[![YT-DLP](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/master/.github/banner.svg)](#readme)
-[![Release version](https://img.shields.io/github/v/release/yt-dlp/yt-dlp?color=brightgreen&label=Download&style=for-the-badge)](#release-files "Release")
+[![Release version](https://img.shields.io/github/v/release/yt-dlp/yt-dlp?color=brightgreen&label=Download&style=for-the-badge)](#installation "Installation")
[![PyPi](https://img.shields.io/badge/-PyPi-blue.svg?logo=pypi&labelColor=555555&style=for-the-badge)](https://pypi.org/project/yt-dlp "PyPi")
[![Donate](https://img.shields.io/badge/_-Donate-red.svg?logo=githubsponsors&labelColor=555555&style=for-the-badge)](Collaborators.md#collaborators "Donate")
[![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")
[![Discord](https://img.shields.io/discord/807245652072857610?color=blue&labelColor=555555&label=&logo=discord&style=for-the-badge)](https://discord.gg/H5MNcFW63r "Discord")
[![Supported Sites](https://img.shields.io/badge/-Supported_Sites-brightgreen.svg?style=for-the-badge)](supportedsites.md "Supported Sites")
[![License: Unlicense](https://img.shields.io/badge/-Unlicense-blue.svg?style=for-the-badge)](LICENSE "License")
-[![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")
+[![CI Status](https://img.shields.io/github/actions/workflow/status/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/core.yml?branch=master&label=Tests&style=for-the-badge)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/actions "CI Status")
[![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")
-[![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")
+[![Last Commit](https://img.shields.io/github/last-commit/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/master?label=&style=for-the-badge&display_timestamp=committer)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits "Commit History")
</div>
<!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
* [NEW FEATURES](#new-features)
* [Differences in default behavior](#differences-in-default-behavior)
* [INSTALLATION](#installation)
+ * [Detailed instructions](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Installation)
* [Update](#update)
* [Release Files](#release-files)
* [Dependencies](#dependencies)
* [SponsorBlock Options](#sponsorblock-options)
* [Extractor Options](#extractor-options)
* [CONFIGURATION](#configuration)
+ * [Configuration file encoding](#configuration-file-encoding)
* [Authentication with .netrc file](#authentication-with-netrc-file)
+ * [Notes about environment variables](#notes-about-environment-variables)
* [OUTPUT TEMPLATE](#output-template)
- * [Output template and Windows batch files](#output-template-and-windows-batch-files)
* [Output template examples](#output-template-examples)
* [FORMAT SELECTION](#format-selection)
* [Filtering Formats](#filtering-formats)
* [Modifying metadata examples](#modifying-metadata-examples)
* [EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS](#extractor-arguments)
* [PLUGINS](#plugins)
+ * [Installing Plugins](#installing-plugins)
+ * [Developing Plugins](#developing-plugins)
* [EMBEDDING YT-DLP](#embedding-yt-dlp)
* [Embedding examples](#embedding-examples)
* [DEPRECATED OPTIONS](#deprecated-options)
* [Opening an Issue](CONTRIBUTING.md#opening-an-issue)
* [Developer Instructions](CONTRIBUTING.md#developer-instructions)
* [WIKI](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki)
+ * [FAQ](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/FAQ)
<!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
# NEW FEATURES
-* Merged with **youtube-dl v2021.12.17+ [commit/ed5c44e](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/commit/ed5c44e7b74ac77f87ca5ed6cb5e964a0c6a0678)**<!--([exceptions](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/21))--> and **youtube-dlc v2020.11.11-3+ [commit/f9401f2](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc/commit/f9401f2a91987068139c5f757b12fc711d4c0cee)**: You get all the features and patches of [youtube-dlc](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc) in addition to the latest [youtube-dl](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl)
+* Merged with **youtube-dl v2021.12.17+ [commit/2dd6c6e](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/commit/2dd6c6e)** ([exceptions](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/21)) and **youtube-dlc v2020.11.11-3+ [commit/f9401f2](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc/commit/f9401f2a91987068139c5f757b12fc711d4c0cee)**: You get all the features and patches of [youtube-dlc](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc) in addition to the latest [youtube-dl](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl)
-* **[SponsorBlock Integration](#sponsorblock-options)**: You can mark/remove sponsor sections in youtube videos by utilizing the [SponsorBlock](https://sponsor.ajay.app) API
+* **[SponsorBlock Integration](#sponsorblock-options)**: You can mark/remove sponsor sections in YouTube videos by utilizing the [SponsorBlock](https://sponsor.ajay.app) API
* **[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))
-* **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.
+* **Merged with animelover1984/youtube-dl**: You get most of the features and improvements from [animelover1984/youtube-dl](https://github.com/animelover1984/youtube-dl) including `--write-comments`, `BiliBiliSearch`, `BilibiliChannel`, Embedding thumbnail in mp4/ogg/opus, playlist infojson etc. Note that NicoNico livestreams are not available. See [#31](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/pull/31) for details.
