yt-dlp Video Downloader Skill
This skill provides tools for downloading videos and extracting audio from various platforms using yt-dlp.
Features
- Download videos from multiple platforms (YouTube, Twitter/X, Vimeo, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, etc.)
- Extract audio from videos
- Auto-detect video URLs in conversations
- Support for different quality settings and formats
Usage Patterns
1. Command-based Download
When user explicitly asks to download a video:
User: Download this video https://youtube.com/watch?v=...Action: Extract URL and call download script
2. Auto-detection in Conversations
When conversation contains video URLs:
User: Check out this video https://twitter.com/... and let me know what you thinkAction: Detect video URL, ask user if they want to download it
3. Audio Extraction
When user wants to extract audio only:
User: Extract the audio from https://youtu.be/...Action: Use audio extraction script
Available Scripts
Note: Scripts are located in the scripts/ directory
download_video.py
Main video downloader with quality and format options.
Usage:
# Download video
scripts/download_video.py <url> -o <output_dir>
# Download with specific quality
scripts/download_video.py <url> --quality 720p
scripts/download_video.py <url> --quality audio # For audio only
# Custom format selector
scripts/download_video.py <url> --format "bestvideo[height<=1080]+bestaudio/best"
# Extract info only
scripts/download_video.py <url> --info-onlyQuality options: best, 1080p, 720p, 480p, audio
extract_audio.py
Extract audio from videos in various formats.
Usage:
# Extract as MP3 (default)
/scripts/extract_audio.py <url> -o <output_dir>
# Extract as M4A
/scripts/extract_audio.py <url> --format m4a
# Custom quality
/scripts/extract_audio.py <url> --quality 320Formats: mp3, m4a, opus, flac, wav
extract_urls.py
Extract video URLs from text or files.
Usage:
# Extract from text argument
/scripts/extract_urls.py "Check https://youtube.com/watch?v=..."
# Extract from file
/scripts/extract_urls.py <file_path>
# Read from stdin
cat file.txt | /scripts/extract_urls.pyVideo Platform Support
The skill recognizes URLs from:
- YouTube (youtube.com, youtu.be)
- Twitter/X (twitter.com, x.com)
- Vimeo (vimeo.com)
- TikTok (tiktok.com)
- Instagram (instagram.com)
- Facebook (facebook.com, fb.watch)
- Twitch (twitch.tv, clips.twitch.tv)
- Dailymotion (dailymotion.com)
- Reddit (reddit.com)
- Streamable (streamable.com)
- And many more supported by yt-dlp
Workflow
When User Provides Video URL
- Extract URL from user's input using
extract_urls.py - Confirm with user what action to take:
- Download video - Extract audio - Show video info
- Execute appropriate script based on user's choice
- Notify user of success/failure and file location
When Auto-detecting URLs
- Scan conversation text with
extract_urls.py(can process stdin) - If video URLs found, ask user: "I found video URLs in this conversation. Would you like me to download them?"
- If yes, proceed with download workflow
- If no, continue with conversation
Handling Multiple URLs
- For single URL: Direct download
- For multiple URLs: Ask user if they want to download all or select specific ones
- Provide option to download as playlist if URLs are from the same source
Quality and Format Selection
When user doesn't specify preferences:
- Default to best available quality
- For audio: Default to MP3 at 192kbps
When options needed:
# Ask user for quality preference if not specified
# Options: best (default), 1080p, 720p, 480p, audio
# Ask for format if extracting audio
# Options: mp3 (default), m4a, opus, flac, wavError Handling
Common issues and solutions:
- yt-dlp not installed:
- Check with yt-dlp --version - Install with pip install yt-dlp or brew install yt-dlp
- ffmpeg not installed (required for format conversion):
- Install with brew install ffmpeg (macOS) - Or apt install ffmpeg (Linux)
- Video not available:
- Check if URL is accessible - Some videos may require authentication - Age-restricted content may need cookies
- Network errors:
- Retry download - Check internet connection
Dependencies
yt-dlp: Main video downloaderffmpeg: Audio/video processing (required for format conversion)python3with standard library
All scripts are self-contained and use only built-in Python modules.