbnail Options:
659 --write-thumbnail Write thumbnail image to disk
660 --no-write-thumbnail Do not write thumbnail image to disk
661 (default)
662 --write-all-thumbnails Write all thumbnail image formats to disk
663 --list-thumbnails List available thumbnails of each video.
664 Simulate unless --no-simulate is used
665
666 ## Internet Shortcut Options:
667 --write-link Write an internet shortcut file, depending
668 on the current platform (.url, .webloc or
669 .desktop). The URL may be cached by the OS
670 --write-url-link Write a .url Windows internet shortcut. The
671 OS caches the URL based on the file path
672 --write-webloc-link Write a .webloc macOS internet shortcut
673 --write-desktop-link Write a .desktop Linux internet shortcut
674
675 ## Verbosity and Simulation Options:
676 -q, --quiet Activate quiet mode. If used with
677 --verbose, print the log to stderr
678 --no-warnings Ignore warnings
679 -s, --simulate Do not download the video and do not write
680 anything to disk
681 --no-simulate Download the video even if printing/listing
682 options are used
683 --ignore-no-formats-error Ignore "No video formats" error. Useful for
684 extracting metadata even if the videos are
685 not actually available for download
686 (experimental)
687 --no-ignore-no-formats-error Throw error when no downloadable video
688 formats are found (default)
689 --skip-download Do not download the video but write all
690 related files (Alias: --no-download)
691 -O, --print [WHEN:]TEMPLATE Field name or output template to print to
692 screen, optionally prefixed with when to
693 print it, separated by a ":". Supported
694 values of "WHEN" are the same as that of
695 --use-postprocessor, and "video" (default).
696 Implies --quiet. Implies --simulate unless
697 --no-simulate or later stages of WHEN are
698 used. This option can be used multiple
699 times
700 --print-to-file [WHEN:]TEMPLATE FILE
701 Append given template to the file. The
702 values of WHEN and TEMPLATE are same as
703 that of --print. FILE uses the same syntax
704 as the output template. This option can be
705 used multiple times
706 -j, --dump-json Quiet, but print JSON information for each
707 video. Simulate unless --no-simulate is
708 used. See "OUTPUT TEMPLATE" for a
709 description of available keys
710 -J, --dump-single-json Quiet, but print JSON information for each
711 url or infojson passed. Simulate unless
712 --no-simulate is used. If the URL refers to
713 a playlist, the whole playlist information
714 is dumped in a single line
715 --force-write-archive Force download archive entries to be
716 written as far as no errors occur, even if
717 -s or another simulation option is used
718 (Alias: --force-download-archive)
719 --newline Output progress bar as new lines
720 --no-progress Do not print progress bar
721 --progress Show progress bar, even if in quiet mode
722 --console-title Display progress in console titlebar
723 --progress-template [TYPES:]TEMPLATE
724 Template for progress outputs, optionally
725 prefixed with one of "download:" (default),
726 "download-title:" (the console title),
727 "postprocess:", or "postprocess-title:".
728 The video's fields are accessible under the
729 "info" key and the progress attributes are
730 accessible under "progress" key. E.g.:
731 --console-title --progress-template
732 "download-title:%(info.id)s-%(progress.eta)s"
733 -v, --verbose Print various debugging information
734 --dump-pages Print downloaded pages encoded using base64
735 to debug problems (very verbose)
736 --write-pages Write downloaded intermediary pages to
737 files in the current directory to debug
738 problems
739 --print-traffic Display sent and read HTTP traffic
740
741 ## Workarounds:
742 --encoding ENCODING Force the specified encoding (experimental)
743 --legacy-server-connect Explicitly allow HTTPS connection to
744 servers that do not support RFC 5746 secure
745 renegotiation
746 --no-check-certificates Suppress HTTPS certificate validation
747 --prefer-insecure Use an unencrypted connection to retrieve
748 information about the video (Currently
749 supported only for YouTube)
750 --add-header FIELD:VALUE Specify a custom HTTP header and its value,
751 separated by a colon ":". You can use this
752 option multiple times
753 --bidi-workaround Work around terminals that lack
754 bidirectional text support. Requires bidiv
755 or fribidi executable in PATH
756 --sleep-requests SECONDS Number of seconds to sleep between requests
757 during data extraction
758 --sleep-interval SECONDS Number of seconds to sleep before each
759 download. This is the minimum time to sleep
760 when used along with --max-sleep-interval
761 (Alias: --min-sleep-interval)
762 --max-sleep-interval SECONDS Maximum number of seconds to sleep. Can
763 only be used along with --min-sleep-interval
764 --sleep-subtitles SECONDS Number of seconds to sleep before each
765 subtitle download
766
767 ## Video Format Options:
768 -f, --format FORMAT Video format code, see "FORMAT SELECTION"
769 for more details
770 -S, --format-sort SORTORDER Sort the formats by the fields given, see
771 "Sorting Formats" for more details
772 --S-force, --format-sort-force Force user specified sort order to have
773 precedence over all fields, see "Sorting
774 Formats" for more details
775 --no-format-sort-force Some fields have precedence over the user
776 specified sort order (default), see
777 "Sorting Formats" for more details
778 --video-multistreams Allow multiple video streams to be merged
779 into a single file
780 --no-video-multistreams Only one video stream is downloaded for
781 each output file (default)
782 --audio-multistreams Allow multiple audio streams to be merged
783 into a single file
784 --no-audio-multistreams Only one audio stream is downloaded for
785 each output file (default)
786 --prefer-free-formats Prefer video formats with free containers
787 over non-free ones of same quality. Use
788 with "-S ext" to strictly prefer free
789 containers irrespective of quality
790 --no-prefer-free-formats Don't give any special preference to free
791 containers (default)
792 --check-formats Make sure formats are selected only from
793 those that are actually downloadable
794 --check-all-formats Check all formats for whether they are
795 actually downloadable
796 --no-check-formats Do not check that the formats are actually
797 downloadable
798 -F, --list-formats List available formats of each video.
799 Simulate unless --no-simulate is used
800 --merge-output-format FORMAT If a merge is required (e.g.
801 bestvideo+bestaudio), output to given
802 container format. One of mkv, mp4, ogg,
803 webm, flv. Ignored if no merge is required
804
805 ## Subtitle Options:
806 --write-subs Write subtitle file
807 --no-write-subs Do not write subtitle file (default)
808 --write-auto-subs Write automatically generated subtitle file
809 (Alias: --write-automatic-subs)
810 --no-write-auto-subs Do not write auto-generated subtitles
811 (default) (Alias: --no-write-automatic-subs)
812 --list-subs List available subtitles of each video.
813 Simulate unless --no-simulate is used
814 --sub-format FORMAT Subtitle format, accepts formats
815 preference, for example: "srt" or
816 "ass/srt/best"
817 --sub-langs LANGS Languages of the subtitles to download (can
818 be regex) or "all" separated by commas.
819 (Eg: --sub-langs "en.*,ja") You can prefix
820 the language code with a "-" to exempt it
821 from the requested languages. (Eg:
822 --sub-langs all,-live_chat) Use --list-subs
823 for a list of available language tags
824
825 ## Authentication Options:
826 -u, --username USERNAME Login with this account ID
827 -p, --password PASSWORD Account password. If this option is left
828 out, yt-dlp will ask interactively
829 -2, --twofactor TWOFACTOR Two-factor authentication code
830 -n, --netrc Use .netrc authentication data
831 --netrc-location PATH Location of .netrc authentication data;
832 either the path or its containing
833 directory. Defaults to ~/.netrc
834 --video-password PASSWORD Video password (vimeo, youku)
835 --ap-mso MSO Adobe Pass multiple-system operator (TV
836 provider) identifier, use --ap-list-mso for
837 a list of available MSOs
838 --ap-username USERNAME Multiple-system operator account login
839 --ap-password PASSWORD Multiple-system operator account password.