* **YouTube improvements**:
* Supports Clips, Stories (`ytstories:<channel UCID>`), Search (including filters)**\***, YouTube Music Search, Channel-specific search, Search prefixes (`ytsearch:`, `ytsearchdate:`)**\***, Mixes, YouTube Music Albums/Channels ([except self-uploaded music](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/723)), and Feeds (`:ytfav`, `:ytwatchlater`, `:ytsubs`, `:ythistory`, `:ytrec`, `:ytnotif`)
* Supports some (but not all) age-gated content without cookies
* Download livestreams from the start using `--live-from-start` (*experimental*)
* `255kbps` audio is extracted (if available) from YouTube Music when premium cookies are given
- * Redirect channel's home URL automatically to `/video` to preserve the old behaviour
+ * Channel URLs download all uploads of the channel, including shorts and live
-* **Cookies from browser**: Cookies can be automatically extracted from all major web browsers using `--cookies-from-browser BROWSER[+KEYRING][:PROFILE]`
+* **Cookies from browser**: Cookies can be automatically extracted from all major web browsers using `--cookies-from-browser BROWSER[+KEYRING][:PROFILE][::CONTAINER]`
* **Download time range**: Videos can be downloaded partially based on either timestamps or chapters using `--download-sections`
* **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`
-* **Other new options**: Many new options have been added such as `--alias`, `--print`, `--concat-playlist`, `--wait-for-video`, `--retry-sleep`, `--sleep-requests`, `--convert-thumbnails`, `--force-download-archive`, `--force-overwrites`, `--break-on-reject` etc
+* **Other new options**: Many new options have been added such as `--alias`, `--print`, `--concat-playlist`, `--wait-for-video`, `--retry-sleep`, `--sleep-requests`, `--convert-thumbnails`, `--force-download-archive`, `--force-overwrites`, `--break-match-filter` etc
* **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
* **Plugins**: Extractors and PostProcessors can be loaded from an external file. See [plugins](#plugins) for details
-* **Self-updater**: The releases can be updated using `yt-dlp -U`
+* **Self updater**: The releases can be updated using `yt-dlp -U`, and downgraded using `--update-to` if required
+
+* **Nightly builds**: [Automated nightly builds](#update-channels) can be used with `--update-to nightly`
See [changelog](Changelog.md) or [commits](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits) for the full list of changes
Some of yt-dlp's default options are different from that of youtube-dl and youtube-dlc:
+* yt-dlp supports only [Python 3.7+](## "Windows 7"), and *may* remove support for more versions as they [become EOL](https://devguide.python.org/versions/#python-release-cycle); while [youtube-dl still supports Python 2.6+ and 3.2+](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/issues/30568#issue-1118238743)
* The options `--auto-number` (`-A`), `--title` (`-t`) and `--literal` (`-l`), no longer work. See [removed options](#Removed) for details
* `avconv` is not supported as an alternative to `ffmpeg`
* yt-dlp stores config files in slightly different locations to youtube-dl. See [CONFIGURATION](#configuration) for a list of correct locations
* `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
* The output of `-F` is listed in a new format. Use `--compat-options list-formats` to revert this
* Live chats (if available) are considered as subtitles. Use `--sub-langs all,-live_chat` to download all subtitles except live chat. You can also use `--compat-options no-live-chat` to prevent any live chat/danmaku from downloading
-* 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
-* Unavailable videos are also listed for youtube playlists. Use `--compat-options no-youtube-unavailable-videos` to remove this
+* YouTube channel URLs download all uploads of the channel. To download only the videos in a specific tab, pass the tab's URL. If the channel does not show the requested tab, an error will be raised. Also, `/live` URLs raise an error if there are no live videos instead of silently downloading the entire channel. You may use `--compat-options no-youtube-channel-redirect` to revert all these redirections
+* Unavailable videos are also listed for YouTube playlists. Use `--compat-options no-youtube-unavailable-videos` to remove this
* The upload dates extracted from YouTube are in UTC [when available](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/89e4d86171c7b7c997c77d4714542e0383bf0db0/yt_dlp/extractor/youtube.py#L3898-L3900). Use `--compat-options no-youtube-prefer-utc-upload-date` to prefer the non-UTC upload date.
* 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
* Thumbnail embedding in `mp4` is done with mutagen if possible. Use `--compat-options embed-thumbnail-atomicparsley` to force the use of AtomicParsley instead
* 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
* `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`
* yt-dlp's sanitization of invalid characters in filenames is different/smarter than in youtube-dl. You can use `--compat-options filename-sanitization` to revert to youtube-dl's behavior
+* yt-dlp tries to parse the external downloader outputs into the standard progress output if possible (Currently implemented: [~~aria2c~~](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/5931)). You can use `--compat-options no-external-downloader-progress` to get the downloader output as-is
For ease of use, a few more compat options are available:
* `--compat-options all`: Use all compat options (Do NOT use)
* `--compat-options youtube-dl`: Same as `--compat-options all,-multistreams`
* `--compat-options youtube-dlc`: Same as `--compat-options all,-no-live-chat,-no-youtube-channel-redirect`
+* `--compat-options 2021`: Same as `--compat-options 2022,no-certifi,filename-sanitization,no-youtube-prefer-utc-upload-date`
+* `--compat-options 2022`: Same as `--compat-options no-external-downloader-progress`. Use this to enable all future compat options
# INSTALLATION
## UPDATE
-You can use `yt-dlp -U` to update if you are [using the release binaries](#release-files)
+You can use `yt-dlp -U` to update if you are using the [release binaries](#release-files)
If you [installed with PIP](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Installation#with-pip), simply re-run the same command that was used to install the program
-For other third-party package managers, see [the wiki](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Installation) or refer their documentation
+For other third-party package managers, see [the wiki](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Installation#third-party-package-managers) or refer their documentation
+
+<a id="update-channels"/>
+
+There are currently two release channels for binaries, `stable` and `nightly`.
+`stable` releases are what the program will update to by default, and have had many of their changes tested by users of the master branch.
+`nightly` releases are built after each push to the master branch, and will have the most recent fixes and additions, but also have the potential for bugs.
+The latest `nightly` is available as a [pre-release from this repository](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/tag/nightly), and all `nightly` releases are [archived in their own repo](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp-nightly-builds/releases).
+When using `--update`/`-U`, a release binary will only update to its current channel.
+This release channel can be changed by using the `--update-to` option. `--update-to` can also be used to upgrade or downgrade to specific tags from a channel.
+
+Example usage:
+* `yt-dlp --update-to nightly` change to `nightly` channel and update to its latest release
+* `yt-dlp --update-to stable@2023.02.17` upgrade/downgrade to release to `stable` channel tag `2023.02.17`
+* `yt-dlp --update-to 2023.01.06` upgrade/downgrade to tag `2023.01.06` if it exists on the current channel
<!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
## RELEASE FILES
[yt-dlp_min.exe](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_min.exe)|Windows (Win7 SP1+) standalone x64 binary built with `py2exe`<br/> ([Not recommended](#standalone-py2exe-builds-windows))
[yt-dlp_linux](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_linux)|Linux standalone x64 binary
[yt-dlp_linux.zip](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_linux.zip)|Unpackaged Linux executable (no auto-update)
+[yt-dlp_linux_armv7l](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_linux_armv7l)|Linux standalone armv7l (32-bit) binary
+[yt-dlp_linux_aarch64](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_linux_aarch64)|Linux standalone aarch64 (64-bit) binary
[yt-dlp_win.zip](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_win.zip)|Unpackaged Windows executable (no auto-update)
[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)
[yt-dlp_macos_legacy](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_macos_legacy)|MacOS (10.9+) standalone x64 executable
:---|:---
[yt-dlp.tar.gz](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.tar.gz)|Source tarball
[SHA2-512SUMS](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/SHA2-512SUMS)|GNU-style SHA512 sums
+[SHA2-512SUMS.sig](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/SHA2-512SUMS.sig)|GPG signature file for SHA512 sums
[SHA2-256SUMS](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/SHA2-256SUMS)|GNU-style SHA256 sums
-<!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
+[SHA2-256SUMS.sig](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/SHA2-256SUMS.sig)|GPG signature file for SHA256 sums
+The public key that can be used to verify the GPG signatures is [available here](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/master/public.key)
+Example usage:
+```
+curl -L https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/raw/master/public.key | gpg --import
+gpg --verify SHA2-256SUMS.sig SHA2-256SUMS
+gpg --verify SHA2-512SUMS.sig SHA2-512SUMS
+```
+<!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
-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)
+**Note**: The manpages, shell completion files etc. are available inside the [source tarball](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.tar.gz)
## DEPENDENCIES
Python versions 3.7+ (CPython and PyPy) are supported. Other versions and implementations may or may not work correctly.
