+<div align="center">
+
# YT-DLP
+A command-line program to download videos from YouTube and many other [video platforms](supportedsites.md)
-[![Release version](https://img.shields.io/github/v/release/yt-dlp/yt-dlp?color=brightgreen&label=Release)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest)
-[![License: Unlicense](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-Unlicense-blue.svg)](LICENSE)
+<!-- GHA doesn't have for-the-badge style
[![CI Status](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/workflows/Core%20Tests/badge.svg?branch=master)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/actions)
-[![Discord](https://img.shields.io/discord/807245652072857610?color=blue&label=discord&logo=discord)](https://discord.gg/H5MNcFW63r)
-
-[![Commits](https://img.shields.io/github/commit-activity/m/yt-dlp/yt-dlp?label=commits)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits)
-[![Last Commit](https://img.shields.io/github/last-commit/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/master)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits)
-[![Downloads](https://img.shields.io/github/downloads/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/total)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest)
-[![PyPi Downloads](https://img.shields.io/pypi/dm/yt-dlp?label=PyPi)](https://pypi.org/project/yt-dlp)
-[![Doc Status](https://readthedocs.org/projects/yt-dlp/badge/?version=latest)](https://yt-dlp.readthedocs.io)
+-->
+[![Release version](https://img.shields.io/github/v/release/yt-dlp/yt-dlp?color=brightgreen&label=Release&style=for-the-badge)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest)
+[![License: Unlicense](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-Unlicense-blue.svg?style=for-the-badge)](LICENSE)
+[![Doc Status](https://readthedocs.org/projects/yt-dlp/badge/?version=latest&style=for-the-badge)](https://yt-dlp.readthedocs.io)
+[![Discord](https://img.shields.io/discord/807245652072857610?color=blue&label=discord&logo=discord&style=for-the-badge)](https://discord.gg/H5MNcFW63r)
+[![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)
+[![Last Commit](https://img.shields.io/github/last-commit/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/master?style=for-the-badge)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits)
+[![Downloads](https://img.shields.io/github/downloads/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/total?style=for-the-badge&color=blue)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest)
+[![PyPi Downloads](https://img.shields.io/pypi/dm/yt-dlp?label=PyPi&style=for-the-badge)](https://pypi.org/project/yt-dlp)
-A command-line program to download videos from youtube.com and many other [video platforms](supportedsites.md)
+</div>
-This 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
+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
* [NEW FEATURES](#new-features)
* [INSTALLATION](#installation)
+ * [Dependencies](#dependencies)
* [Update](#update)
* [Compile](#compile)
-* [DESCRIPTION](#description)
-* [OPTIONS](#options)
+* [USAGE AND OPTIONS](#usage-and-options)
+ * [General Options](#general-options)
* [Network Options](#network-options)
- * [Geo Restriction](#geo-restriction)
+ * [Geo-restriction](#geo-restriction)
* [Video Selection](#video-selection)
* [Download Options](#download-options)
* [Filesystem Options](#filesystem-options)
- * [Thumbnail images](#thumbnail-images)
+ * [Thumbnail Options](#thumbnail-options)
* [Internet Shortcut Options](#internet-shortcut-options)
* [Verbosity and Simulation Options](#verbosity-and-simulation-options)
* [Workarounds](#workarounds)
* [Video Format Options](#video-format-options)
* [Subtitle Options](#subtitle-options)
* [Authentication Options](#authentication-options)
- * [Adobe Pass Options](#adobe-pass-options)
* [Post-processing Options](#post-processing-options)
* [SponSkrub (SponsorBlock) Options](#sponskrub-sponsorblock-options)
* [Extractor Options](#extractor-options)
* [PLUGINS](#plugins)
* [DEPRECATED OPTIONS](#deprecated-options)
* [MORE](#more)
+</div>
# NEW FEATURES
* **[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 that what is possible by simply using `--format` ([examples](#format-selection-examples))
-* **Merged with youtube-dl v2021.04.01**: You get all the latest features and patches of [youtube-dl](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl) in addition to all the features of [youtube-dlc](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc)
+* **Merged with youtube-dl v2021.04.17**: You get all the latest features and patches of [youtube-dl](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl) in addition to all the features of [youtube-dlc](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc)
* **Merged with animelover1984/youtube-dl**: You get most of the features and improvements from [animelover1984/youtube-dl](https://github.com/animelover1984/youtube-dl) including `--get-comments`, `BiliBiliSearch`, `BilibiliChannel`, Embedding thumbnail in mp4/ogg/opus, Playlist infojson etc. Note that the NicoNico improvements are not available. See [#31](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/pull/31) for details.
