Video Downloader Guide
Download videos with customizable quality and format options using yt-dlp.
When to Use
- Downloading videos from YouTube and other sites
- Saving videos for offline viewing
- Extracting audio as MP3
- Choosing specific quality settings
- Converting between video formats
Quick Start
# Basic download (best quality)
yt-dlp "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"
# Specify quality
yt-dlp -f "bestvideo[height<=1080]+bestaudio" "URL"
# Audio only as MP3
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 "URL"
Quality Options
| Quality | Command Flag |
|---|
| Best | -f best (default) |
| 1080p | -f "bestvideo[height<=1080]+bestaudio" |
| 720p | -f "bestvideo[height<=720]+bestaudio" |
| 480p | -f "bestvideo[height<=480]+bestaudio" |
| 360p | -f "bestvideo[height<=360]+bestaudio" |
| Worst | -f worst |
Format Options
| Format | Command |
|---|
| MP4 | --merge-output-format mp4 |
| WebM | --merge-output-format webm |
| MKV | --merge-output-format mkv |
Audio Extraction
# Extract as MP3
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 "URL"
# Extract as M4A (better quality)
yt-dlp -x --audio-format m4a "URL"
# Best audio quality
yt-dlp -x --audio-quality 0 "URL"
Custom Output
# Custom output directory
yt-dlp -o "/path/to/dir/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "URL"
# Custom filename template
yt-dlp -o "%(upload_date)s-%(title)s.%(ext)s" "URL"
Playlist Handling
# Download entire playlist
yt-dlp "PLAYLIST_URL"
# Skip playlists (single video only)
yt-dlp --no-playlist "URL"
# Download specific items from playlist
yt-dlp --playlist-items 1-5 "PLAYLIST_URL"
Installation
# macOS
brew install yt-dlp
# pip
pip install yt-dlp
# Update
yt-dlp -U
Common Examples
# 1080p MP4 to specific folder
yt-dlp -f "bestvideo[height<=1080]+bestaudio" \
--merge-output-format mp4 \
-o "~/Videos/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "URL"
# Audio only as high-quality MP3
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 0 "URL"
# Download with subtitles
yt-dlp --write-subs --sub-lang en "URL"
# List available formats
yt-dlp -F "URL"
Important Notes
- Video filename generated from video title
- Higher quality = larger file size
- Some sites may have restrictions
- Keep yt-dlp updated for best compatibility