* [**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)
- <!-- TODO: ffmpeg has merged this patch. Remove this note once there is new release -->
- **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
+ There are bugs in ffmpeg that causes various issues when used alongside yt-dlp. Since ffmpeg is such an important dependency, we provide [custom builds](https://github.com/yt-dlp/FFmpeg-Builds#ffmpeg-static-auto-builds) with patches for some of these issues at [yt-dlp/FFmpeg-Builds](https://github.com/yt-dlp/FFmpeg-Builds). See [the readme](https://github.com/yt-dlp/FFmpeg-Builds#patches-applied) for details on the specific issues solved by these builds
+
+ **Important**: What you need is ffmpeg *binary*, **NOT** [the python package of the same name](https://pypi.org/project/ffmpeg)
### Networking
* [**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)
* [**secretstorage**](https://github.com/mitya57/secretstorage) - For `--cookies-from-browser` to access the **Gnome** keyring while decrypting cookies of **Chromium**-based browsers on **Linux**. Licensed under [BSD-3-Clause](https://github.com/mitya57/secretstorage/blob/master/LICENSE)
* Any external downloader that you want to use with `--downloader`
-#### Deprecated
+### Deprecated
* [**avconv** and **avprobe**](https://www.libav.org) - Now **deprecated** alternative to ffmpeg. License [depends on the build](https://libav.org/legal)
* [**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)
On some systems, you may need to use `py` or `python` instead of `python3`.
-Note that pyinstaller with versions below 4.4 [do not support](https://github.com/pyinstaller/pyinstaller#requirements-and-tested-platforms) Python installed from the Windows store without using a virtual environment.
+`pyinst.py` accepts any arguments that can be passed to `pyinstaller`, such as `--onefile/-F` or `--onedir/-D`, which is further [documented here](https://pyinstaller.org/en/stable/usage.html#what-to-generate).
+
+**Note**: Pyinstaller versions below 4.4 [do not support](https://github.com/pyinstaller/pyinstaller#requirements-and-tested-platforms) Python installed from the Windows store without using a virtual environment.
**Important**: Running `pyinstaller` directly **without** using `pyinst.py` is **not** officially supported. This may or may not work correctly.
### Platform-independent Binary (UNIX)
-You will need the build tools `python` (3.6+), `zip`, `make` (GNU), `pandoc`\* and `pytest`\*.
+You will need the build tools `python` (3.7+), `zip`, `make` (GNU), `pandoc`\* and `pytest`\*.
After installing these, simply run `make`.
### Related scripts
-* **`devscripts/update-version.py [revision]`** - Update the version number based on current date
-* **`devscripts/set-variant.py variant [-M update_message]`** - Set the build variant of the executable
+* **`devscripts/update-version.py`** - Update the version number based on current date.
+* **`devscripts/set-variant.py`** - Set the build variant of the executable.
+* **`devscripts/make_changelog.py`** - Create a markdown changelog using short commit messages and update `CONTRIBUTORS` file.
* **`devscripts/make_lazy_extractors.py`** - Create lazy extractors. Running this before building the binaries (any variant) will improve their startup performance. Set the environment variable `YTDLP_NO_LAZY_EXTRACTORS=1` if you wish to forcefully disable lazy extractor loading.
-You can also fork the project on github and run your fork's [build workflow](.github/workflows/build.yml) to automatically build a full release
+Note: See their `--help` for more info.
+
+### Forking the project
+If you fork the project on GitHub, you can run your fork's [build workflow](.github/workflows/build.yml) to automatically build the selected version(s) as artifacts. Alternatively, you can run the [release workflow](.github/workflows/release.yml) or enable the [nightly workflow](.github/workflows/release-nightly.yml) to create full (pre-)releases.
# USAGE AND OPTIONS
--version Print program version and exit
-U, --update Update this program to the latest version
--no-update Do not check for updates (default)
+ --update-to [CHANNEL]@[TAG] Upgrade/downgrade to a specific version.
+ CHANNEL and TAG defaults to "stable" and
+ "latest" respectively if omitted; See
+ "UPDATE" for details. Supported channels:
+ stable, nightly
-i, --ignore-errors Ignore download and postprocessing errors.
The download will be considered successful
even if the postprocessing fails
--source-address IP Client-side IP address to bind to
-4, --force-ipv4 Make all connections via IPv4
-6, --force-ipv6 Make all connections via IPv6
+ --enable-file-urls Enable file:// URLs. This is disabled by
+ default for security reasons.
## Geo-restriction:
--geo-verification-proxy URL Use this proxy to verify the IP address for
explicitly provided IP block in CIDR notation
## Video Selection:
- -I, --playlist-items ITEM_SPEC Comma separated playlist_index of the videos
+ -I, --playlist-items ITEM_SPEC Comma separated playlist_index of the items
to download. You can specify a range using
"[START]:[STOP][:STEP]". For backward
compatibility, START-STOP is also supported.
Use negative indices to count from the right
and negative STEP to download in reverse
order. E.g. "-I 1:3,7,-5::2" used on a
- playlist of size 15 will download the videos
+ playlist of size 15 will download the items
at index 1,2,3,7,11,13,15
- --min-filesize SIZE Do not download any videos smaller than
+ --min-filesize SIZE Abort download if filesize is smaller than
+ SIZE, e.g. 50k or 44.6M
+ --max-filesize SIZE Abort download if filesize is larger than
SIZE, e.g. 50k or 44.6M
- --max-filesize SIZE Do not download any videos larger than SIZE,
- e.g. 50k or 44.6M
--date DATE Download only videos uploaded on this date.