* **Youtube improvements**:
- * All Youtube Feeds (`:ytfav`, `:ytwatchlater`, `:ytsubs`, `:ythistory`, `:ytrec`) works correctly and supports downloading multiple pages of content
- * Youtube search (`ytsearch:`, `ytsearchdate:`) along with Search URLs works correctly
+ * All Youtube Feeds (`:ytfav`, `:ytwatchlater`, `:ytsubs`, `:ythistory`, `:ytrec`) works and supports downloading multiple pages of content
+ * Youtube search (`ytsearch:`, `ytsearchdate:`) along with Search URLs work
+ * Youtube mixes supports downloading multiple pages of content
* Redirect channel's home URL automatically to `/video` to preserve the old behaviour
* **Split video by chapters**: Videos can be split into multiple files based on chapters using `--split-chapters`
-* **Multithreaded fragment downloads**: Fragment downloads can be natively multi-threaded. Use `--concurrent-fragments` (`-N`) option to set the number of threads used
+* **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
-* **Aria2c with HLS/DASH**: You can use aria2c as the external downloader for DASH(mpd) and HLS(m3u8) formats. No more slow ffmpeg/native downloads
+* **Aria2c with HLS/DASH**: You can use `aria2c` as the external downloader for DASH(mpd) and HLS(m3u8) formats
-* **New extractors**: AnimeLab, Philo MSO, Rcs, Gedi, bitwave.tv, mildom, audius, zee5, mtv.it, wimtv, pluto.tv
+* **New extractors**: AnimeLab, Philo MSO, Rcs, Gedi, bitwave.tv, mildom, audius, zee5, mtv.it, wimtv, pluto.tv, niconico users, discoveryplus.in, mediathek, NFHSNetwork, nebula
-* **Fixed extractors**: archive.org, roosterteeth.com, skyit, instagram, itv, SouthparkDe, spreaker, Vlive, tiktok, akamai, ina, rumble, tennistv, amcnetworks
-
-* **Plugin extractors**: Extractors can be loaded from an external file. See [plugins](#plugins) for details
+* **Fixed extractors**: archive.org, roosterteeth.com, skyit, instagram, itv, SouthparkDe, spreaker, Vlive, akamai, ina, rumble, tennistv, amcnetworks, la7 podcasts, linuxacadamy, nitter, twitcasting, viu
* **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`)
* **Improvements**: Multiple `--postprocessor-args` and `--external-downloader-args`, Date/time formatting in `-o`, faster archive checking, more [format selection options](#format-selection) etc
+* **Plugin extractors**: Extractors can be loaded from an external file. See [plugins](#plugins) for details
+
* **Self-updater**: The releases can be updated using `yt-dlp -U`
# INSTALLATION
+yt-dlp is not platform specific. So it should work on your Unix box, on Windows or on macOS
You can install yt-dlp using one of the following methods:
* Download the binary from the [latest release](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest) (recommended method)
sudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
```
+### DEPENDENCIES
+Python versions 2.6, 2.7, or 3.2+ are currently supported. However, 3.2+ is strongly recommended and python2 support will be deprecated in the future.
+
+Although there are no required dependencies, `ffmpeg` and `ffprobe` are highly recommended. Other optional dependencies are `sponskrub`, `AtomicParsley`, `mutagen`, `pycryptodome` and any of the supported external downloaders. Note that the windows releases are already built with the python interpreter, mutagen and pycryptodome included.
+
### UPDATE
-Starting from version `2021.02.09`, you can use `yt-dlp -U` to update if you are using the provided release.
+You can use `yt-dlp -U` to update if you are using the provided release.
If you are using `pip`, simply re-run the same command that was used to install the program.
### COMPILE
python -m pip install --upgrade pyinstaller mutagen pycryptodome
-Once you have all the necessary dependancies installed, just run `py pyinst.py`. The executable will be built for the same architecture (32/64 bit) as the python used to build it. It is strongly reccomended to use python3 although python2.6+ is supported.
+Once you have all the necessary dependencies installed, just run `py pyinst.py`. The executable will be built for the same architecture (32/64 bit) as the python used to build it. It is strongly recommended to use python3 although python2.6+ is supported.