840 If this option is left out, yt-dlp will ask
841 interactively
842 --ap-list-mso List all supported multiple-system
843 operators
844
845 ## Post-Processing Options:
846 -x, --extract-audio Convert video files to audio-only files
847 (requires ffmpeg and ffprobe)
848 --audio-format FORMAT Specify audio format to convert the audio
849 to when -x is used. Currently supported
850 formats are: best (default) or one of aac,
851 flac, mp3, m4a, opus, vorbis, wav, alac
852 --audio-quality QUALITY Specify ffmpeg audio quality to use when
853 converting the audio with -x. Insert a
854 value between 0 (best) and 10 (worst) for
855 VBR or a specific bitrate like 128K
856 (default 5)
857 --remux-video FORMAT Remux the video into another container if
858 necessary (currently supported: mp4, mkv,
859 flv, webm, mov, avi, mka, ogg, aac, flac,
860 mp3, m4a, opus, vorbis, wav, alac). If
861 target container does not support the
862 video/audio codec, remuxing will fail. You
863 can specify multiple rules; Eg.
864 "aac>m4a/mov>mp4/mkv" will remux aac to
865 m4a, mov to mp4 and anything else to mkv.
866 --recode-video FORMAT Re-encode the video into another format if
867 re-encoding is necessary. The syntax and
868 supported formats are the same as --remux-video
869 --postprocessor-args NAME:ARGS Give these arguments to the postprocessors.
870 Specify the postprocessor/executable name
871 and the arguments separated by a colon ":"
872 to give the argument to the specified
873 postprocessor/executable. Supported PP are:
874 Merger, ModifyChapters, SplitChapters,
875 ExtractAudio, VideoRemuxer, VideoConvertor,
876 Metadata, EmbedSubtitle, EmbedThumbnail,
877 SubtitlesConvertor, ThumbnailsConvertor,
878 FixupStretched, FixupM4a, FixupM3u8,
879 FixupTimestamp and FixupDuration. The
880 supported executables are: AtomicParsley,
881 FFmpeg and FFprobe. You can also specify
882 "PP+EXE:ARGS" to give the arguments to the
883 specified executable only when being used
884 by the specified postprocessor.
885 Additionally, for ffmpeg/ffprobe, "_i"/"_o"
886 can be appended to the prefix optionally
887 followed by a number to pass the argument
888 before the specified input/output file. Eg:
889 --ppa "Merger+ffmpeg_i1:-v quiet". You can
890 use this option multiple times to give
891 different arguments to different
892 postprocessors. (Alias: --ppa)
893 -k, --keep-video Keep the intermediate video file on disk
894 after post-processing
895 --no-keep-video Delete the intermediate video file after
896 post-processing (default)
897 --post-overwrites Overwrite post-processed files (default)
898 --no-post-overwrites Do not overwrite post-processed files
899 --embed-subs Embed subtitles in the video (only for mp4,
900 webm and mkv videos)
901 --no-embed-subs Do not embed subtitles (default)
902 --embed-thumbnail Embed thumbnail in the video as cover art
903 --no-embed-thumbnail Do not embed thumbnail (default)
904 --embed-metadata Embed metadata to the video file. Also
905 embeds chapters/infojson if present unless
906 --no-embed-chapters/--no-embed-info-json
907 are used (Alias: --add-metadata)
908 --no-embed-metadata Do not add metadata to file (default)
909 (Alias: --no-add-metadata)
910 --embed-chapters Add chapter markers to the video file
911 (Alias: --add-chapters)
912 --no-embed-chapters Do not add chapter markers (default)
913 (Alias: --no-add-chapters)
914 --embed-info-json Embed the infojson as an attachment to
915 mkv/mka video files
916 --no-embed-info-json Do not embed the infojson as an attachment
917 to the video file
918 --parse-metadata FROM:TO Parse additional metadata like title/artist
919 from other fields; see "MODIFYING METADATA"
920 for details
921 --replace-in-metadata FIELDS REGEX REPLACE
922 Replace text in a metadata field using the
923 given regex. This option can be used
924 multiple times
925 --xattrs Write metadata to the video file's xattrs
926 (using dublin core and xdg standards)
927 --concat-playlist POLICY Concatenate videos in a playlist. One of
928 "never", "always", or "multi_video"
929 (default; only when the videos form a
930 single show). All the video files must have
931 same codecs and number of streams to be
932 concatable. The "pl_video:" prefix can be
933 used with "--paths" and "--output" to set
934 the output filename for the concatenated
935 files. See "OUTPUT TEMPLATE" for details
936 --fixup POLICY Automatically correct known faults of the
937 file. One of never (do nothing), warn (only
938 emit a warning), detect_or_warn (the
939 default; fix file if we can, warn
940 otherwise), force (try fixing even if file
941 already exists)
942 --ffmpeg-location PATH Location of the ffmpeg binary; either the
943 path to the binary or its containing
944 directory
945 --exec [WHEN:]CMD Execute a command, optionally prefixed with
946 when to execute it (after_move if
947 unspecified), separated by a ":". Supported
948 values of "WHEN" are the same as that of
949 --use-postprocessor. Same syntax as the
950 output template can be used to pass any
951 field as arguments to the command. After
952 download, an additional field "filepath"
953 that contains the final path of the
954 downloaded file is also available, and if
955 no fields are passed, %(filepath)q is
956 appended to the end of the command. This
957 option can be used multiple times
958 --no-exec Remove any previously defined --exec
959 --convert-subs FORMAT Convert the subtitles to another format
960 (currently supported: srt, vtt, ass, lrc)
961 (Alias: --convert-subtitles)
962 --convert-thumbnails FORMAT Convert the thumbnails to another format
963 (currently supported: jpg, png, webp)
964 --split-chapters Split video into multiple files based on
965 internal chapters. The "chapter:" prefix
966 can be used with "--paths" and "--output"
967 to set the output filename for the split
968 files. See "OUTPUT TEMPLATE" for details
969 --no-split-chapters Do not split video based on chapters
970 (default)
971 --remove-chapters REGEX Remove chapters whose title matches the
972 given regular expression. Time ranges
973 prefixed by a "*" can also be used in place
974 of chapters to remove the specified range.
975 Eg: --remove-chapters "*10:15-15:00"
976 --remove-chapters "intro". This option can
977 be used multiple times
978 --no-remove-chapters Do not remove any chapters from the file
979 (default)
980 --force-keyframes-at-cuts Force keyframes around the chapters before
981 removing/splitting them. Requires a
982 re-encode and thus is very slow, but the
983 resulting video may have fewer artifacts
984 around the cuts
985 --no-force-keyframes-at-cuts Do not force keyframes around the chapters
986 when cutting/splitting (default)
987 --use-postprocessor NAME[:ARGS] The (case sensitive) name of plugin
988 postprocessors to be enabled, and
989 (optionally) arguments to be passed to it,
990 separated by a colon ":". ARGS are a
991 semicolon ";" delimited list of NAME=VALUE.
992 The "when" argument determines when the
993 postprocessor is invoked. It can be one of
994 "pre_process" (after video extraction),
995 "after_filter" (after video passes filter),
996 "before_dl" (before each video download),
997 "post_process" (after each video download;
998 default), "after_move" (after moving video
999 file to it's final locations),
1000 "after_video" (after downloading and
1001 processing all formats of a video), or
1002 "playlist" (at end of playlist). This
1003 option can be used multiple times to add
1004 different postprocessors
1005
1006 ## SponsorBlock Options:
1007 Make chapter entries for, or remove various segments (sponsor,
1008 introductions, etc.) from downloaded YouTube videos using the
1009 [SponsorBlock API](https://sponsor.ajay.app)
1010
1011 --sponsorblock-mark CATS SponsorBlock categories to create chapters
1012 for, separated by commas. Available
1013 categories are all, default(=all), sponsor,
1014 intro, outro, selfpromo, preview, filler,
1015 interaction, music_offtopic, poi_highlight.
1016 You can prefix the category with a "-" to
1017 exempt it. See [1] for description of the
1018 categories. Eg: --sponsorblock-mark all,-preview
1019 [1] https://wiki.sponsor.ajay.app/w/Segment_Categories
1020 --sponsorblock-remove CATS SponsorBlock categories to be removed from
1021 the video file, separated by commas. If a
1022 category is present in both mark and
1023 remove, remove takes precedence. The syntax
1024 and available categories are the same as
1025 for --sponsorblock-mark except that
1026 "default" refers to "all,-filler" and
1027 poi_highlight is not available
1028 --sponsorblock-chapter-title TEMPLATE
1029 The title template for SponsorBlock
1030 chapters created by --sponsorblock-mark.