The date can be "YYYYMMDD" or in the format
[now|today|yesterday][-N[day|week|month|year]].
- E.g. --date today-2weeks
+ E.g. "--date today-2weeks" downloads only
+ videos uploaded on the same day two weeks ago
--datebefore DATE Download only videos uploaded on or before
this date. The date formats accepted is the
same as --date
dogs" (caseless). Use "--match-filter -" to
interactively ask whether to download each
video
- --no-match-filter Do not use generic video filter (default)
+ --no-match-filter Do not use any --match-filter (default)
+ --break-match-filters FILTER Same as "--match-filters" but stops the
+ download process when a video is rejected
+ --no-break-match-filters Do not use any --break-match-filters (default)
--no-playlist Download only the video, if the URL refers
to a video and a playlist
--yes-playlist Download the playlist, if the URL refers to
--max-downloads NUMBER Abort after downloading NUMBER files
--break-on-existing Stop the download process when encountering
a file that is in the archive
- --break-on-reject Stop the download process when encountering
- a file that has been filtered out
- --break-per-input --break-on-existing, --break-on-reject,
- --max-downloads, and autonumber resets per
- input URL
+ --break-per-input Alters --max-downloads, --break-on-existing,
+ --break-match-filter, and autonumber to
+ reset per input URL
--no-break-per-input --break-on-existing and similar options
terminates the entire download queue
--skip-playlist-after-errors N Number of allowed failures until the rest of
linear=1::2 --retry-sleep fragment:exp=1:20
--skip-unavailable-fragments Skip unavailable fragments for DASH,
hlsnative and ISM downloads (default)
- (Alias: --no-abort-on-unavailable-fragment)
- --abort-on-unavailable-fragment
+ (Alias: --no-abort-on-unavailable-fragments)
+ --abort-on-unavailable-fragments
Abort download if a fragment is unavailable
(Alias: --no-skip-unavailable-fragments)
--keep-fragments Keep downloaded fragments on disk after
Needs ffmpeg. This option can be used
multiple times to download multiple
sections, e.g. --download-sections
- "*10:15-15:00" --download-sections "intro"
+ "*10:15-inf" --download-sections "intro"
--downloader [PROTO:]NAME Name or path of the external downloader to
use (optionally) prefixed by the protocols
(http, ftp, m3u8, dash, rstp, rtmp, mms) to
--cache-dir DIR Location in the filesystem where yt-dlp can
store some downloaded information (such as
client ids and signatures) permanently. By
- default $XDG_CACHE_HOME/yt-dlp or
- ~/.cache/yt-dlp
+ default ${XDG_CACHE_HOME}/yt-dlp
--no-cache-dir Disable filesystem caching
--rm-cache-dir Delete all filesystem cache files
screen, optionally prefixed with when to
print it, separated by a ":". Supported
values of "WHEN" are the same as that of
- --use-postprocessor, and "video" (default).
+ --use-postprocessor (default: video).
Implies --quiet. Implies --simulate unless
--no-simulate or later stages of WHEN are
used. This option can be used multiple times
--prefer-insecure Use an unencrypted connection to retrieve
information about the video (Currently
supported only for YouTube)
- --add-header FIELD:VALUE Specify a custom HTTP header and its value,
+ --add-headers FIELD:VALUE Specify a custom HTTP header and its value,
separated by a colon ":". You can use this
option multiple times
--bidi-workaround Work around terminals that lack
specific bitrate like 128K (default 5)
--remux-video FORMAT Remux the video into another container if
necessary (currently supported: avi, flv,
- mkv, mov, mp4, webm, aac, aiff, alac, flac,
- m4a, mka, mp3, ogg, opus, vorbis, wav). If
- target container does not support the
- video/audio codec, remuxing will fail. You
- can specify multiple rules; e.g.
+ gif, mkv, mov, mp4, webm, aac, aiff, alac,
+ flac, m4a, mka, mp3, ogg, opus, vorbis,
+ wav). If target container does not support
+ the video/audio codec, remuxing will fail.
+ You can specify multiple rules; e.g.
"aac>m4a/mov>mp4/mkv" will remux aac to m4a,
mov to mp4 and anything else to mkv
--recode-video FORMAT Re-encode the video into another format if
mkv/mka video files
--no-embed-info-json Do not embed the infojson as an attachment
to the video file
- --parse-metadata FROM:TO Parse additional metadata like title/artist
+ --parse-metadata [WHEN:]FROM:TO
+ Parse additional metadata like title/artist
from other fields; see "MODIFYING METADATA"
- for details
- --replace-in-metadata FIELDS REGEX REPLACE
+ for details. Supported values of "WHEN" are
+ the same as that of --use-postprocessor
+ (default: pre_process)
+ --replace-in-metadata [WHEN:]FIELDS REGEX REPLACE
Replace text in a metadata field using the
given regex. This option can be used
- multiple times
+ multiple times. Supported values of "WHEN"
+ are the same as that of --use-postprocessor
+ (default: pre_process)
--xattrs Write metadata to the video file's xattrs
(using dublin core and xdg standards)
--concat-playlist POLICY Concatenate videos in a playlist. One of
--ffmpeg-location PATH Location of the ffmpeg binary; either the
path to the binary or its containing directory
--exec [WHEN:]CMD Execute a command, optionally prefixed with
- when to execute it (after_move if
- unspecified), separated by a ":". Supported
- values of "WHEN" are the same as that of
- --use-postprocessor. Same syntax as the
- output template can be used to pass any
- field as arguments to the command. After
- download, an additional field "filepath"
- that contains the final path of the
- downloaded file is also available, and if no
- fields are passed, %(filepath)q is appended
- to the end of the command. This option can
- be used multiple times
+ when to execute it, separated by a ":".