You can also build the executable without any version info or metadata by using:
**Note**: In either platform, `devscripts\update-version.py` can be used to automatically update the version number
-# DESCRIPTION
-**yt-dlp** is a command-line program to download videos from youtube.com many other [video platforms](supportedsites.md). It requires the Python interpreter, version 2.6, 2.7, or 3.2+, and it is not platform specific. It should work on your Unix box, on Windows or on macOS. It is released to the public domain, which means you can modify it, redistribute it or use it however you like.
+# USAGE AND OPTIONS
yt-dlp [OPTIONS] [--] URL [URL...]
-
-# OPTIONS
`Ctrl+F` is your friend :D
-<!-- Autogenerated -->
+<!-- Auto generated -->
## General Options:
-h, --help Print this help text and exit
-4, --force-ipv4 Make all connections via IPv4
-6, --force-ipv6 Make all connections via IPv6
-## Geo Restriction:
+## Geo-restriction:
--geo-verification-proxy URL Use this proxy to verify the IP address for
some geo-restricted sites. The default
proxy specified by --proxy (or none, if the
a file that is in the archive
--break-on-reject Stop the download process when encountering
a file that has been filtered out
+ --skip-playlist-after-errors N Number of allowed failures until the rest
+ of the playlist is skipped
--no-download-archive Do not use archive file (default)
## Download Options:
- -N, --concurrent-fragments N Number of fragments to download
- concurrently (default is 1)
+ -N, --concurrent-fragments N Number of fragments of a dash/hlsnative
+ video that should be download concurrently
+ (default is 1)
-r, --limit-rate RATE Maximum download rate in bytes per second
(e.g. 50K or 4.2M)
-R, --retries RETRIES Number of retries (default is 10), or
--output-na-placeholder TEXT Placeholder value for unavailable meta
fields in output filename template
(default: "NA")
- --autonumber-start NUMBER Specify the start value for %(autonumber)s
- (default is 1)
--restrict-filenames Restrict filenames to only ASCII
characters, and avoid "&" and spaces in
filenames
-c, --continue Resume partially downloaded files/fragments
(default)
--no-continue Do not resume partially downloaded
- fragments. If the file is unfragmented,
+ fragments. If the file is not fragmented,
restart download of the entire file
--part Use .part files instead of writing directly
into output file (default)
--no-cache-dir Disable filesystem caching
--rm-cache-dir Delete all filesystem cache files
-## Thumbnail Images:
+## Thumbnail Options:
--write-thumbnail Write thumbnail image to disk
--no-write-thumbnail Do not write thumbnail image to disk
(default)
--no-warnings Ignore warnings
-s, --simulate Do not download the video and do not write
anything to disk
+ --ignore-no-formats-error Ignore "No video formats" error. Usefull
+ for extracting metadata even if the video
+ is not actually available for download
+ (experimental)
+ --no-ignore-no-formats-error Throw error when no downloadable video
+ formats are found (default)
--skip-download Do not download the video but write all
related files (Alias: --no-download)
-g, --get-url Simulate, quiet but print URL
--print-json Be quiet and print the video information as
JSON (video is still being downloaded)
--force-write-archive Force download archive entries to be
- written as far as no errors occur,even if
- -s or another simulation switch is used
+ written as far as no errors occur, even if
+ -s or another simulation option is used
(Alias: --force-download-archive)
--newline Output progress bar as new lines
--no-progress Do not print progress bar
container format. One of mkv, mp4, ogg,
webm, flv. Ignored if no merge is required
--allow-unplayable-formats Allow unplayable formats to be listed and
- downloaded. All video postprocessing will
+ downloaded. All video post-processing will
also be turned off
--no-allow-unplayable-formats Do not allow unplayable formats to be
listed or downloaded (default)
(Alias: --write-automatic-subs)
--no-write-auto-subs Do not write auto-generated subtitles
(default) (Alias: --no-write-automatic-subs)
- --all-subs Download all the available subtitles of the
- video
--list-subs List all available subtitles for the video
--sub-format FORMAT Subtitle format, accepts formats
preference, for example: "srt" or
"ass/srt/best"
- --sub-langs LANGS Languages of the subtitles to download
- (optional) separated by commas, use --list-
- subs for available language tags
+ --sub-langs LANGS Languages of the subtitles to download (can
+ be regex) or "all" separated by commas.