1031 The same syntax as the output template is
1032 used, but the only available fields are
1033 start_time, end_time, category, categories,
1034 name, category_names. Defaults to
1035 "[SponsorBlock]: %(category_names)l"
1036 --no-sponsorblock Disable both --sponsorblock-mark and
1037 --sponsorblock-remove
1038 --sponsorblock-api URL SponsorBlock API location, defaults to
1039 https://sponsor.ajay.app
1040
1041 ## Extractor Options:
1042 --extractor-retries RETRIES Number of retries for known extractor
1043 errors (default is 3), or "infinite"
1044 --allow-dynamic-mpd Process dynamic DASH manifests (default)
1045 (Alias: --no-ignore-dynamic-mpd)
1046 --ignore-dynamic-mpd Do not process dynamic DASH manifests
1047 (Alias: --no-allow-dynamic-mpd)
1048 --hls-split-discontinuity Split HLS playlists to different formats at
1049 discontinuities such as ad breaks
1050 --no-hls-split-discontinuity Do not split HLS playlists to different
1051 formats at discontinuities such as ad
1052 breaks (default)
1053 --extractor-args KEY:ARGS Pass these arguments to the extractor. See
1054 "EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS" for details. You can
1055 use this option multiple times to give
1056 arguments for different extractors
1057
1058 # CONFIGURATION
1059
1060 You can configure yt-dlp by placing any supported command line option to a configuration file. The configuration is loaded from the following locations:
1061
1062 1. **Main Configuration**: The file given by `--config-location`
1063 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.
1064 1. **Home Configuration**: `yt-dlp.conf` in the home path given by `-P`, or in the current directory if no such path is given
1065 1. **User Configuration**:
1066 * `%XDG_CONFIG_HOME%/yt-dlp/config` (recommended on Linux/macOS)
1067 * `%XDG_CONFIG_HOME%/yt-dlp.conf`
1068 * `%APPDATA%/yt-dlp/config` (recommended on Windows)
1069 * `%APPDATA%/yt-dlp/config.txt`
1070 * `~/yt-dlp.conf`
1071 * `~/yt-dlp.conf.txt`
1072
1073 `%XDG_CONFIG_HOME%` defaults to `~/.config` if undefined. On windows, `%APPDATA%` generally points to `C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Roaming` and `~` points to `%HOME%` if present, `%USERPROFILE%` (generally `C:\Users\<user name>`), or `%HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%`
1074
1075 1. **System Configuration**: `/etc/yt-dlp.conf`
1076
1077 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:
1078 ```
1079 # Lines starting with # are comments
1080
1081 # Always extract audio
1082 -x
1083
1084 # Do not copy the mtime
1085 --no-mtime
1086
1087 # Use this proxy
1088 --proxy 127.0.0.1:3128
1089
1090 # Save all videos under YouTube directory in your home directory
1091 -o ~/YouTube/%(title)s.%(ext)s
1092 ```
1093
1094 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`.
1095
1096 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 home, user, and system configurations. Additionally, (for backward compatibility) if `--ignore-config` is found inside the system configuration file, the user configuration is not loaded.
1097
1098 ### Authentication with `.netrc` file
1099
1100 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:
1101 ```
1102 touch $HOME/.netrc
1103 chmod a-rwx,u+rw $HOME/.netrc
1104 ```
1105 After that you can add credentials for an extractor in the following format, where *extractor* is the name of the extractor in lowercase:
1106 ```
1107 machine <extractor> login <username> password <password>
1108 ```
1109 For example:
1110 ```
1111 machine youtube login myaccount@gmail.com password my_youtube_password
1112 machine twitch login my_twitch_account_name password my_twitch_password
1113 ```
1114 To activate authentication with the `.netrc` file you should pass `--netrc` to yt-dlp or place it in the [configuration file](#configuration).
1115
1116 The default location of the .netrc file is `$HOME` (`~`) in UNIX. On Windows, it is `%HOME%` if present, `%USERPROFILE%` (generally `C:\Users\<user name>`) or `%HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%`
1117
1118 # OUTPUT TEMPLATE
1119
1120 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.
1121
1122 <!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
1123 **tl;dr:** [navigate me to examples](#output-template-examples).
1124 <!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
1125
1126 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).
1127
1128 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.
1129
1130 The field names themselves (the part inside the parenthesis) can also have some special formatting:
1131
1132 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
1133
1134 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`
1135
1136 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`
1137
1138 1. **Alternatives**: Alternate fields can be specified separated with a `,`. Eg: `%(release_date>%Y,upload_date>%Y|Unknown)s`
1139
1140 1. **Replacement**: A replacement value can specified using a `&` separator. If the field is *not* empty, this replacement value will be used instead of the actual field content. This is done after alternate fields are considered; thus the replacement is used if *any* of the alternative fields is *not* empty.
1141
1142 1. **Default**: A literal default value can be specified for when the field is empty using a `|` separator. This overrides `--output-na-template`. Eg: `%(uploader|Unknown)s`
1143
1144 1. **More Conversions**: In addition to the normal format types `diouxXeEfFgGcrs`, `B`, `j`, `l`, `q`, `D`, `S` can be used for converting to **B**ytes, **j**son (flag `#` for pretty-printing), a comma separated **l**ist (flag `#` for `\n` newline-separated), a string **q**uoted for the terminal (flag `#` to split a list into different arguments), to add **D**ecimal suffixes (Eg: 10M) (flag `#` to use 1024 as factor), and to **S**anitize as filename (flag `#` for restricted), respectively
1145
1146 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
1147
1148 To summarize, the general syntax for a field is:
1149 ```
1150 %(name[.keys][addition][>strf][,alternate][&replacement][|default])[flags][width][.precision][length]type
1151 ```
1152
1153 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`, `link`, `pl_thumbnail`, `pl_description`, `pl_infojson`, `chapter`, `pl_video`. For example, `-o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" -o "thumbnail:%(title)s\%(title)s.%(ext)s"` will put the thumbnails in a folder with the same name as the video. If any of the templates is empty, that type of file will not be written. Eg: `--write-thumbnail -o "thumbnail:"` will write thumbnails only for playlists and not for video.
1154
1155 The available fields are:
1156
1157 - `id` (string): Video identifier
1158 - `title` (string): Video title
1159 - `fulltitle` (string): Video title ignoring live timestamp and generic title
1160 - `url` (string): Video URL
1161 - `ext` (string): Video filename extension
1162 - `alt_title` (string): A secondary title of the video
1163 - `description` (string): The description of the video
1164 - `display_id` (string): An alternative identifier for the video
1165 - `uploader` (string): Full name of the video uploader
1166 - `license` (string): License name the video is licensed under
1167 - `creator` (string): The creator of the video
1168 - `timestamp` (numeric): UNIX timestamp of the moment the video became available
1169 - `upload_date` (string): Video upload date in UTC (YYYYMMDD)
1170 - `release_timestamp` (numeric): UNIX timestamp of the moment the video was released
1171 - `release_date` (string): The date (YYYYMMDD) when the video was released in UTC
1172 - `modified_timestamp` (numeric): UNIX timestamp of the moment the video was last modified
1173 - `modified_date` (string): The date (YYYYMMDD) when the video was last modified in UTC
1174 - `uploader_id` (string): Nickname or id of the video uploader
1175 - `channel` (string): Full name of the channel the video is uploaded on
1176 - `channel_id` (string): Id of the channel
1177 - `channel_follower_count` (numeric): Number of followers of the channel
1178 - `location` (string): Physical location where the video was filmed
1179 - `duration` (numeric): Length of the video in seconds
1180 - `duration_string` (string): Length of the video (HH:mm:ss)
1181 - `view_count` (numeric): How many users have watched the video on the platform
1182 - `like_count` (numeric): Number of positive ratings of the video
1183 - `dislike_count` (numeric): Number of negative ratings of the video
1184 - `repost_count` (numeric): Number of reposts of the video
1185 - `average_rating` (numeric): Average rating give by users, the scale used depends on the webpage
1186 - `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)
1187 - `age_limit` (numeric): Age restriction for the video (years)
1188 - `live_status` (string): One of "is_live", "was_live", "is_upcoming", "not_live"
1189 - `is_live` (boolean): Whether this video is a live stream or a fixed-length video
1190 - `was_live` (boolean): Whether this video was originally a live stream
1191 - `playable_in_embed` (string): Whether this video is allowed to play in embedded players on other sites
1192 - `availability` (string): Whether the video is "private", "premium_only", "subscriber_only", "needs_auth", "unlisted" or "public"
1193 - `start_time` (numeric): Time in seconds where the reproduction should start, as specified in the URL
1194 - `end_time` (numeric): Time in seconds where the reproduction should end, as specified in the URL
1195 - `format` (string): A human-readable description of the format
1196 - `format_id` (string): Format code specified by `--format`