+ Supported values of "WHEN" are the same as
+ that of --use-postprocessor (default:
+ after_move). Same syntax as the output
+ template can be used to pass any field as
+ arguments to the command. After download, an
+ additional field "filepath" that contains
+ the final path of the downloaded file is
+ also available, and if no fields are passed,
+ %(filepath,_filename|)q is appended to the
+ end of the command. This option can be used
+ multiple times
--no-exec Remove any previously defined --exec
--convert-subs FORMAT Convert the subtitles to another format
(currently supported: ass, lrc, srt, vtt)
postprocessor is invoked. It can be one of
"pre_process" (after video extraction),
"after_filter" (after video passes filter),
- "before_dl" (before each video download),
- "post_process" (after each video download;
- default), "after_move" (after moving video
- file to it's final locations), "after_video"
- (after downloading and processing all
- formats of a video), or "playlist" (at end
- of playlist). This option can be used
- multiple times to add different postprocessors
+ "video" (after --format; before
+ --print/--output), "before_dl" (before each
+ video download), "post_process" (after each
+ video download; default), "after_move"
+ (after moving video file to it's final
+ locations), "after_video" (after downloading
+ and processing all formats of a video), or
+ "playlist" (at end of playlist). This option
+ can be used multiple times to add different
+ postprocessors
## SponsorBlock Options:
Make chapter entries for, or remove various segments (sponsor,
for, separated by commas. Available
categories are sponsor, intro, outro,
selfpromo, preview, filler, interaction,
- music_offtopic, poi_highlight, all and
- default (=all). You can prefix the category
- with a "-" to exclude it. See [1] for
- description of the categories. E.g.
+ music_offtopic, poi_highlight, chapter, all
+ and default (=all). You can prefix the
+ category with a "-" to exclude it. See [1]
+ for description of the categories. E.g.
--sponsorblock-mark all,-preview
[1] https://wiki.sponsor.ajay.app/w/Segment_Categories
--sponsorblock-remove CATS SponsorBlock categories to be removed from
remove takes precedence. The syntax and
available categories are the same as for
--sponsorblock-mark except that "default"
- refers to "all,-filler" and poi_highlight is
- not available
+ refers to "all,-filler" and poi_highlight,
+ chapter are not available
--sponsorblock-chapter-title TEMPLATE
An output template for the title of the
SponsorBlock chapters created by
--no-hls-split-discontinuity Do not split HLS playlists to different
formats at discontinuities such as ad breaks
(default)
- --extractor-args KEY:ARGS Pass these arguments to the extractor. See
- "EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS" for details. You can
- use this option multiple times to give
+ --extractor-args IE_KEY:ARGS Pass ARGS arguments to the IE_KEY extractor.
+ See "EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS" for details. You
+ can use this option multiple times to give
arguments for different extractors
# CONFIGURATION
You can configure yt-dlp by placing any supported command line option to a configuration file. The configuration is loaded from the following locations:
-1. **Main Configuration**: The file given by `--config-location`
-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.
-1. **Home Configuration**: `yt-dlp.conf` in the home path given by `-P`, or in the current directory if no such path is given
+1. **Main Configuration**:
+ * The file given by `--config-location`
+1. **Portable Configuration**: (Recommended for portable installations)
+ * If using a binary, `yt-dlp.conf` in the same directory as the binary
+ * If running from source-code, `yt-dlp.conf` in the parent directory of `yt_dlp`
+1. **Home Configuration**:
+ * `yt-dlp.conf` in the home path given by `-P`
+ * If `-P` is not given, the current directory is searched
1. **User Configuration**:
- * `%XDG_CONFIG_HOME%/yt-dlp/config` (recommended on Linux/macOS)
- * `%XDG_CONFIG_HOME%/yt-dlp.conf`
- * `%APPDATA%/yt-dlp/config` (recommended on Windows)
- * `%APPDATA%/yt-dlp/config.txt`
+ * `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp.conf`
+ * `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp/config` (recommended on Linux/macOS)
+ * `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp/config.txt`
+ * `${APPDATA}/yt-dlp.conf`
+ * `${APPDATA}/yt-dlp/config` (recommended on Windows)
+ * `${APPDATA}/yt-dlp/config.txt`
* `~/yt-dlp.conf`
* `~/yt-dlp.conf.txt`
-
- `%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%`
+ * `~/.yt-dlp/config`
+ * `~/.yt-dlp/config.txt`
-1. **System Configuration**: `/etc/yt-dlp.conf`
+ See also: [Notes about environment variables](#notes-about-environment-variables)
+1. **System Configuration**:
+ * `/etc/yt-dlp.conf`
+ * `/etc/yt-dlp/config`
+ * `/etc/yt-dlp/config.txt`
E.g. with the following configuration file yt-dlp will always extract the audio, not copy the mtime, use a proxy and save all videos under `YouTube` directory in your home directory:
```
-o ~/YouTube/%(title)s.%(ext)s
```
-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`.
+**Note**: Options in configuration file are just the same options aka switches used in regular command line calls; thus there **must be no whitespace** after `-` or `--`, e.g. `-o` or `--proxy` but not `- o` or `-- proxy`. They must also be quoted when necessary as-if it were a UNIX shell.
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.
-### Config file encoding
+### Configuration file encoding
-The config files are decoded according to the UTF BOM if present, and in the encoding from system locale otherwise.
+The configuration files are decoded according to the UTF BOM if present, and in the encoding from system locale otherwise.
If you want your file to be decoded differently, add `# coding: ENCODING` to the beginning of the file (e.g. `# coding: shift-jis`). There must be no characters before that, even spaces or BOM.
### Authentication with `.netrc` file
-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:
+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:
```
-touch $HOME/.netrc
-chmod a-rwx,u+rw $HOME/.netrc
+touch ${HOME}/.netrc
+chmod a-rwx,u+rw ${HOME}/.netrc
```
After that you can add credentials for an extractor in the following format, where *extractor* is the name of the extractor in lowercase:
```
```
To activate authentication with the `.netrc` file you should pass `--netrc` to yt-dlp or place it in the [configuration file](#configuration).
-The default location of the .netrc file is `$HOME` (`~`) in UNIX. On Windows, it is `%HOME%` if present, `%USERPROFILE%` (generally `C:\Users\<user name>`) or `%HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%`
+The default location of the .netrc file is `~` (see below).
+
+### Notes about environment variables
+* Environment variables are normally specified as `${VARIABLE}`/`$VARIABLE` on UNIX and `%VARIABLE%` on Windows; but is always shown as `${VARIABLE}` in this documentation
+* yt-dlp also allow using UNIX-style variables on Windows for path-like options; e.g. `--output`, `--config-location`
+* If unset, `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}` defaults to `~/.config` and `${XDG_CACHE_HOME}` to `~/.cache`
+* On Windows, `~` points to `${HOME}` if present; or, `${USERPROFILE}` or `${HOMEDRIVE}${HOMEPATH}` otherwise
+* On Windows, `${USERPROFILE}` generally points to `C:\Users\<user name>` and `${APPDATA}` to `${USERPROFILE}\AppData\Roaming`
# OUTPUT TEMPLATE
1. **Alternatives**: Alternate fields can be specified separated with a `,`. E.g. `%(release_date>%Y,upload_date>%Y|Unknown)s`
-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.