+ (Eg: --sub-langs en.*,ja) You can prefix
+ the language code with a "-" to exempt it
+ from the requested languages. (Eg: --sub-
+ langs all,-live_chat) Use --list-subs for a
+ list of available language tags
## Authentication Options:
-u, --username USERNAME Login with this account ID
-2, --twofactor TWOFACTOR Two-factor authentication code
-n, --netrc Use .netrc authentication data
--video-password PASSWORD Video password (vimeo, youku)
-
-## Adobe Pass Options:
--ap-mso MSO Adobe Pass multiple-system operator (TV
provider) identifier, use --ap-list-mso for
a list of available MSOs
Specify the postprocessor/executable name
and the arguments separated by a colon ":"
to give the argument to the specified
- postprocessor/executable. Supported
- postprocessors are: SponSkrub,
- ExtractAudio, VideoRemuxer, VideoConvertor,
- EmbedSubtitle, Metadata, Merger,
- FixupStretched, FixupM4a, FixupM3u8,
- SubtitlesConvertor, EmbedThumbnail and
- SplitChapters. The supported executables
- are: SponSkrub, FFmpeg, FFprobe, and
- AtomicParsley. You can also specify
- "PP+EXE:ARGS" to give the arguments to the
- specified executable only when being used
- by the specified postprocessor.
- Additionally, for ffmpeg/ffprobe, "_i"/"_o"
- can be appended to the prefix optionally
- followed by a number to pass the argument
- before the specified input/output file. Eg:
- --ppa "Merger+ffmpeg_i1:-v quiet". You can
- use this option multiple times to give
+ postprocessor/executable. Supported PP are:
+ Merger, ExtractAudio, SplitChapters,
+ Metadata, EmbedSubtitle, EmbedThumbnail,
+ SubtitlesConvertor, ThumbnailsConvertor,
+ VideoRemuxer, VideoConvertor, SponSkrub,
+ FixupStretched, FixupM4a and FixupM3u8. The
+ supported executables are: AtomicParsley,
+ FFmpeg, FFprobe, and SponSkrub. You can
+ also specify "PP+EXE:ARGS" to give the
+ arguments to the specified executable only
+ when being used by the specified
+ postprocessor. Additionally, for
+ ffmpeg/ffprobe, "_i"/"_o" can be appended
+ to the prefix optionally followed by a
+ number to pass the argument before the
+ specified input/output file. Eg: --ppa
+ "Merger+ffmpeg_i1:-v quiet". You can use
+ this option multiple times to give
different arguments to different
postprocessors. (Alias: --ppa)
-k, --keep-video Keep the intermediate video file on disk
--convert-subs FORMAT Convert the subtitles to another format
(currently supported: srt|ass|vtt|lrc)
(Alias: --convert-subtitles)
+ --convert-thumbnails FORMAT Convert the thumbnails to another format
+ (currently supported: jpg)
--split-chapters Split video into multiple files based on
internal chapters. The "chapter:" prefix
can be used with "--paths" and "--output"
**tl;dr:** [navigate me to examples](#output-template-examples).
-The basic 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). However, it may 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/2/library/stdtypes.html#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. Date/time fields can also be formatted according to [strftime formatting](https://docs.python.org/3/library/datetime.html#strftime-and-strptime-format-codes) by specifying it inside the parantheses separated from the field name using a `>`. For example, `%(duration>%H-%M-%S)s`.
+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).
+
+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/2/library/stdtypes.html#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.
+
+The field names themselves (the part inside the parenthesis) can also have some special formatting:
+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` or `%(upload_date>%Y-%m-%d)s`
+2. **Offset numbers**: Numeric fields can have an initial offset specified by using a `+` separator. Eg: `%(playlist_index+10)03d`. This can also be used in conjunction with the date-time formatting. Eg: `%(epoch+-3600>%H-%M-%S)s`
+3. **Object traversal**: The dictionaries and lists available in metadata can be traversed by using a `.` (dot) separator. Eg: `%(tags.0)s` or `%(subtitles.en.-1.ext)`. Note that the fields that become available using this method are not listed below. Use `-j` to see such fields
+
+To summarize, the general syntax for a field is:
+```
+%(name[.keys][+offset][>strf])[flags][width][.precision][length]type
+```
-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 filetypes supported are `subtitle`, `thumbnail`, `description`, `annotation`, `infojson`, `pl_description`, `pl_infojson`, `chapter`. For example, `-o '%(title)s.%(ext)s' -o 'thumbnail:%(title)s\%(title)s.%(ext)s'` will put the thumbnails in a folder with the same name as the video.