1197 - `format_note` (string): Additional info about the format
1198 - `width` (numeric): Width of the video
1199 - `height` (numeric): Height of the video
1200 - `resolution` (string): Textual description of width and height
1201 - `tbr` (numeric): Average bitrate of audio and video in KBit/s
1202 - `abr` (numeric): Average audio bitrate in KBit/s
1203 - `acodec` (string): Name of the audio codec in use
1204 - `asr` (numeric): Audio sampling rate in Hertz
1205 - `vbr` (numeric): Average video bitrate in KBit/s
1206 - `fps` (numeric): Frame rate
1207 - `dynamic_range` (string): The dynamic range of the video
1208 - `vcodec` (string): Name of the video codec in use
1209 - `container` (string): Name of the container format
1210 - `filesize` (numeric): The number of bytes, if known in advance
1211 - `filesize_approx` (numeric): An estimate for the number of bytes
1212 - `protocol` (string): The protocol that will be used for the actual download
1213 - `extractor` (string): Name of the extractor
1214 - `extractor_key` (string): Key name of the extractor
1215 - `epoch` (numeric): Unix epoch of when the information extraction was completed
1216 - `autonumber` (numeric): Number that will be increased with each download, starting at `--autonumber-start`
1217 - `video_autonumber` (numeric): Number that will be increased with each video
1218 - `n_entries` (numeric): Total number of extracted items in the playlist
1219 - `playlist_id` (string): Identifier of the playlist that contains the video
1220 - `playlist_title` (string): Name of the playlist that contains the video
1221 - `playlist` (string): `playlist_id` or `playlist_title`
1222 - `playlist_count` (numeric): Total number of items in the playlist. May not be known if entire playlist is not extracted
1223 - `playlist_index` (numeric): Index of the video in the playlist padded with leading zeros according the final index
1224 - `playlist_autonumber` (numeric): Position of the video in the playlist download queue padded with leading zeros according to the total length of the playlist
1225 - `playlist_uploader` (string): Full name of the playlist uploader
1226 - `playlist_uploader_id` (string): Nickname or id of the playlist uploader
1227 - `webpage_url` (string): A URL to the video webpage which if given to yt-dlp should allow to get the same result again
1228 - `webpage_url_basename` (string): The basename of the webpage URL
1229 - `webpage_url_domain` (string): The domain of the webpage URL
1230 - `original_url` (string): The URL given by the user (or same as `webpage_url` for playlist entries)
1231
1232 Available for the video that belongs to some logical chapter or section:
1233
1234 - `chapter` (string): Name or title of the chapter the video belongs to
1235 - `chapter_number` (numeric): Number of the chapter the video belongs to
1236 - `chapter_id` (string): Id of the chapter the video belongs to
1237
1238 Available for the video that is an episode of some series or programme:
1239
1240 - `series` (string): Title of the series or programme the video episode belongs to
1241 - `season` (string): Title of the season the video episode belongs to
1242 - `season_number` (numeric): Number of the season the video episode belongs to
1243 - `season_id` (string): Id of the season the video episode belongs to
1244 - `episode` (string): Title of the video episode
1245 - `episode_number` (numeric): Number of the video episode within a season
1246 - `episode_id` (string): Id of the video episode
1247
1248 Available for the media that is a track or a part of a music album:
1249
1250 - `track` (string): Title of the track
1251 - `track_number` (numeric): Number of the track within an album or a disc
1252 - `track_id` (string): Id of the track
1253 - `artist` (string): Artist(s) of the track
1254 - `genre` (string): Genre(s) of the track
1255 - `album` (string): Title of the album the track belongs to
1256 - `album_type` (string): Type of the album
1257 - `album_artist` (string): List of all artists appeared on the album
1258 - `disc_number` (numeric): Number of the disc or other physical medium the track belongs to
1259 - `release_year` (numeric): Year (YYYY) when the album was released
1260
1261 Available for `chapter:` prefix when using `--split-chapters` for videos with internal chapters:
1262
1263 - `section_title` (string): Title of the chapter
1264 - `section_number` (numeric): Number of the chapter within the file
1265 - `section_start` (numeric): Start time of the chapter in seconds
1266 - `section_end` (numeric): End time of the chapter in seconds
1267
1268 Available only when used in `--print`:
1269
1270 - `urls` (string): The URLs of all requested formats, one in each line
1271 - `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
1272 - `formats_table` (table): The video format table as printed by `--list-formats`
1273 - `thumbnails_table` (table): The thumbnail format table as printed by `--list-thumbnails`
1274 - `subtitles_table` (table): The subtitle format table as printed by `--list-subs`
1275 - `automatic_captions_table` (table): The automatic subtitle format table as printed by `--list-subs`
1276
1277
1278 Available only in `--sponsorblock-chapter-title`:
1279
1280 - `start_time` (numeric): Start time of the chapter in seconds
1281 - `end_time` (numeric): End time of the chapter in seconds
1282 - `categories` (list): The SponsorBlock categories the chapter belongs to
1283 - `category` (string): The smallest SponsorBlock category the chapter belongs to
1284 - `category_names` (list): Friendly names of the categories
1285 - `name` (string): Friendly name of the smallest category
1286
1287 Each aforementioned sequence when referenced in an output template will be replaced by the actual value corresponding to the sequence name. 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.
1288
1289 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).
1290
1291 **Tip**: Look at the `-j` output to identify which fields are available for the particular URL
1292
1293 For numeric sequences you can use [numeric related formatting](https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#printf-style-string-formatting), for example, `%(view_count)05d` will result in a string with view count padded with zeros up to 5 characters, like in `00042`.
1294
1295 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.
1296
1297 To use percent literals in an output template use `%%`. To output to stdout use `-o -`.
1298
1299 The current default template is `%(title)s [%(id)s].%(ext)s`.
1300
1301 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.
1302
1303 <!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
1304 #### Output template and Windows batch files
1305
1306 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"`.
1307 <!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
1308
1309 #### Output template examples
1310
1311 ```bash
1312 $ yt-dlp --get-filename -o "test video.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc
1313 test video.webm # Literal name with correct extension
1314
1315 $ yt-dlp --get-filename -o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc
1316 youtube-dl test video ''_ä↭𝕐.webm # All kinds of weird characters
1317
1318 $ yt-dlp --get-filename -o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc --restrict-filenames
1319 youtube-dl_test_video_.webm # Restricted file name
1320
1321 # Download YouTube playlist videos in separate directory indexed by video order in a playlist
1322 $ yt-dlp -o "%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s" "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwiyx1dc3P2JR9N8gQaQN_BCvlSlap7re"
1323
1324 # Download YouTube playlist videos in separate directories according to their uploaded year
1325 $ yt-dlp -o "%(upload_date>%Y)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwiyx1dc3P2JR9N8gQaQN_BCvlSlap7re"
1326
1327 # Prefix playlist index with " - " separator, but only if it is available
1328 $ yt-dlp -o '%(playlist_index|)s%(playlist_index& - |)s%(title)s.%(ext)s' BaW_jenozKc "https://www.youtube.com/user/TheLinuxFoundation/playlists"
1329
1330 # Download all playlists of YouTube channel/user keeping each playlist in separate directory:
1331 $ yt-dlp -o "%(uploader)s/%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s" "https://www.youtube.com/user/TheLinuxFoundation/playlists"
1332
1333 # Download Udemy course keeping each chapter in separate directory under MyVideos directory in your home
1334 $ 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"
1335
1336 # Download entire series season keeping each series and each season in separate directory under C:/MyVideos
1337 $ 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"
1338
1339 # Download video as "C:\MyVideos\uploader\title.ext", subtitles as "C:\MyVideos\subs\uploader\title.ext"
1340 # and put all temporary files in "C:\MyVideos\tmp"
1341 $ yt-dlp -P "C:/MyVideos" -P "temp:tmp" -P "subtitle:subs" -o "%(uploader)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenoz --write-subs
1342
1343 # Download video as "C:\MyVideos\uploader\title.ext" and subtitles as "C:\MyVideos\uploader\subs\title.ext"
1344 $ yt-dlp -P "C:/MyVideos" -o "%(uploader)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s" -o "subtitle:%(uploader)s/subs/%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc --write-subs
1345
1346 # Stream the video being downloaded to stdout
1347 $ yt-dlp -o - BaW_jenozKc
1348 ```
1349
1350 # FORMAT SELECTION
1351
1352 By default, yt-dlp tries to download the best available quality if you **don't** pass any options.
1353 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`.