+1. **Replacement**: A replacement value can be 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.
1. **Default**: A literal default value can be specified for when the field is empty using a `|` separator. This overrides `--output-na-placeholder`. E.g. `%(uploader|Unknown)s`
-1. **More Conversions**: In addition to the normal format types `diouxXeEfFgGcrs`, yt-dlp additionally supports converting to `B` = **B**ytes, `j` = **j**son (flag `#` for pretty-printing), `h` = HTML escaping, `l` = a comma separated **l**ist (flag `#` for `\n` newline-separated), `q` = a string **q**uoted for the terminal (flag `#` to split a list into different arguments), `D` = add **D**ecimal suffixes (e.g. 10M) (flag `#` to use 1024 as factor), and `S` = **S**anitize as filename (flag `#` for restricted)
+1. **More Conversions**: In addition to the normal format types `diouxXeEfFgGcrs`, yt-dlp additionally supports converting to `B` = **B**ytes, `j` = **j**son (flag `#` for pretty-printing, `+` for Unicode), `h` = HTML escaping, `l` = a comma separated **l**ist (flag `#` for `\n` newline-separated), `q` = a string **q**uoted for the terminal (flag `#` to split a list into different arguments), `D` = add **D**ecimal suffixes (e.g. 10M) (flag `#` to use 1024 as factor), and `S` = **S**anitize as filename (flag `#` for restricted)
-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. E.g. `%(title)+.100U` is NFKC
+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. E.g. `%(title)+.100U` is NFKC
To summarize, the general syntax for a field is:
```
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`. E.g. `-o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" -o "thumbnail:%(title)s\%(title)s.%(ext)s"` will put the thumbnails in a folder with the same name as the video. If any of the templates is empty, that type of file will not be written. E.g. `--write-thumbnail -o "thumbnail:"` will write thumbnails only for playlists and not for video.
+<a id="outtmpl-postprocess-note"/>
+
+**Note**: Due to post-processing (i.e. merging etc.), the actual output filename might differ. Use `--print after_move:filepath` to get the name after all post-processing is complete.
+
The available fields are:
- `id` (string): Video identifier
- `duration` (numeric): Length of the video in seconds
- `duration_string` (string): Length of the video (HH:mm:ss)
- `view_count` (numeric): How many users have watched the video on the platform
+ - `concurrent_view_count` (numeric): How many users are currently watching the video on the platform.
- `like_count` (numeric): Number of positive ratings of the video
- `dislike_count` (numeric): Number of negative ratings of the video
- `repost_count` (numeric): Number of reposts of the video
Available only when used in `--print`:
- `urls` (string): The URLs of all requested formats, one in each line
- - `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
+ - `filename` (string): Name of the video file. Note that the [actual filename may differ](#outtmpl-postprocess-note)
- `formats_table` (table): The video format table as printed by `--list-formats`
- `thumbnails_table` (table): The thumbnail format table as printed by `--list-thumbnails`
- `subtitles_table` (table): The subtitle format table as printed by `--list-subs`
- `start_time` (numeric): Start time of the chapter in seconds
- `end_time` (numeric): End time of the chapter in seconds
- - `categories` (list): The SponsorBlock categories the chapter belongs to
+ - `categories` (list): The [SponsorBlock categories](https://wiki.sponsor.ajay.app/w/Types#Category) the chapter belongs to
- `category` (string): The smallest SponsorBlock category the chapter belongs to
- `category_names` (list): Friendly names of the categories
- `name` (string): Friendly name of the smallest category
+ - `type` (string): The [SponsorBlock action type](https://wiki.sponsor.ajay.app/w/Types#Action_Type) of the chapter
Each aforementioned sequence when referenced in an output template will be replaced by the actual value corresponding to the sequence name. E.g. for `-o %(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s` and an mp4 video with title `yt-dlp test video` and id `BaW_jenozKc`, this will result in a `yt-dlp test video-BaW_jenozKc.mp4` file created in the current directory.
-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).
+**Note**: Some of the sequences are not guaranteed to be present since they depend on the metadata obtained by a particular extractor. Such sequences will be replaced with placeholder value provided with `--output-na-placeholder` (`NA` by default).
**Tip**: Look at the `-j` output to identify which fields are available for the particular URL
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.
-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; e.g. `-f 22/17/18` will download format 22 if it's available, otherwise it will download format 17 if it's available, otherwise it will download format 18 if it's available, otherwise it will complain that no suitable formats are available for download.
+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; e.g. `-f 22/17/18` will download format 22 if it's available, otherwise it will download format 17 if it's available, otherwise it will download format 18 if it's available, otherwise it will complain that no suitable formats are available for download.
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`.
**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
-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. E.g. `-f bestvideo+best+bestaudio --video-multistreams --audio-multistreams` will download and merge all 3 given formats. The resulting file will have 2 video streams and 2 audio streams. But `-f bestvideo+best+bestaudio --no-video-multistreams` will download and merge only `bestvideo` and `bestaudio`. `best` is ignored since another format containing a video stream (`bestvideo`) has already been selected. The order of the formats is therefore important. `-f best+bestaudio --no-audio-multistreams` will download and merge both formats while `-f bestaudio+best --no-audio-multistreams` will ignore `best` and download only `bestaudio`.
+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. E.g. `-f bestvideo+best+bestaudio --video-multistreams --audio-multistreams` will download and merge all 3 given formats. The resulting file will have 2 video streams and 2 audio streams. But `-f bestvideo+best+bestaudio --no-video-multistreams` will download and merge only `bestvideo` and `bestaudio`. `best` is ignored since another format containing a video stream (`bestvideo`) has already been selected. The order of the formats is therefore important. `-f best+bestaudio --no-audio-multistreams` will download only `best` while `-f bestaudio+best --no-audio-multistreams` will ignore `best` and download only `bestaudio`.
## Filtering Formats
- `filesize_approx`: An estimate for the number of bytes
- `width`: Width of the video, if known
- `height`: Height of the video, if known
+ - `aspect_ratio`: Aspect ratio of the video, if known
- `tbr`: Average bitrate of audio and video in KBit/s
- `abr`: Average audio bitrate in KBit/s
- `vbr`: Average video bitrate in KBit/s
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 `._-`.