+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`, `infojson`, `pl_description`, `pl_infojson`, `chapter`. For example, `-o '%(title)s.%(ext)s' -o 'thumbnail:%(title)s\%(title)s.%(ext)s'` will put the thumbnails in a folder with the same name as the video.
The available fields are:
**tl;dr:** [navigate me to examples](#format-selection-examples).
-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.
+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.
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.
- `ba*`, `bestaudio*`: Select the best quality format that contains audio. It may also contain video. Equivalent to `best*[acodec!=none]`
- `wa*`, `worstaudio*`: Select the worst quality format that contains audio. It may also contain video. Equivalent to `worst*[acodec!=none]`
-For example, to download the worst quality video-only format you can use `-f worstvideo`. It is however recomended not to use `worst` and related options. When your format selector is `worst`, the format which is worst in all respects is selected. Most of the time, what you actually want is the video with the smallest filesize instead. So it is generally better to use `-f best -S +size,+br,+res,+fps` instead of `-f worst`. See [sorting formats](#sorting-formats) for more details.
+For example, to download the worst quality video-only format you can use `-f worstvideo`. It is however recommended not to use `worst` and related options. When your format selector is `worst`, the format which is worst in all respects is selected. Most of the time, what you actually want is the video with the smallest filesize instead. So it is generally better to use `-f best -S +size,+br,+res,+fps` instead of `-f worst`. See [sorting formats](#sorting-formats) for more details.
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.
Any string comparison may be prefixed with negation `!` in order to produce an opposite comparison, e.g. `!*=` (does not contain).
-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 video hoster. Any other field made available by the extractor can also be used for filtering.
+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.
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.
- `lang`: Language preference as given by the extractor
- `quality`: The quality of the format as given by the extractor
- `source`: Preference of the source as given by the extractor
- - `proto`: Protocol used for download (`https`/`ftps` > `http`/`ftp` > `m3u8-native` > `m3u8` > `http-dash-segments` > other > `mms`/`rtsp` > unknown > `f4f`/`f4m`)
+ - `proto`: Protocol used for download (`https`/`ftps` > `http`/`ftp` > `m3u8_native` > `m3u8` > `http_dash_segments` > other > `mms`/`rtsp` > unknown > `f4f`/`f4m`)
- `vcodec`: Video Codec (`av01` > `vp9.2` > `vp9` > `h265` > `h264` > `vp8` > `h263` > `theora` > other > unknown)
- `acodec`: Audio Codec (`opus` > `vorbis` > `aac` > `mp4a` > `mp3` > `ac3` > `dts` > other > unknown)
- `codec`: Equivalent to `vcodec,acodec`
- `br`: Equivalent to using `tbr,vbr,abr`
- `asr`: Audio sample rate in Hz
-Note that any other **numerical** field made available by the extractor can also be used. All fields, unless specified otherwise, are sorted in decending order. To reverse this, prefix the field with a `+`. Eg: `+res` prefers format with the smallest resolution. Additionally, you can suffix a prefered 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 prefered 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.
+Note that any other **numerical** field made available by the extractor can also be used. 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.
The fields `hasvid`, `ie_pref`, `lang` are always given highest priority in sorting, irrespective of the user-defined order. This behaviour can be changed by using `--force-format-sort`. Apart from these, the default order used is: `quality,res,fps,codec:vp9.2,size,br,asr,proto,ext,hasaud,source,id`. Note that the extractors may override this default order, but they cannot override the user-provided order.
-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 repects. 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`.
+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`.
**Tip**: You can use the `-v -F` to see how the formats have been sorted (worst to best).
Note that on Windows you may need to use double quotes instead of single.
```bash
-# Download and merge the best best video-only format and the best audio-only format,
+# Download and merge the best video-only format and the best audio-only format,
# or download the best combined format if video-only format is not available
$ yt-dlp -f 'bv+ba/b'
# More complex examples
-# Download the best video no better than 720p prefering framerate greater than 30,
-# or the worst video (still prefering framerate greater than 30) if there is no such video
+# Download the best video no better than 720p preferring framerate greater than 30,
+# or the worst video (still preferring framerate greater than 30) if there is no such video
$ yt-dlp -f '((bv*[fps>30]/bv*)[height<=720]/(wv*[fps>30]/wv*)) + ba / (b[fps>30]/b)[height<=720]/(w[fps>30]/w)'
# Download the video with the largest resolution no better than 720p,
# or the video with the smallest resolution available if there is no such video,
-# prefering larger framerate for formats with the same resolution
+# preferring larger framerate for formats with the same resolution
$ yt-dlp -S 'res:720,fps'
# Download the video with smallest resolution no worse than 480p,
# or the video with the largest resolution available if there is no such video,
-# prefering better codec and then larger total bitrate for the same resolution
+# preferring better codec and then larger total bitrate for the same resolution
$ yt-dlp -S '+res:480,codec,br'
```
# MODIFYING METADATA
-The metadata obtained the the extractors can be modified by using `--parse-metadata FROM:TO`. The general syntax is to give the name of a field or a template (with similar syntax to [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 metadata obtained the the extractors can be modified by using `--parse-metadata FROM:TO`. The general syntax is to give the name of a field or a template (with similar syntax to [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.
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`.
These are all the deprecated options and the current alternative to achieve the same effect
- --cn-verification-proxy URL --geo-verification-proxy URL
- --id -o "%(id)s.%(ext)s"
- -A, --auto-number -o "%(autonumber)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s"
- -t, --title -o "%(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s"
- -l, --literal -o accepts literal names
+#### Not recommended
+While these options still work, their use is not recommended since there are other alternatives to achieve the same
+
--all-formats -f all
+ --all-subs --sub-langs all --write-subs
--autonumber-size NUMBER Use string formatting. Eg: %(autonumber)03d
+ --autonumber-start NUMBER Use internal field formatting like %(autonumber+NUMBER)s
--metadata-from-title FORMAT --parse-metadata "%(title)s:FORMAT"
- --prefer-avconv avconv is no longer officially supported (Alias: --no-prefer-ffmpeg)
- --prefer-ffmpeg Default (Alias: --no-prefer-avconv)
--hls-prefer-native --downloader "m3u8:native"
--hls-prefer-ffmpeg --downloader "m3u8:ffmpeg"
- --avconv-location avconv is no longer officially supported
- -C, --call-home Not implemented
- --no-call-home Default
- --include-ads Not implemented
- --no-include-ads Default
- --write-srt --write-subs
+ --sponskrub-args ARGS --ppa "sponskrub:ARGS"
+ --test Used by developers for testing extractors. Not intended for the end user
+
+
+#### Old aliases
+These are aliases that are no longer documented for various reasons
+
+ --avconv-location --ffmpeg-location
+ --cn-verification-proxy URL --geo-verification-proxy URL
+ --dump-headers --print-traffic
+ --dump-intermediate-pages --dump-pages
+ --force-write-download-archive --force-write-archive
+ --load-info --load-info-json
+ --no-split-tracks --no-split-chapters
--no-write-srt --no-write-subs
- --srt-lang LANGS --sub-langs LANGS
--prefer-unsecure --prefer-insecure
--rate-limit RATE --limit-rate RATE
- --force-write-download-archive --force-write-archive
- --dump-intermediate-pages --dump-pages
- --dump-headers --print-traffic
- --youtube-print-sig-code No longer supported
+ --split-tracks --split-chapters
+ --srt-lang LANGS --sub-langs LANGS
--trim-file-names LENGTH --trim-filenames LENGTH
+ --write-srt --write-subs
--yes-overwrites --force-overwrites
- --load-info --load-info-json
- --split-tracks --split-chapters
- --no-split-tracks --no-split-chapters
- --sponskrub-args ARGS --ppa "sponskrub:ARGS"
- --test Only used for testing extractors
+
+#### No longer supported
+These options may no longer work as intended
+
+ --prefer-avconv avconv is not officially supported by yt-dlp (Alias: --no-prefer-ffmpeg)
+ --prefer-ffmpeg Default (Alias: --no-prefer-avconv)
+ -C, --call-home Not implemented
+ --no-call-home Default
+ --include-ads No longer supported
+ --no-include-ads Default
+ --youtube-print-sig-code No longer supported
+ --id -o "%(id)s.%(ext)s"
+ -A, --auto-number -o "%(autonumber)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s"
+ -t, --title -o "%(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s"
+ -l, --literal -o accepts literal names
+
+#### Removed
+Currently, there are no options that have been completely removed. But there are plans to remove the old output options `-A`,`-t`, `-l`, `--id` (which have been deprecated since 2014) in the near future. If you are still using these, please move to using `--output` instead
+
# MORE