1354
1355 **Deprecation warning**: Latest versions of yt-dlp can stream multiple formats to the stdout simultaneously using ffmpeg. So, in future versions, the default for this will be set to `-f bv*+ba/b` similar to normal downloads. If you want to preserve the `-f b/bv+ba` setting, it is recommended to explicitly specify it in the configuration options.
1356
1357 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.
1358
1359 <!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
1360 **tl;dr:** [navigate me to examples](#format-selection-examples).
1361 <!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
1362
1363 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.
1364
1365 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.
1366
1367 You can use `-f -` to interactively provide the format selector *for each video*
1368
1369 You can also use special names to select particular edge case formats:
1370
1371 - `all`: Select **all formats** separately
1372 - `mergeall`: Select and **merge all formats** (Must be used with `--audio-multistreams`, `--video-multistreams` or both)
1373 - `b*`, `best*`: Select the best quality format that **contains either** a video or an audio
1374 - `b`, `best`: Select the best quality format that **contains both** video and audio. Equivalent to `best*[vcodec!=none][acodec!=none]`
1375 - `bv`, `bestvideo`: Select the best quality **video-only** format. Equivalent to `best*[acodec=none]`
1376 - `bv*`, `bestvideo*`: Select the best quality format that **contains video**. It may also contain audio. Equivalent to `best*[vcodec!=none]`
1377 - `ba`, `bestaudio`: Select the best quality **audio-only** format. Equivalent to `best*[vcodec=none]`
1378 - `ba*`, `bestaudio*`: Select the best quality format that **contains audio**. It may also contain video. Equivalent to `best*[acodec!=none]` ([Do not use!](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/979#issuecomment-919629354))
1379 - `w*`, `worst*`: Select the worst quality format that contains either a video or an audio
1380 - `w`, `worst`: Select the worst quality format that contains both video and audio. Equivalent to `worst*[vcodec!=none][acodec!=none]`
1381 - `wv`, `worstvideo`: Select the worst quality video-only format. Equivalent to `worst*[acodec=none]`
1382 - `wv*`, `worstvideo*`: Select the worst quality format that contains video. It may also contain audio. Equivalent to `worst*[vcodec!=none]`
1383 - `wa`, `worstaudio`: Select the worst quality audio-only format. Equivalent to `worst*[vcodec=none]`
1384 - `wa*`, `worstaudio*`: Select the worst quality format that contains audio. It may also contain video. Equivalent to `worst*[acodec!=none]`
1385
1386 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 `-S +size` or more rigorously, `-S +size,+br,+res,+fps` instead of `-f worst`. See [sorting formats](#sorting-formats) for more details.
1387
1388 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.
1389
1390 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.
1391
1392 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`.
1393
1394 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.
1395
1396 **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
1397
1398 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`.
1399
1400 ## Filtering Formats
1401
1402 You can also filter the video formats by putting a condition in brackets, as in `-f "best[height=720]"` (or `-f "[filesize>10M]"`).
1403
1404 The following numeric meta fields can be used with comparisons `<`, `<=`, `>`, `>=`, `=` (equals), `!=` (not equals):
1405
1406 - `filesize`: The number of bytes, if known in advance
1407 - `width`: Width of the video, if known
1408 - `height`: Height of the video, if known
1409 - `tbr`: Average bitrate of audio and video in KBit/s
1410 - `abr`: Average audio bitrate in KBit/s
1411 - `vbr`: Average video bitrate in KBit/s
1412 - `asr`: Audio sampling rate in Hertz
1413 - `fps`: Frame rate
1414
1415 Also filtering work for comparisons `=` (equals), `^=` (starts with), `$=` (ends with), `*=` (contains), `~=` (matches regex) and following string meta fields:
1416
1417 - `ext`: File extension
1418 - `acodec`: Name of the audio codec in use
1419 - `vcodec`: Name of the video codec in use
1420 - `container`: Name of the container format
1421 - `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`)
1422 - `format_id`: A short description of the format
1423 - `language`: Language code
1424
1425 Any string comparison may be prefixed with negation `!` in order to produce an opposite comparison, e.g. `!*=` (does not contain). The comparand of a string comparison needs to be quoted with either double or single quotes if it contains spaces or special characters other than `._-`.
1426
1427 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.
1428
1429 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.
1430
1431 Format selectors can also be grouped using parentheses, for example if you want to download the best pre-merged mp4 and webm formats with a height lower than 480 you can use `-f "(mp4,webm)[height<480]"`.
1432
1433 ## Sorting Formats
1434
1435 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...`.
1436
1437 The available fields are:
1438
1439 - `hasvid`: Gives priority to formats that has a video stream
1440 - `hasaud`: Gives priority to formats that has a audio stream
1441 - `ie_pref`: The format preference
1442 - `lang`: The language preference
1443 - `quality`: The quality of the format
1444 - `source`: The preference of the source
1445 - `proto`: Protocol used for download (`https`/`ftps` > `http`/`ftp` > `m3u8_native`/`m3u8` > `http_dash_segments`> `websocket_frag` > `mms`/`rtsp` > `f4f`/`f4m`)
1446 - `vcodec`: Video Codec (`av01` > `vp9.2` > `vp9` > `h265` > `h264` > `vp8` > `h263` > `theora` > other)
1447 - `acodec`: Audio Codec (`flac`/`alac` > `wav`/`aiff` > `opus` > `vorbis` > `aac` > `mp4a` > `mp3` > `eac3` > `ac3` > `dts` > other)
1448 - `codec`: Equivalent to `vcodec,acodec`
1449 - `vext`: Video Extension (`mp4` > `webm` > `flv` > other). If `--prefer-free-formats` is used, `webm` is preferred.
1450 - `aext`: Audio Extension (`m4a` > `aac` > `mp3` > `ogg` > `opus` > `webm` > other). If `--prefer-free-formats` is used, the order changes to `opus` > `ogg` > `webm` > `m4a` > `mp3` > `aac`.
1451 - `ext`: Equivalent to `vext,aext`
1452 - `filesize`: Exact filesize, if known in advance
1453 - `fs_approx`: Approximate filesize calculated from the manifests
1454 - `size`: Exact filesize if available, otherwise approximate filesize
1455 - `height`: Height of video
1456 - `width`: Width of video
1457 - `res`: Video resolution, calculated as the smallest dimension.
1458 - `fps`: Framerate of video
1459 - `hdr`: The dynamic range of the video (`DV` > `HDR12` > `HDR10+` > `HDR10` > `HLG` > `SDR`)
1460 - `tbr`: Total average bitrate in KBit/s
1461 - `vbr`: Average video bitrate in KBit/s
1462 - `abr`: Average audio bitrate in KBit/s
1463 - `br`: Equivalent to using `tbr,vbr,abr`
1464 - `asr`: Audio sample rate in Hz
1465
1466 **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.
1467
1468 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.
1469
1470 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 `--format-sort-force`. Apart from these, the default order used is: `lang,quality,res,fps,hdr:12,codec:vp9.2,size,br,asr,proto,ext,hasaud,source,id`. The extractors may override this default order, but they cannot override the user-provided order.
1471
1472 Note that the default has `codec:vp9.2`; i.e. `av1` is not preferred. Similarly, the default for hdr is `hdr:12`; i.e. dolby vision is not preferred. These choices are made since DV and AV1 formats are not yet fully compatible with most devices. This may be changed in the future as more devices become capable of smoothly playing back these formats.
1473
1474 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`.
1475
1476 **Tip**: You can use the `-v -F` to see how the formats have been sorted (worst to best).
1477
1478 ## Format Selection examples
1479
1480 ```bash
1481 # Download and merge the best video-only format and the best audio-only format,
1482 # or download the best combined format if video-only format is not available
1483 $ yt-dlp -f "bv+ba/b"
1484
1485 # Download best format that contains video,
1486 # and if it doesn't already have an audio stream, merge it with best audio-only format
1487 $ yt-dlp -f "bv*+ba/b"
1488
1489 # Same as above
1490 $ yt-dlp
1491
1492 # Download the best video-only format and the best audio-only format without merging them
1493 # For this case, an output template should be used since
1494 # by default, bestvideo and bestaudio will have the same file name.