-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.
+**Note**: None of the aforementioned meta fields are guaranteed to be present since this solely depends on the metadata obtained by particular extractor, i.e. the metadata offered by the website. Any other field made available by the extractor can also be used for filtering.
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, e.g. `-f "all[vcodec=none]"` selects all audio-only formats.
The available fields are:
- - `hasvid`: Gives priority to formats that has a video stream
- - `hasaud`: Gives priority to formats that has a audio stream
+ - `hasvid`: Gives priority to formats that have a video stream
+ - `hasaud`: Gives priority to formats that have an audio stream
- `ie_pref`: The format preference
- `lang`: The language preference
- `quality`: The quality of the format
- `source`: The preference of the source
- `proto`: Protocol used for download (`https`/`ftps` > `http`/`ftp` > `m3u8_native`/`m3u8` > `http_dash_segments`> `websocket_frag` > `mms`/`rtsp` > `f4f`/`f4m`)
- `vcodec`: Video Codec (`av01` > `vp9.2` > `vp9` > `h265` > `h264` > `vp8` > `h263` > `theora` > other)
- - `acodec`: Audio Codec (`flac`/`alac` > `wav`/`aiff` > `opus` > `vorbis` > `aac` > `mp4a` > `mp3` > `eac3` > `ac3` > `dts` > other)
+ - `acodec`: Audio Codec (`flac`/`alac` > `wav`/`aiff` > `opus` > `vorbis` > `aac` > `mp4a` > `mp3` > `ac4` > `eac3` > `ac3` > `dts` > other)
- `codec`: Equivalent to `vcodec,acodec`
- - `vext`: Video Extension (`mp4` > `webm` > `flv` > other). If `--prefer-free-formats` is used, `webm` is preferred.
+ - `vext`: Video Extension (`mp4` > `mov` > `webm` > `flv` > other). If `--prefer-free-formats` is used, `webm` is preferred.
- `aext`: Audio Extension (`m4a` > `aac` > `mp3` > `ogg` > `opus` > `webm` > other). If `--prefer-free-formats` is used, the order changes to `ogg` > `opus` > `webm` > `mp3` > `m4a` > `aac`
- `ext`: Equivalent to `vext,aext`
- `filesize`: Exact filesize, if known in advance
$ yt-dlp -f "bv*[ext=mp4]+ba[ext=m4a]/b[ext=mp4] / bv*+ba/b"
# Download the best video with the best extension
-# (For video, mp4 > webm > flv. For audio, m4a > aac > mp3 ...)
+# (For video, mp4 > mov > webm > flv. For audio, m4a > aac > mp3 ...)
$ yt-dlp -S "ext"
`--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.
-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.
+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, a single field name, or a similar syntax to the [output template](#output-template) (only `%(field)s` formatting is supported) can be used for `TO`. The option can be used multiple times to parse and modify various fields.
-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`.
+Note that these options preserve their relative order, allowing replacements to be made in parsed fields and viceversa. Also, any field thus created can be used in the [output template](#output-template) and will also affect the media file's metadata added when using `--embed-metadata`.
This option also has a few special uses:
$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "%(series)s S%(season_number)02dE%(episode_number)02d:%(title)s"
# Prioritize uploader as the "artist" field in video metadata
-$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "%(uploader|)s:%(meta_artist)s" --add-metadata
+$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "%(uploader|)s:%(meta_artist)s" --embed-metadata
# Set "comment" field in video metadata using description instead of webpage_url,
# handling multiple lines correctly
-$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "description:(?s)(?P<meta_comment>.+)" --add-metadata
+$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "description:(?s)(?P<meta_comment>.+)" --embed-metadata
# Do not set any "synopsis" in the video metadata
$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata ":(?P<meta_synopsis>)"
Some extractors accept additional arguments which can be passed using `--extractor-args KEY:ARGS`. `ARGS` is a `;` (semicolon) separated string of `ARG=VAL1,VAL2`. E.g. `--extractor-args "youtube:player-client=android_embedded,web;include_live_dash" --extractor-args "funimation:version=uncut"`
+Note: In CLI, `ARG` can use `-` instead of `_`; e.g. `youtube:player-client"` becomes `youtube:player_client"`
+
The following extractors use this feature:
#### youtube
+* `lang`: Prefer translated metadata (`title`, `description` etc) of this language code (case-sensitive). By default, the video primary language metadata is preferred, with a fallback to `en` translated. See [youtube.py](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/c26f9b991a0681fd3ea548d535919cec1fbbd430/yt_dlp/extractor/youtube.py#L381-L390) for list of supported content language codes
* `skip`: One or more of `hls`, `dash` or `translated_subs` to skip extraction of the m3u8 manifests, dash manifests and [auto-translated subtitles](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/4090#issuecomment-1158102032) respectively
-* `player_client`: Clients to extract video data from. The main clients are `web`, `android` and `ios` with variants `_music`, `_embedded`, `_embedscreen`, `_creator` (e.g. `web_embedded`); and `mweb` and `tv_embedded` (agegate bypass) with no variants. By default, `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.
+* `player_client`: Clients to extract video data from. The main clients are `web`, `android` and `ios` with variants `_music`, `_embedded`, `_embedscreen`, `_creator` (e.g. `web_embedded`); and `mweb` and `tv_embedded` (agegate bypass) with no variants. By default, `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.
* `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
-* `include_live_dash`: Include live dash formats even without `--live-from-start` (These formats don't download properly)
* `comment_sort`: `top` or `new` (default) - choose comment sorting mode (on YouTube's side)
* `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`
* 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
+* `include_incomplete_formats`: Extract formats that cannot be downloaded completely (live dash and post-live m3u8)
* `innertube_host`: Innertube API host to use for all API requests; e.g. `studio.youtube.com`, `youtubei.googleapis.com`. Note that cookies exported from one subdomain will not work on others