1495 $ yt-dlp -f "bv,ba" -o "%(title)s.f%(format_id)s.%(ext)s"
1496
1497 # Download and merge the best format that has a video stream,
1498 # and all audio-only formats into one file
1499 $ yt-dlp -f "bv*+mergeall[vcodec=none]" --audio-multistreams
1500
1501 # Download and merge the best format that has a video stream,
1502 # and the best 2 audio-only formats into one file
1503 $ yt-dlp -f "bv*+ba+ba.2" --audio-multistreams
1504
1505
1506 # The following examples show the old method (without -S) of format selection
1507 # and how to use -S to achieve a similar but (generally) better result
1508
1509 # Download the worst video available (old method)
1510 $ yt-dlp -f "wv*+wa/w"
1511
1512 # Download the best video available but with the smallest resolution
1513 $ yt-dlp -S "+res"
1514
1515 # Download the smallest video available
1516 $ yt-dlp -S "+size,+br"
1517
1518
1519
1520 # Download the best mp4 video available, or the best video if no mp4 available
1521 $ yt-dlp -f "bv*[ext=mp4]+ba[ext=m4a]/b[ext=mp4] / bv*+ba/b"
1522
1523 # Download the best video with the best extension
1524 # (For video, mp4 > webm > flv. For audio, m4a > aac > mp3 ...)
1525 $ yt-dlp -S "ext"
1526
1527
1528
1529 # Download the best video available but no better than 480p,
1530 # or the worst video if there is no video under 480p
1531 $ yt-dlp -f "bv*[height<=480]+ba/b[height<=480] / wv*+ba/w"
1532
1533 # Download the best video available with the largest height but no better than 480p,
1534 # or the best video with the smallest resolution if there is no video under 480p
1535 $ yt-dlp -S "height:480"
1536
1537 # Download the best video available with the largest resolution but no better than 480p,
1538 # or the best video with the smallest resolution if there is no video under 480p
1539 # Resolution is determined by using the smallest dimension.
1540 # So this works correctly for vertical videos as well
1541 $ yt-dlp -S "res:480"
1542
1543
1544
1545 # Download the best video (that also has audio) but no bigger than 50 MB,
1546 # or the worst video (that also has audio) if there is no video under 50 MB
1547 $ yt-dlp -f "b[filesize<50M] / w"
1548
1549 # Download largest video (that also has audio) but no bigger than 50 MB,
1550 # or the smallest video (that also has audio) if there is no video under 50 MB
1551 $ yt-dlp -f "b" -S "filesize:50M"
1552
1553 # Download best video (that also has audio) that is closest in size to 50 MB
1554 $ yt-dlp -f "b" -S "filesize~50M"
1555
1556
1557
1558 # Download best video available via direct link over HTTP/HTTPS protocol,
1559 # or the best video available via any protocol if there is no such video
1560 $ yt-dlp -f "(bv*+ba/b)[protocol^=http][protocol!*=dash] / (bv*+ba/b)"
1561
1562 # Download best video available via the best protocol
1563 # (https/ftps > http/ftp > m3u8_native > m3u8 > http_dash_segments ...)
1564 $ yt-dlp -S "proto"
1565
1566
1567
1568 # Download the best video with either h264 or h265 codec,
1569 # or the best video if there is no such video
1570 $ yt-dlp -f "(bv*[vcodec~='^((he|a)vc|h26[45])']+ba) / (bv*+ba/b)"
1571
1572 # Download the best video with best codec no better than h264,
1573 # or the best video with worst codec if there is no such video
1574 $ yt-dlp -S "codec:h264"
1575
1576 # Download the best video with worst codec no worse than h264,
1577 # or the best video with best codec if there is no such video
1578 $ yt-dlp -S "+codec:h264"
1579
1580
1581
1582 # More complex examples
1583
1584 # Download the best video no better than 720p preferring framerate greater than 30,
1585 # or the worst video (still preferring framerate greater than 30) if there is no such video
1586 $ yt-dlp -f "((bv*[fps>30]/bv*)[height<=720]/(wv*[fps>30]/wv*)) + ba / (b[fps>30]/b)[height<=720]/(w[fps>30]/w)"
1587
1588 # Download the video with the largest resolution no better than 720p,
1589 # or the video with the smallest resolution available if there is no such video,
1590 # preferring larger framerate for formats with the same resolution
1591 $ yt-dlp -S "res:720,fps"
1592
1593
1594
1595 # Download the video with smallest resolution no worse than 480p,
1596 # or the video with the largest resolution available if there is no such video,
1597 # preferring better codec and then larger total bitrate for the same resolution
1598 $ yt-dlp -S "+res:480,codec,br"
1599 ```
1600
1601 # MODIFYING METADATA
1602
1603 The metadata obtained by the extractors can be modified by using `--parse-metadata` and `--replace-in-metadata`
1604
1605 `--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.
1606
1607 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.
1608
1609 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`.
1610
1611 This option also has a few special uses:
1612
1613 * 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
1614
1615 * 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". To modify the metadata of individual streams, use the `meta<n>_` prefix (Eg: `meta1_language`). Any value set to the `meta_` field will overwrite all default values.
1616
1617 **Note**: Metadata modification happens before format selection, post-extraction and other post-processing operations. Some fields may be added or changed during these steps, overriding your changes.
1618
1619 For reference, these are the fields yt-dlp adds by default to the file metadata:
1620
1621 Metadata fields | From
1622 :--------------------------|:------------------------------------------------
1623 `title` | `track` or `title`
1624 `date` | `upload_date`
1625 `description`, `synopsis` | `description`
1626 `purl`, `comment` | `webpage_url`
1627 `track` | `track_number`
1628 `artist` | `artist`, `creator`, `uploader` or `uploader_id`
1629 `genre` | `genre`
1630 `album` | `album`
1631 `album_artist` | `album_artist`
1632 `disc` | `disc_number`
1633 `show` | `series`
1634 `season_number` | `season_number`
1635 `episode_id` | `episode` or `episode_id`
1636 `episode_sort` | `episode_number`
1637 `language` of each stream | the format's `language`
1638
1639 **Note**: The file format may not support some of these fields
1640
1641
1642 ## Modifying metadata examples
1643
1644 ```bash
1645 # Interpret the title as "Artist - Title"
1646 $ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "title:%(artist)s - %(title)s"
1647
1648 # Regex example
1649 $ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "description:Artist - (?P<artist>.+)"
1650
1651 # Set title as "Series name S01E05"
1652 $ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "%(series)s S%(season_number)02dE%(episode_number)02d:%(title)s"
1653
1654 # Prioritize uploader as the "artist" field in video metadata
1655 $ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "%(uploader|)s:%(meta_artist)s" --add-metadata
1656
1657 # Set "comment" field in video metadata using description instead of webpage_url,
1658 # handling multiple lines correctly
1659 $ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "description:(?s)(?P<meta_comment>.+)" --add-metadata
1660
1661 # Remove "formats" field from the infojson by setting it to an empty string
1662 $ yt-dlp --parse-metadata ":(?P<formats>)" -j
1663
1664 # Replace all spaces and "_" in title and uploader with a `-`
1665 $ yt-dlp --replace-in-metadata "title,uploader" "[ _]" "-"
1666
1667 ```
1668
1669 # EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS
1670
1671 Some extractors accept additional arguments which can be passed using `--extractor-args KEY:ARGS`. `ARGS` is a `;` (semicolon) separated string of `ARG=VAL1,VAL2`. Eg: `--extractor-args "youtube:player-client=android_embedded,web;include_live_dash" --extractor-args "funimation:version=uncut"`
1672
1673 The following extractors use this feature:
1674
1675 #### youtube
1676 * `skip`: One or more of `hls`, `dash` or `translated_subs` to skip extraction of the m3u8 manifests, dash manifests and auto-translated subtitles respectively
1677 * `player_client`: Clients to extract video data from. The main clients are `web`, `android` and `ios` with variants `_music`, `_embedded`, `_embedscreen`, `_creator` (Eg: `web_embedded`); and `mweb` and `tv_embedded` (agegate bypass) with no variants. By default, `android,web` is used, but tv_embedded and creator variants are added as required for age-gated videos. Similarly the music variants are added for `music.youtube.com` urls. You can use `all` to use all the clients, and `default` for the default clients.
1678 * `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
1679 * `include_live_dash`: Include live dash formats even without `--live-from-start` (These formats don't download properly)
1680 * `comment_sort`: `top` or `new` (default) - choose comment sorting mode (on YouTube's side)
1681 * `max_comments`: Limit the amount of comments to gather. Comma-separated list of integers representing `max-comments,max-parents,max-replies,max-replies-per-thread`. Default is `all,all,all,all`
1682 * E.g. `all,all,1000,10` will get a maximum of 1000 replies total, with up to 10 replies per thread. `1000,all,100` will get a maximum of 1000 comments, with a maximum of 100 replies total
1683
1684 #### youtubetab (YouTube playlists, channels, feeds, etc.)
1685 * `skip`: One or more of `webpage` (skip initial webpage download), `authcheck` (allow the download of playlists requiring authentication when no initial webpage is downloaded. This may cause unwanted behavior, see [#1122](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/pull/1122) for more details)
1686 * `approximate_date`: Extract approximate `upload_date` in flat-playlist. This may cause date-based filters to be slightly off
1687
1688 #### funimation
1689 * `language`: Languages to extract. Eg: `funimation:language=english,japanese`
1690 * `version`: The video version to extract - `uncut` or `simulcast`
1691
1692 #### crunchyroll
1693 * `language`: Languages to extract. Eg: `crunchyroll:language=jaJp`
1694 * `hardsub`: Which hard-sub versions to extract. Eg: `crunchyroll:hardsub=None,enUS`
1695
1696 #### crunchyrollbeta
1697 * `format`: Which stream type(s) to extract. Default is `adaptive_hls` Eg: `crunchyrollbeta:format=vo_adaptive_hls`
1698 * Potentially useful values include `adaptive_hls`, `adaptive_dash`, `vo_adaptive_hls`, `vo_adaptive_dash`, `download_hls`, `trailer_hls`, `trailer_dash`
1699 * `hardsub`: Preference order for which hardsub versions to extract. Default is `None` (no hardsubs). Eg: `crunchyrollbeta:hardsub=en-US,None`
1700
1701 #### vikichannel
1702 * `video_types`: Types of videos to download - one or more of `episodes`, `movies`, `clips`, `trailers`
1703
1704 #### niconico
1705 * `segment_duration`: Segment duration in milliseconds for HLS-DMC formats. Use it at your own risk since this feature **may result in your account termination.**
1706
1707 #### youtubewebarchive
1708 * `check_all`: Try to check more at the cost of more requests. One or more of `thumbnails`, `captures`
1709
1710 #### gamejolt
1711 * `comment_sort`: `hot` (default), `you` (cookies needed), `top`, `new` - choose comment sorting mode (on GameJolt's side)
1712
1713 #### hotstar
1714 * `res`: resolution to ignore - one or more of `sd`, `hd`, `fhd`
1715 * `vcodec`: vcodec to ignore - one or more of `h264`, `h265`, `dvh265`
1716 * `dr`: dynamic range to ignore - one or more of `sdr`, `hdr10`, `dv`
1717
1718 #### tiktok
1719 * `app_version`: App version to call mobile APIs with - should be set along with `manifest_app_version`. (e.g. `20.2.1`)
1720 * `manifest_app_version`: Numeric app version to call mobile APIs with. (e.g. `221`)
1721
1722 #### rokfinchannel
1723 * `tab`: Which tab to download. One of `new`, `top`, `videos`, `podcasts`, `streams`, `stacks`. (E.g. `rokfinchannel:tab=streams`)
1724
1725
1726 NOTE: These options may be changed/removed in the future without concern for backward compatibility
1727
1728 <!-- MANPAGE: MOVE "INSTALLATION" SECTION HERE -->
1729
1730
1731 # PLUGINS
1732
1733 Plugins are loaded from `<root-dir>/ytdlp_plugins/<type>/__init__.py`; where `<root-dir>` is the directory of the binary (`<root-dir>/yt-dlp`), or the root directory of the module if you are running directly from source-code (`<root dir>/yt_dlp/__main__.py`). Plugins are currently not supported for the `pip` version
1734
1735 Plugins can be of `<type>`s `extractor` or `postprocessor`. Extractor plugins do not need to be enabled from the CLI and are automatically invoked when the input URL is suitable for it. Postprocessor plugins can be invoked using `--use-postprocessor NAME`.
1736
1737 See [ytdlp_plugins](ytdlp_plugins) for example plugins.
1738
1739 Note that **all** plugins are imported even if not invoked, and that **there are no checks** performed on plugin code. Use plugins at your own risk and only if you trust the code
1740
1741 If you are a plugin author, add [ytdlp-plugins](https://github.com/topics/ytdlp-plugins) as a topic to your repository for discoverability
1742
1743
1744
1745 # EMBEDDING YT-DLP
1746
1747 yt-dlp makes the best effort to be a good command-line program, and thus should be callable from any programming language.
1748
1749 Your program should avoid parsing the normal stdout since they may change in future versions. Instead they should use options such as `-J`, `--print`, `--progress-template`, `--exec` etc to create console output that you can reliably reproduce and parse.
1750
1751 From a Python program, you can embed yt-dlp in a more powerful fashion, like this:
1752
1753 ```python
1754 from yt_dlp import YoutubeDL
1755
1756 URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
1757 with YoutubeDL() as ydl:
1758 ydl.download(URLS)
1759 ```
1760
1761 Most likely, you'll want to use various options. For a list of options available, have a look at [`yt_dlp/YoutubeDL.py`](yt_dlp/YoutubeDL.py#L181).
1762
1763 **Tip**: If you are porting your code from youtube-dl to yt-dlp, one important point to look out for is that we do not guarantee the return value of `YoutubeDL.extract_info` to be json serializable, or even be a dictionary. It will be dictionary-like, but if you want to ensure it is a serializable dictionary, pass it through `YoutubeDL.sanitize_info` as shown in the [example below](#extracting-information)
1764
1765 ## Embedding examples
1766
1767 #### Extracting information
1768
1769 ```python
1770 import json
1771 import yt_dlp
1772
1773 URL = 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc'
1774
1775 # ℹ️ See help(yt_dlp.YoutubeDL) for a list of available options and public functions
1776 ydl_opts = {}
1777 with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
1778 info = ydl.extract_info(URL, download=False)
1779
1780 # ℹ️ ydl.sanitize_info makes the info json-serializable
1781 print(json.dumps(ydl.sanitize_info(info)))
1782 ```
1783 #### Download using an info-json
1784
1785 ```python
1786 import yt_dlp
1787
1788 INFO_FILE = 'path/to/video.info.json'
1789
1790 with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL() as ydl:
1791 error_code = ydl.download_with_info_file(INFO_FILE)
1792
1793 print('Some videos failed to download' if error_code
1794 else 'All videos successfully downloaded')
1795 ```
1796
1797 #### Extract audio
1798
1799 ```python
1800 import yt_dlp
1801
1802 URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
1803
1804 ydl_opts = {
1805 'format': 'm4a/bestaudio/best',
1806 # ℹ️ See help(yt_dlp.postprocessor) for a list of available Postprocessors and their arguments
1807 'postprocessors': [{ # Extract audio using ffmpeg
1808 'key': 'FFmpegExtractAudio',
1809 'preferredcodec': 'm4a',
1810 }]
1811 }
1812
1813 with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
1814 error_code = ydl.download(URLS)
1815 ```
1816
1817 #### Filter videos
1818
1819 ```python
1820 import yt_dlp
1821
1822 URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
1823
1824 def longer_than_a_minute(info, *, incomplete):
1825 """Download only videos longer than a minute (or with unknown duration)"""
1826 duration = info.get('duration')
1827 if duration and duration < 60:
1828 return 'The video is too short'
1829
1830 ydl_opts = {
1831 'match_filter': longer_than_a_minute,
1832 }
1833
1834 with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
1835 error_code = ydl.download(URLS)
1836 ```
1837
1838 #### Adding logger and progress hook
1839
1840 ```python
1841 import yt_dlp
1842
1843 URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
1844
1845 class MyLogger:
1846 def debug(self, msg):
1847 # For compatibility with youtube-dl, both debug and info are passed into debug
1848 # You can distinguish them by the prefix '[debug] '
1849 if msg.startswith('[debug] '):
1850 pass
1851 else:
1852 self.info(msg)
1853
1854 def info(self, msg):
1855 pass
1856
1857 def warning(self, msg):
1858 pass
1859
1860 def error(self, msg):
1861 print(msg)
1862
1863
1864 # ℹ️ See "progress_hooks" in help(yt_dlp.YoutubeDL)
1865 def my_hook(d):
1866 if d['status'] == 'finished':
1867 print('Done downloading, now post-processing ...')
1868
1869
1870 ydl_opts = {
1871 'logger': MyLogger(),
1872 'progress_hooks': [my_hook],
1873 }
1874
1875 with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
1876 ydl.download(URLS)
1877 ```
1878
1879 #### Add a custom PostProcessor
1880
1881 ```python
1882 import yt_dlp
1883
1884 URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
1885
1886 # ℹ️ See help(yt_dlp.postprocessor.PostProcessor)
1887 class MyCustomPP(yt_dlp.postprocessor.PostProcessor):
1888 def run(self, info):
1889 self.to_screen('Doing stuff')
1890 return [], info
1891
1892
1893 with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL() as ydl:
1894 ydl.add_post_processor(MyCustomPP())
1895 ydl.download(URLS)
1896 ```
1897
1898
1899 #### Use a custom format selector
1900
1901 ```python
1902 import yt_dlp
1903
1904 URL = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
1905
1906 def format_selector(ctx):
1907 """ Select the best video and the best audio that won't result in an mkv.
1908 NOTE: This is just an example and does not handle all cases """
1909
1910 # formats are already sorted worst to best
1911 formats = ctx.get('formats')[::-1]
1912
1913 # acodec='none' means there is no audio
1914 best_video = next(f for f in formats
1915 if f['vcodec'] != 'none' and f['acodec'] == 'none')
1916
1917 # find compatible audio extension
1918 audio_ext = {'mp4': 'm4a', 'webm': 'webm'}[best_video['ext']]
1919 # vcodec='none' means there is no video
1920 best_audio = next(f for f in formats if (
1921 f['acodec'] != 'none' and f['vcodec'] == 'none' and f['ext'] == audio_ext))
1922
1923 # These are the minimum required fields for a merged format
1924 yield {
1925 'format_id': f'{best_video["format_id"]}+{best_audio["format_id"]}',
1926 'ext': best_video['ext'],
1927 'requested_formats': [best_video, best_audio],
1928 # Must be + separated list of protocols
1929 'protocol': f'{best_video["protocol"]}+{best_audio["protocol"]}'
1930 }
1931
1932
1933 ydl_opts = {
1934 'format': format_selector,
1935 }
1936
1937 with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
1938 ydl.download(URLS)
1939 ```
1940
1941 <!-- MANPAGE: MOVE "NEW FEATURES" SECTION HERE -->
1942
1943 # DEPRECATED OPTIONS
1944
1945 These are all the deprecated options and the current alternative to achieve the same effect
1946
1947 #### Almost redundant options
1948 While these options are almost the same as their new counterparts, there are some differences that prevents them being redundant
1949
1950 -j, --dump-json --print "%()j"
1951 -F, --list-formats --print formats_table
1952 --list-thumbnails --print thumbnails_table --print playlist:thumbnails_table
1953 --list-subs --print automatic_captions_table --print subtitles_table
1954
1955 #### Redundant options
1956 While these options are redundant, they are still expected to be used due to their ease of use
1957
1958 --get-description --print description
1959 --get-duration --print duration_string
1960 --get-filename --print filename
1961 --get-format --print format
1962 --get-id --print id
1963 --get-thumbnail --print thumbnail
1964 -e, --get-title --print title
1965 -g, --get-url --print urls
1966 --match-title REGEX --match-filter "title ~= (?i)REGEX"
1967 --reject-title REGEX --match-filter "title !~= (?i)REGEX"
1968 --min-views COUNT --match-filter "view_count >=? COUNT"
1969 --max-views COUNT --match-filter "view_count <=? COUNT"
1970 --user-agent UA --add-header "User-Agent:UA"
1971 --referer URL --add-header "Referer:URL"
1972
1973
1974 #### Not recommended
1975 While these options still work, their use is not recommended since there are other alternatives to achieve the same
1976
1977 --exec-before-download CMD --exec "before_dl:CMD"
1978 --no-exec-before-download --no-exec
1979 --all-formats -f all
1980 --all-subs --sub-langs all --write-subs
1981 --print-json -j --no-simulate
1982 --autonumber-size NUMBER Use string formatting. Eg: %(autonumber)03d
1983 --autonumber-start NUMBER Use internal field formatting like %(autonumber+NUMBER)s
1984 --id -o "%(id)s.%(ext)s"
1985 --metadata-from-title FORMAT --parse-metadata "%(title)s:FORMAT"
1986 --hls-prefer-native --downloader "m3u8:native"
1987 --hls-prefer-ffmpeg --downloader "m3u8:ffmpeg"
1988 --list-formats-old --compat-options list-formats (Alias: --no-list-formats-as-table)
1989 --list-formats-as-table --compat-options -list-formats [Default] (Alias: --no-list-formats-old)
1990 --youtube-skip-dash-manifest --extractor-args "youtube:skip=dash" (Alias: --no-youtube-include-dash-manifest)
1991 --youtube-skip-hls-manifest --extractor-args "youtube:skip=hls" (Alias: --no-youtube-include-hls-manifest)
1992 --youtube-include-dash-manifest Default (Alias: --no-youtube-skip-dash-manifest)
1993 --youtube-include-hls-manifest Default (Alias: --no-youtube-skip-hls-manifest)
1994
1995
1996 #### Developer options
1997 These options are not intended to be used by the end-user
1998
1999 --test Download only part of video for testing extractors
2000 --youtube-print-sig-code For testing youtube signatures
2001 --allow-unplayable-formats List unplayable formats also
2002 --no-allow-unplayable-formats Default
2003
2004
2005 #### Old aliases
2006 These are aliases that are no longer documented for various reasons
2007
2008 --avconv-location --ffmpeg-location
2009 --clean-infojson --clean-info-json
2010 --cn-verification-proxy URL --geo-verification-proxy URL
2011 --dump-headers --print-traffic
2012 --dump-intermediate-pages --dump-pages
2013 --force-write-download-archive --force-write-archive
2014 --load-info --load-info-json
2015 --no-clean-infojson --no-clean-info-json
2016 --no-split-tracks --no-split-chapters
2017 --no-write-srt --no-write-subs
2018 --prefer-unsecure --prefer-insecure
2019 --rate-limit RATE --limit-rate RATE
2020 --split-tracks --split-chapters
2021 --srt-lang LANGS --sub-langs LANGS
2022 --trim-file-names LENGTH --trim-filenames LENGTH
2023 --write-srt --write-subs
2024 --yes-overwrites --force-overwrites
2025
2026 #### Sponskrub Options
2027 Support for [SponSkrub](https://github.com/faissaloo/SponSkrub) has been deprecated in favor of the `--sponsorblock` options
2028
2029 --sponskrub --sponsorblock-mark all
2030 --no-sponskrub --no-sponsorblock
2031 --sponskrub-cut --sponsorblock-remove all
2032 --no-sponskrub-cut --sponsorblock-remove -all
2033 --sponskrub-force Not applicable
2034 --no-sponskrub-force Not applicable
2035 --sponskrub-location Not applicable
2036 --sponskrub-args Not applicable
2037
2038 #### No longer supported
2039 These options may no longer work as intended
2040
2041 --prefer-avconv avconv is not officially supported by yt-dlp (Alias: --no-prefer-ffmpeg)
2042 --prefer-ffmpeg Default (Alias: --no-prefer-avconv)
2043 -C, --call-home Not implemented
2044 --no-call-home Default
2045 --include-ads No longer supported
2046 --no-include-ads Default
2047 --write-annotations No supported site has annotations now
2048 --no-write-annotations Default
2049
2050 #### Removed
2051 These options were deprecated since 2014 and have now been entirely removed
2052
2053 -A, --auto-number -o "%(autonumber)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s"
2054 -t, -l, --title, --literal -o "%(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s"
2055
2056 # CONTRIBUTING
2057 See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md#contributing-to-yt-dlp) for instructions on [Opening an Issue](CONTRIBUTING.md#opening-an-issue) and [Contributing code to the project](CONTRIBUTING.md#developer-instructions)
2058
2059 # MORE
2060 For FAQ see the [youtube-dl README](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl#faq)