* `innertube_key`: Innertube API key to use for all API requests
#### youtubetab (YouTube playlists, channels, feeds, etc.)
* `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)
-* `approximate_date`: Extract approximate `upload_date` in flat-playlist. This may cause date-based filters to be slightly off
+* `approximate_date`: Extract approximate `upload_date` and `timestamp` in flat-playlist. This may cause date-based filters to be slightly off
+
+#### generic
+* `fragment_query`: Passthrough any query in mpd/m3u8 manifest URLs to their fragments. Does not apply to ffmpeg
#### funimation
-* `language`: Languages to extract, e.g. `funimation:language=english,japanese`
+* `language`: Audio languages to extract, e.g. `funimation:language=english,japanese`
* `version`: The video version to extract - `uncut` or `simulcast`
-#### crunchyroll
-* `language`: Languages to extract, e.g. `crunchyroll:language=jaJp`
-* `hardsub`: Which hard-sub versions to extract, e.g. `crunchyroll:hardsub=None,enUS`
-
-#### crunchyrollbeta
+#### crunchyrollbeta (Crunchyroll)
* `format`: Which stream type(s) to extract (default: `adaptive_hls`). Potentially useful values include `adaptive_hls`, `adaptive_dash`, `vo_adaptive_hls`, `vo_adaptive_dash`, `download_hls`, `download_dash`, `multitrack_adaptive_hls_v2`
-* `hardsub`: Preference order for which hardsub versions to extract (default: `None` = no hardsubs), e.g. `crunchyrollbeta:hardsub=en-US,None`
+* `hardsub`: Preference order for which hardsub versions to extract, or `all` (default: `None` = no hardsubs), e.g. `crunchyrollbeta:hardsub=en-US,None`
#### vikichannel
* `video_types`: Types of videos to download - one or more of `episodes`, `movies`, `clips`, `trailers`
* `dr`: dynamic range to ignore - one or more of `sdr`, `hdr10`, `dv`
#### tiktok
+* `api_hostname`: Hostname to use for mobile API requests, e.g. `api-h2.tiktokv.com`
* `app_version`: App version to call mobile APIs with - should be set along with `manifest_app_version`, e.g. `20.2.1`
* `manifest_app_version`: Numeric app version to call mobile APIs with, e.g. `221`
#### rokfinchannel
* `tab`: Which tab to download - one of `new`, `top`, `videos`, `podcasts`, `streams`, `stacks`
+#### twitter
+* `force_graphql`: Force usage of the GraphQL API. By default it will only be used if login cookies are provided
-NOTE: These options may be changed/removed in the future without concern for backward compatibility
+**Note**: These options may be changed/removed in the future without concern for backward compatibility
<!-- MANPAGE: MOVE "INSTALLATION" SECTION HERE -->
# PLUGINS
-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
+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!**
+
+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.
+- Extractor plugins take priority over builtin extractors.
+- Postprocessor plugins can be invoked using `--use-postprocessor NAME`.
+
+
+Plugins are loaded from the namespace packages `yt_dlp_plugins.extractor` and `yt_dlp_plugins.postprocessor`.
+
+In other words, the file structure on the disk looks something like:
+
+ yt_dlp_plugins/
+ extractor/
+ myplugin.py
+ postprocessor/
+ myplugin.py
+
+yt-dlp looks for these `yt_dlp_plugins` namespace folders in many locations (see below) and loads in plugins from **all** of them.
+
+See the [wiki for some known plugins](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Plugins)
+
+## Installing Plugins
+
+Plugins can be installed using various methods and locations.
+
+1. **Configuration directories**:
+ Plugin packages (containing a `yt_dlp_plugins` namespace folder) can be dropped into the following standard [configuration locations](#configuration):
+ * **User Plugins**
+ * `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp/plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/` (recommended on Linux/macOS)
+ * `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
+ * `${APPDATA}/yt-dlp/plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/` (recommended on Windows)
+ * `${APPDATA}/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
+ * `~/.yt-dlp/plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
+ * `~/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
+ * **System Plugins**
+ * `/etc/yt-dlp/plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
+ * `/etc/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
+2. **Executable location**: Plugin packages can similarly be installed in a `yt-dlp-plugins` directory under the executable location:
+ * Binary: where `<root-dir>/yt-dlp.exe`, `<root-dir>/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
+ * Source: where `<root-dir>/yt_dlp/__main__.py`, `<root-dir>/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
+
+3. **pip and other locations in `PYTHONPATH`**
+ * Plugin packages can be installed and managed using `pip`. See [yt-dlp-sample-plugins](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp-sample-plugins) for an example.
+ * Note: plugin files between plugin packages installed with pip must have unique filenames.
+ * Any path in `PYTHONPATH` is searched in for the `yt_dlp_plugins` namespace folder.
+ * Note: This does not apply for Pyinstaller/py2exe builds.
+
+
+`.zip`, `.egg` and `.whl` archives containing a `yt_dlp_plugins` namespace folder in their root are also supported as plugin packages.
+* e.g. `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp/plugins/mypluginpkg.zip` where `mypluginpkg.zip` contains `yt_dlp_plugins/<type>/myplugin.py`
+
+Run yt-dlp with `--verbose` to check if the plugin has been loaded.
-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`.
+## Developing Plugins
-See [ytdlp_plugins](ytdlp_plugins) for example plugins.
+See the [yt-dlp-sample-plugins](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp-sample-plugins) repo for a template plugin package and the [Plugin Development](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Plugin-Development) section of the wiki for a plugin development guide.
-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
+All public classes with a name ending in `IE`/`PP` are imported from each file for extractors and postprocessors repectively. This respects underscore prefix (e.g. `_MyBasePluginIE` is private) and `__all__`. Modules can similarly be excluded by prefixing the module name with an underscore (e.g. `_myplugin.py`).
-If you are a plugin author, add [ytdlp-plugins](https://github.com/topics/ytdlp-plugins) as a topic to your repository for discoverability
+To replace an existing extractor with a subclass of one, set the `plugin_name` class keyword argument (e.g. `class MyPluginIE(ABuiltInIE, plugin_name='myplugin')` will replace `ABuiltInIE` with `MyPluginIE`). Since the extractor replaces the parent, you should exclude the subclass extractor from being imported separately by making it private using one of the methods described above.
+If you are a plugin author, add [yt-dlp-plugins](https://github.com/topics/yt-dlp-plugins) as a topic to your repository for discoverability.
+See the [Developer Instructions](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md#developer-instructions) on how to write and test an extractor.
# EMBEDDING YT-DLP
ydl.download(URLS)
```
-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#L180).
+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#L184).
**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)
--reject-title REGEX --match-filter "title !~= (?i)REGEX"
--min-views COUNT --match-filter "view_count >=? COUNT"
--max-views COUNT --match-filter "view_count <=? COUNT"
+ --break-on-reject Use --break-match-filter
--user-agent UA --add-header "User-Agent:UA"
--referer URL --add-header "Referer:URL"
--playlist-start NUMBER -I NUMBER: