# YT-DLP
A command-line program to download videos from YouTube and many other [video platforms](supportedsites.md)
[](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest)
[](LICENSE)
[](https://yt-dlp.readthedocs.io)
[](https://discord.gg/H5MNcFW63r)
[](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits)
[](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits)
[](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest)
[](https://pypi.org/project/yt-dlp)
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)
* [Differences in default behavior](#differences-in-default-behavior)
* [INSTALLATION](#installation)
* [Update](#update)
* [Dependencies](#dependencies)
* [Compile](#compile)
* [USAGE AND OPTIONS](#usage-and-options)
* [General Options](#general-options)
* [Network Options](#network-options)
* [Geo-restriction](#geo-restriction)
* [Video Selection](#video-selection)
* [Download Options](#download-options)
* [Filesystem Options](#filesystem-options)
* [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)
* [Post-processing Options](#post-processing-options)
* [SponSkrub (SponsorBlock) Options](#sponskrub-sponsorblock-options)
* [Extractor Options](#extractor-options)
* [CONFIGURATION](#configuration)
* [Authentication with .netrc file](#authentication-with-netrc-file)
* [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)
* [Sorting Formats](#sorting-formats)
* [Format Selection examples](#format-selection-examples)
* [MODIFYING METADATA](#modifying-metadata)
* [Modifying metadata examples](#modifying-metadata-examples)
* [EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS](#extractor-arguments)
* [PLUGINS](#plugins)
* [DEPRECATED OPTIONS](#deprecated-options)
* [MORE](#more)
# NEW FEATURES
The major new features from the latest release of [blackjack4494/yt-dlc](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc) are:
* **[SponSkrub Integration](#sponskrub-sponsorblock-options)**: You can use [SponSkrub](https://github.com/yt-dlp/SponSkrub) to 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 that what is possible by simply using `--format` ([examples](#format-selection-examples))
* **Merged with youtube-dl [commit/379f52a](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/commit/379f52a4954013767219d25099cce9e0f9401961)**: (v2021.06.06) 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 `--write-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 Feeds (`:ytfav`, `:ytwatchlater`, `:ytsubs`, `:ythistory`, `:ytrec`) supports downloading multiple pages of content
* Search (`ytsearch:`, `ytsearchdate:`), search URLs and in-channel search works
* Mixes supports downloading multiple pages of content
* Partial workarounds for age-gate and throttling issues
* Redirect channel's home URL automatically to `/video` to preserve the old behaviour
* `255kbps` audio is extracted from youtube music if premium cookies are given
* Youtube music Albums, channels etc can be downloaded
* **Cookies from browser**: Cookies can be automatically extracted from all major web browsers using `--cookies-from-browser BROWSER[:PROFILE]`
* **Split video by chapters**: Videos can be split into multiple files based on chapters using `--split-chapters`
* **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
* **New extractors**: AnimeLab, Philo MSO, Spectrum MSO, Rcs, Gedi, bitwave.tv, mildom, audius, zee5, mtv.it, wimtv, pluto.tv, niconico users, discoveryplus.in, mediathek, NFHSNetwork, nebula, ukcolumn, whowatch, MxplayerShow, parlview (au), YoutubeWebArchive, fancode, Saitosan, ShemarooMe, telemundo, VootSeries, SonyLIVSeries, HotstarSeries, VidioPremier, VidioLive, RCTIPlus, TBS Live, douyin, pornflip
* **Fixed extractors**: archive.org, roosterteeth.com, skyit, instagram, itv, SouthparkDe, spreaker, Vlive, akamai, ina, rumble, tennistv, amcnetworks, la7 podcasts, linuxacadamy, nitter, twitcasting, viu, crackle, curiositystream, mediasite, rmcdecouverte, sonyliv, tubi, tenplay, patreon, videa, yahoo, BravoTV, crunchyroll playlist, RTP, viki
* **Subtitle extraction from manifests**: Subtitles can be extracted from streaming media manifests. See [commit/be6202f](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/be6202f12b97858b9d716e608394b51065d0419f) for details
* **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`)
* **Portable Configuration**: Configuration files are automatically loaded from the home and root directories. See [configuration](#configuration) for details
* **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`
* **Other new options**: `--sleep-requests`, `--convert-thumbnails`, `--write-link`, `--force-download-archive`, `--force-overwrites`, `--break-on-reject` etc
* **Improvements**: Multiple `--postprocessor-args` and `--downloader-args`, 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`
See [changelog](Changelog.md) or [commits](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits) for the full list of changes
**PS**: Some of these changes are already in youtube-dlc, but are still unreleased. See [this](Changelog.md#unreleased-changes-in-blackjack4494yt-dlc) for details
If you are coming from [youtube-dl](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl), the amount of changes are very large. Compare [options](#options) and [supported sites](supportedsites.md) with youtube-dl's to get an idea of the massive number of features/patches [youtube-dlc](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc) has accumulated.
### Differences in default behavior
Some of yt-dlp's default options are different from that of youtube-dl and youtube-dlc.
* The options `--id`, `--auto-number` (`-A`), `--title` (`-t`) and `--literal` (`-l`), no longer work. See [removed options](#Removed) for details
* `avconv` is not supported as as an alternative to `ffmpeg`
* The default [output template](#output-template) is `%(title)s [%(id)s].%(ext)s`. There is no real reason for this change. This was changed before yt-dlp was ever made public and now there are no plans to change it back to `%(title)s.%(id)s.%(ext)s`. Instead, you may use `--compat-options filename`
* The default [format sorting](sorting-formats) is different from youtube-dl and prefers higher resolution and better codecs rather than higher bitrates. You can use the `--format-sort` option to change this to any order you prefer, or use `--compat-options format-sort` to use youtube-dl's sorting order
* The default format selector is `bv*+ba/b`. This means that if a combined video + audio format that is better than the best video-only format is found, the former will be prefered. Use `-f bv+ba/b` or `--compat-options format-spec` to revert this
* Unlike youtube-dlc, yt-dlp does not allow merging multiple audio/video streams into one file by default (since this conflicts with the use of `-f bv*+ba`). If needed, this feature must be enabled using `--audio-multistreams` and `--video-multistreams`. You can also use `--compat-options multistreams` to enable both
* `--ignore-errors` is enabled by default. Use `--abort-on-error` or `--compat-options abort-on-error` to abort on errors instead
* When writing metadata files such as thumbnails, description or infojson, the same information (if available) is also written for playlists. Use `--no-write-playlist-metafiles` or `--compat-options no-playlist-metafiles` to not write these files
* `--add-metadata` attaches the `infojson` to `mkv` files in addition to writing the metadata when used with `--write-infojson`. Use `--compat-options no-attach-info-json` to revert this
* `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
* All *experiences* of a funimation episode are considered as a single video. This behavior breaks existing archives. Use `--compat-options seperate-video-versions` to extract information from only the default player
* Youtube live chat (if available) is considered as a subtitle. Use `--sub-langs all,-live_chat` to download all subtitles except live chat. You can also use `--compat-options no-live-chat` to prevent live chat from downloading
* 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. 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
* 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
For ease of use, a few more compat options are available:
* `--compat-options all`: Use all compat options
* `--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`
# 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)
* Use [PyPI package](https://pypi.org/project/yt-dlp): `python3 -m pip install --upgrade yt-dlp`
* Use pip+git: `python3 -m pip install --upgrade git+https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp.git@release`
* Install master branch: `python3 -m pip install --upgrade git+https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp`
Note that on some systems, you may need to use `py` or `python` instead of `python3`
UNIX users (Linux, macOS, BSD) can also install the [latest release](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest) one of the following ways:
```
sudo curl -L https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp -o /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
sudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
```
```
sudo wget https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp -O /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
sudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
```
```
sudo aria2c https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp -o /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
sudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
```
### UPDATE
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.
### DEPENDENCIES
Python versions 3.6+ (CPython and PyPy) are supported. Other versions and implementations may or may not work correctly.
On windows, [Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 SP1 Redistributable Package (x86)](https://download.microsoft.com/download/1/6/5/165255E7-1014-4D0A-B094-B6A430A6BFFC/vcredist_x86.exe) is also necessary to run yt-dlp. You probably already have this, but if the executable throws an error due to missing `MSVCR100.dll` you need to install it manually.
While all the other dependancies are optional, `ffmpeg` and `ffprobe` are highly recommended
* [**ffmpeg** and **ffprobe**](https://www.ffmpeg.org) - Required for [merging seperate video and audio files](#format-selection) as well as for various [post-processing](#post-processing-options) tasks. Licence [depends on the build](https://www.ffmpeg.org/legal.html)
* [**sponskrub**](https://github.com/faissaloo/SponSkrub) - For using the [sponskrub options](#sponskrub-sponsorblock-options). Licenced under [GPLv3+](https://github.com/faissaloo/SponSkrub/blob/master/LICENCE.md)
* [**mutagen**](https://github.com/quodlibet/mutagen) - For embedding thumbnail in certain formats. Licenced under [GPLv2+](https://github.com/quodlibet/mutagen/blob/master/COPYING)
* [**pycryptodome**](https://github.com/Legrandin/pycryptodome) - For decrypting various data. Licenced under [BSD2](https://github.com/Legrandin/pycryptodome/blob/master/LICENSE.rst)
* [**websockets**](https://github.com/aaugustin/websockets) - For downloading over websocket. Licenced under [BSD3](https://github.com/aaugustin/websockets/blob/main/LICENSE)
* [**keyring**](https://github.com/jaraco/keyring) - For decrypting cookies of chromium-based browsers on Linux. Licenced under [MIT](https://github.com/jaraco/keyring/blob/main/LICENSE)
* [**AtomicParsley**](https://github.com/wez/atomicparsley) - For embedding thumbnail in mp4/m4a if mutagen is not present. Licenced under [GPLv2+](https://github.com/wez/atomicparsley/blob/master/COPYING)
* [**rtmpdump**](http://rtmpdump.mplayerhq.hu) - For downloading `rtmp` streams. ffmpeg will be used as a fallback. Licenced under [GPLv2+](http://rtmpdump.mplayerhq.hu)
* [**mplayer**](http://mplayerhq.hu/design7/info.html) or [**mpv**](https://mpv.io) - For downloading `rstp` streams. ffmpeg will be used as a fallback. Licenced under [GPLv2+](https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/blob/master/Copyright)
* [**phantomjs**](https://github.com/ariya/phantomjs) - Used in extractors where javascript needs to be run. Licenced under [BSD3](https://github.com/ariya/phantomjs/blob/master/LICENSE.BSD)
* Any external downloader that you want to use with `--downloader`
To use or redistribute the dependencies, you must agree to their respective licensing terms.
Note that the windows releases are already built with the python interpreter, mutagen, pycryptodome and websockets included.
### COMPILE
**For Windows**:
To build the Windows executable, you must have pyinstaller (and optionally mutagen, pycryptodome, websockets)
python3 -m pip install --upgrade pyinstaller mutagen pycryptodome websockets
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.
You can also build the executable without any version info or metadata by using:
pyinstaller.exe yt_dlp\__main__.py --onefile --name yt-dlp
Note that pyinstaller [does not support](https://github.com/pyinstaller/pyinstaller#requirements-and-tested-platforms) Python installed from the Windows store without using a virtual environment
**For Unix**:
You will need the required build tools: `python`, `make` (GNU), `pandoc`, `zip`, `nosetests`
Then simply run `make`. You can also run `make yt-dlp` instead to compile only the binary without updating any of the additional files
**Note**: In either platform, `devscripts\update-version.py` can be used to automatically update the version number
# USAGE AND OPTIONS
yt-dlp [OPTIONS] [--] URL [URL...]
`Ctrl+F` is your friend :D
## General Options:
-h, --help Print this help text and exit
--version Print program version and exit
-U, --update Update this program to latest version. Make
sure that you have sufficient permissions
(run with sudo if needed)
-i, --ignore-errors Continue on download errors, for example to
skip unavailable videos in a playlist
(default) (Alias: --no-abort-on-error)
--abort-on-error Abort downloading of further videos if an
error occurs (Alias: --no-ignore-errors)
--dump-user-agent Display the current browser identification
--list-extractors List all supported extractors
--extractor-descriptions Output descriptions of all supported
extractors
--force-generic-extractor Force extraction to use the generic
extractor
--default-search PREFIX Use this prefix for unqualified URLs. For
example "gvsearch2:" downloads two videos
from google videos for youtube-dl "large
apple". Use the value "auto" to let
youtube-dl guess ("auto_warning" to emit a
warning when guessing). "error" just throws
an error. The default value "fixup_error"
repairs broken URLs, but emits an error if
this is not possible instead of searching
--ignore-config, --no-config Disable loading any configuration files
except the one provided by --config-location.
When given inside a configuration
file, no further configuration files are
loaded. Additionally, (for backward
compatibility) if this option is found
inside the system configuration file, the
user configuration is not loaded
--config-location PATH Location of the main configuration file;
either the path to the config or its
containing directory
--flat-playlist Do not extract the videos of a playlist,
only list them
--no-flat-playlist Extract the videos of a playlist
--mark-watched Mark videos watched (YouTube only)
--no-mark-watched Do not mark videos watched (default)
--no-colors Do not emit color codes in output
--compat-options OPTS Options that can help keep compatibility
with youtube-dl and youtube-dlc
configurations by reverting some of the
changes made in yt-dlp. See "Differences in
default behavior" for details
## Network Options:
--proxy URL Use the specified HTTP/HTTPS/SOCKS proxy.
To enable SOCKS proxy, specify a proper
scheme. For example
socks5://127.0.0.1:1080/. Pass in an empty
string (--proxy "") for direct connection
--socket-timeout SECONDS Time to wait before giving up, in seconds
--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
## 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
option is not present) is used for the
actual downloading
--geo-bypass Bypass geographic restriction via faking
X-Forwarded-For HTTP header
--no-geo-bypass Do not bypass geographic restriction via
faking X-Forwarded-For HTTP header
--geo-bypass-country CODE Force bypass geographic restriction with
explicitly provided two-letter ISO 3166-2
country code
--geo-bypass-ip-block IP_BLOCK Force bypass geographic restriction with
explicitly provided IP block in CIDR
notation
## Video Selection:
--playlist-start NUMBER Playlist video to start at (default is 1)
--playlist-end NUMBER Playlist video to end at (default is last)
--playlist-items ITEM_SPEC Playlist video items to download. Specify
indices of the videos in the playlist
separated by commas like: "--playlist-items
1,2,5,8" if you want to download videos
indexed 1, 2, 5, 8 in the playlist. You can
specify range: "--playlist-items
1-3,7,10-13", it will download the videos
at index 1, 2, 3, 7, 10, 11, 12 and 13
--match-title REGEX Download only matching titles (regex or
caseless sub-string)
--reject-title REGEX Skip download for matching titles (regex or
caseless sub-string)
--max-downloads NUMBER Abort after downloading NUMBER files
--min-filesize SIZE Do not download any videos smaller 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 in this date.
The date can be "YYYYMMDD" or in the format
"(now|today)[+-][0-9](day|week|month|year)(s)?"
--datebefore DATE Download only videos uploaded on or before
this date. The date formats accepted is the
same as --date
--dateafter DATE Download only videos uploaded on or after
this date. The date formats accepted is the
same as --date
--min-views COUNT Do not download any videos with less than
COUNT views
--max-views COUNT Do not download any videos with more than
COUNT views
--match-filter FILTER Generic video filter. Specify any key (see
"OUTPUT TEMPLATE" for a list of available
keys) to match if the key is present, !key
to check if the key is not present,
key>NUMBER (like "view_count > 12", also
works with >=, <, <=, !=, =) to compare
against a number, key = 'LITERAL' (like
"uploader = 'Mike Smith'", also works with
!=) to match against a string literal and &
to require multiple matches. Values which
are not known are excluded unless you put a
question mark (?) after the operator. For
example, to only match videos that have
been liked more than 100 times and disliked
less than 50 times (or the dislike
functionality is not available at the given
service), but who also have a description,
use --match-filter "like_count > 100 &
dislike_count 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
re-encoding is necessary. The syntax and
supported formats are the same as --remux-video
--postprocessor-args NAME:ARGS Give these arguments to the postprocessors.
Specify the postprocessor/executable name
and the arguments separated by a colon ":"
to give the argument to the specified
postprocessor/executable. Supported PP are:
Merger, ExtractAudio, SplitChapters,
Metadata, EmbedSubtitle, EmbedThumbnail,
SubtitlesConvertor, ThumbnailsConvertor,
VideoRemuxer, VideoConvertor, SponSkrub,
FixupStretched, FixupM4a, FixupM3u8,
FixupTimestamp and FixupDuration. 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
after post-processing
--no-keep-video Delete the intermediate video file after
post-processing (default)
--post-overwrites Overwrite post-processed files (default)
--no-post-overwrites Do not overwrite post-processed files
--embed-subs Embed subtitles in the video (only for mp4,
webm and mkv videos)
--no-embed-subs Do not embed subtitles (default)
--embed-thumbnail Embed thumbnail in the video as cover art
--no-embed-thumbnail Do not embed thumbnail (default)
--embed-metadata Embed metadata including chapter markers
(if supported by the format) to the video
file (Alias: --add-metadata)
--no-embed-metadata Do not write metadata (default)
(Alias: --no-add-metadata)
--parse-metadata FROM:TO Parse additional metadata like title/artist
from other fields; see "MODIFYING METADATA"
for details
--xattrs Write metadata to the video file's xattrs
(using dublin core and xdg standards)
--fixup POLICY Automatically correct known faults of the
file. One of never (do nothing), warn (only
emit a warning), detect_or_warn (the
default; fix file if we can, warn
otherwise), force (try fixing even if file
already exists
--ffmpeg-location PATH Location of the ffmpeg binary; either the
path to the binary or its containing
directory
--exec CMD Execute a command on the file after
downloading and post-processing. Similar
syntax to the output template can be used
to pass any field as arguments to the
command. An additional field "filepath"
that contains the final path of the
downloaded file is also available. If no
fields are passed, "%(filepath)s" is
appended to the end of the command
--exec-before-download CMD Execute a command before the actual
download. The syntax is the same as --exec
--convert-subs FORMAT Convert the subtitles to another format
(currently supported: srt|vtt|ass|lrc)
(Alias: --convert-subtitles)
--convert-thumbnails FORMAT Convert the thumbnails to another format
(currently supported: jpg|png)
--split-chapters Split video into multiple files based on
internal chapters. The "chapter:" prefix
can be used with "--paths" and "--output"
to set the output filename for the split
files. See "OUTPUT TEMPLATE" for details
--no-split-chapters Do not split video based on chapters
(default)
## SponSkrub (SponsorBlock) Options:
[SponSkrub](https://github.com/yt-dlp/SponSkrub) is a utility to
mark/remove sponsor segments from downloaded YouTube videos using
[SponsorBlock API](https://sponsor.ajay.app)
--sponskrub Use sponskrub to mark sponsored sections.
This is enabled by default if the sponskrub
binary exists (Youtube only)
--no-sponskrub Do not use sponskrub
--sponskrub-cut Cut out the sponsor sections instead of
simply marking them
--no-sponskrub-cut Simply mark the sponsor sections, not cut
them out (default)
--sponskrub-force Run sponskrub even if the video was already
downloaded
--no-sponskrub-force Do not cut out the sponsor sections if the
video was already downloaded (default)
--sponskrub-location PATH Location of the sponskrub binary; either
the path to the binary or its containing
directory
## Extractor Options:
--extractor-retries RETRIES Number of retries for known extractor
errors (default is 3), or "infinite"
--allow-dynamic-mpd Process dynamic DASH manifests (default)
(Alias: --no-ignore-dynamic-mpd)
--ignore-dynamic-mpd Do not process dynamic DASH manifests
(Alias: --no-allow-dynamic-mpd)
--hls-split-discontinuity Split HLS playlists to different formats at
discontinuities such as ad breaks
--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
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 (`/yt_dlp/__main__.py`), the root directory is used instead.
1. **Home Configuration**: `yt-dlp.conf` in the home path given by `-P "home:"`, or in the current directory if no such path is given
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`
* `~/yt-dlp.conf`
* `~/yt-dlp.conf.txt`
Note that `~` points to `C:\Users\` on windows. Also, `%XDG_CONFIG_HOME%` defaults to `~/.config` if undefined
1. **System Configuration**: `/etc/yt-dlp.conf`
For example, with the following configuration file yt-dlp will always extract the audio, not copy the mtime, use a proxy and save all videos under `YouTube` directory in your home directory:
```
# Lines starting with # are comments
# Always extract audio
-x
# Do not copy the mtime
--no-mtime
# Use this proxy
--proxy 127.0.0.1:3128
# 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`.
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 user and system configurations. Additionally, (for backward compatibility) if `--ignore-config` is found inside the system configuration file, the user configuration is not loaded.
### 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 your `$HOME` and restrict permissions to read/write by only you:
```
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:
```
machine login password
```
For example:
```
machine youtube login myaccount@gmail.com password my_youtube_password
machine twitch login my_twitch_account_name password my_twitch_password
```
To activate authentication with the `.netrc` file you should pass `--netrc` to yt-dlp or place it in the [configuration file](#configuration).
On Windows you may also need to setup the `%HOME%` environment variable manually. For example:
```
set HOME=%USERPROFILE%
```
# OUTPUT TEMPLATE
The `-o` option is used to indicate a template for the output file names while `-P` option is used to specify the path each type of file should be saved to.
**tl;dr:** [navigate me to examples](#output-template-examples).
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. **Object traversal**: The dictionaries and lists available in metadata can be traversed by using a `.` (dot) separator. You can also do python slicing using `:`. Eg: `%(tags.0)s`, `%(subtitles.en.-1.ext)`, `%(id.3:7:-1)s`. Note that the fields that become available using this method are not listed below. Use `-j` to see such fields
1. **Addition**: Addition and subtraction of numeric fields can be done using `+` and `-` respectively. Eg: `%(playlist_index+10)03d`, `%(n_entries+1-playlist_index)d`
1. **Date/time Formatting**: Date/time fields can be formatted according to [strftime formatting](https://docs.python.org/3/library/datetime.html#strftime-and-strptime-format-codes) by specifying it separated from the field name using a `>`. Eg: `%(duration>%H-%M-%S)s`, `%(upload_date>%Y-%m-%d)s`, `%(epoch-3600>%H-%M-%S)s`
1. **Default**: A default value can be specified for when the field is empty using a `|` seperator. This overrides `--output-na-template`. Eg: `%(uploader|Unknown)s`
To summarize, the general syntax for a field is:
```
%(name[.keys][addition][>strf][|default])[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 file types supported are `subtitle`, `thumbnail`, `description`, `annotation`, `infojson`, `pl_thumbnail`, `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:
- `id` (string): Video identifier
- `title` (string): Video title
- `url` (string): Video URL
- `ext` (string): Video filename extension
- `alt_title` (string): A secondary title of the video
- `description` (string): The description of the video
- `display_id` (string): An alternative identifier for the video
- `uploader` (string): Full name of the video uploader
- `license` (string): License name the video is licensed under
- `creator` (string): The creator of the video
- `release_date` (string): The date (YYYYMMDD) when the video was released
- `timestamp` (numeric): UNIX timestamp of the moment the video became available
- `upload_date` (string): Video upload date (YYYYMMDD)
- `uploader_id` (string): Nickname or id of the video uploader
- `channel` (string): Full name of the channel the video is uploaded on
- `channel_id` (string): Id of the channel
- `location` (string): Physical location where the video was filmed
- `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
- `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
- `average_rating` (numeric): Average rating give by users, the scale used depends on the webpage
- `comment_count` (numeric): Number of comments on the video (For some extractors, comments are only downloaded at the end, and so this field cannot be used)
- `age_limit` (numeric): Age restriction for the video (years)
- `live_status` (string): One of 'is_live', 'was_live', 'upcoming', 'not_live'
- `is_live` (boolean): Whether this video is a live stream or a fixed-length video
- `was_live` (boolean): Whether this video was originally a live stream
- `playable_in_embed` (string): Whether this video is allowed to play in embedded players on other sites
- `availability` (string): Whether the video is 'private', 'premium_only', 'subscriber_only', 'needs_auth', 'unlisted' or 'public'
- `start_time` (numeric): Time in seconds where the reproduction should start, as specified in the URL
- `end_time` (numeric): Time in seconds where the reproduction should end, as specified in the URL
- `format` (string): A human-readable description of the format
- `format_id` (string): Format code specified by `--format`
- `format_note` (string): Additional info about the format
- `width` (numeric): Width of the video
- `height` (numeric): Height of the video
- `resolution` (string): Textual description of width and height
- `tbr` (numeric): Average bitrate of audio and video in KBit/s
- `abr` (numeric): Average audio bitrate in KBit/s
- `acodec` (string): Name of the audio codec in use
- `asr` (numeric): Audio sampling rate in Hertz
- `vbr` (numeric): Average video bitrate in KBit/s
- `fps` (numeric): Frame rate
- `vcodec` (string): Name of the video codec in use
- `container` (string): Name of the container format
- `filesize` (numeric): The number of bytes, if known in advance
- `filesize_approx` (numeric): An estimate for the number of bytes
- `protocol` (string): The protocol that will be used for the actual download
- `extractor` (string): Name of the extractor
- `extractor_key` (string): Key name of the extractor
- `epoch` (numeric): Unix epoch when creating the file
- `autonumber` (numeric): Number that will be increased with each download, starting at `--autonumber-start`
- `playlist` (string): Name or id of the playlist that contains the video
- `playlist_index` (numeric): Index of the video in the playlist padded with leading zeros according to the total length of the playlist
- `playlist_id` (string): Playlist identifier
- `playlist_title` (string): Playlist title
- `playlist_uploader` (string): Full name of the playlist uploader
- `playlist_uploader_id` (string): Nickname or id of the playlist uploader
- `webpage_url` (string): A URL to the video webpage which if given to yt-dlp should allow to get the same result again
- `original_url` (string): The URL given by the user (or same as `webpage_url` for playlist entries)
Available for the video that belongs to some logical chapter or section:
- `chapter` (string): Name or title of the chapter the video belongs to
- `chapter_number` (numeric): Number of the chapter the video belongs to
- `chapter_id` (string): Id of the chapter the video belongs to
Available for the video that is an episode of some series or programme:
- `series` (string): Title of the series or programme the video episode belongs to
- `season` (string): Title of the season the video episode belongs to
- `season_number` (numeric): Number of the season the video episode belongs to
- `season_id` (string): Id of the season the video episode belongs to
- `episode` (string): Title of the video episode
- `episode_number` (numeric): Number of the video episode within a season
- `episode_id` (string): Id of the video episode
Available for the media that is a track or a part of a music album:
- `track` (string): Title of the track
- `track_number` (numeric): Number of the track within an album or a disc
- `track_id` (string): Id of the track
- `artist` (string): Artist(s) of the track
- `genre` (string): Genre(s) of the track
- `album` (string): Title of the album the track belongs to
- `album_type` (string): Type of the album
- `album_artist` (string): List of all artists appeared on the album
- `disc_number` (numeric): Number of the disc or other physical medium the track belongs to
- `release_year` (numeric): Year (YYYY) when the album was released
Available for `chapter:` prefix when using `--split-chapters` for videos with internal chapters:
- `section_title` (string): Title of the chapter
- `section_number` (numeric): Number of the chapter within the file
- `section_start` (numeric): Start time of the chapter in seconds
- `section_end` (numeric): End time of the chapter in seconds
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
Each aforementioned sequence when referenced in an output template will be replaced by the actual value corresponding to the sequence name. 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).
For example for `-o %(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s` and an mp4 video with title `yt-dlp test video` and id `BaW_jenozKc`, this will result in a `yt-dlp test video-BaW_jenozKc.mp4` file created in the current directory.
For numeric sequences you can use numeric related formatting, for example, `%(view_count)05d` will result in a string with view count padded with zeros up to 5 characters, like in `00042`.
Output templates can also contain arbitrary hierarchical path, e.g. `-o '%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s'` which will result in downloading each video in a directory corresponding to this path template. Any missing directory will be automatically created for you.
To use percent literals in an output template use `%%`. To output to stdout use `-o -`.
The current default template is `%(title)s [%(id)s].%(ext)s`.
In some cases, you don't want special characters such as 中, spaces, or &, such as when transferring the downloaded filename to a Windows system or the filename through an 8bit-unsafe channel. In these cases, add the `--restrict-filenames` flag to get a shorter title:
#### Output template and Windows batch files
If you are using an output template inside a Windows batch file then you must escape plain percent characters (`%`) by doubling, so that `-o "%(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s"` should become `-o "%%(title)s-%%(id)s.%%(ext)s"`. However you should not touch `%`'s that are not plain characters, e.g. environment variables for expansion should stay intact: `-o "C:\%HOMEPATH%\Desktop\%%(title)s.%%(ext)s"`.
#### Output template examples
Note that on Windows you need to use double quotes instead of single.
```bash
$ yt-dlp --get-filename -o '%(title)s.%(ext)s' BaW_jenozKc
youtube-dl test video ''_ä↭𝕐.mp4 # All kinds of weird characters
$ yt-dlp --get-filename -o '%(title)s.%(ext)s' BaW_jenozKc --restrict-filenames
youtube-dl_test_video_.mp4 # A simple file name
# Download YouTube playlist videos in separate directory indexed by video order in a playlist
$ yt-dlp -o '%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s' https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwiyx1dc3P2JR9N8gQaQN_BCvlSlap7re
# Download YouTube playlist videos in separate directories according to their uploaded year
$ yt-dlp -o '%(upload_date>%Y)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s' https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwiyx1dc3P2JR9N8gQaQN_BCvlSlap7re
# Download all playlists of YouTube channel/user keeping each playlist in separate directory:
$ yt-dlp -o '%(uploader)s/%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s' https://www.youtube.com/user/TheLinuxFoundation/playlists
# Download Udemy course keeping each chapter in separate directory under MyVideos directory in your home
$ yt-dlp -u user -p password -P '~/MyVideos' -o '%(playlist)s/%(chapter_number)s - %(chapter)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s' https://www.udemy.com/java-tutorial/
# Download entire series season keeping each series and each season in separate directory under C:/MyVideos
$ yt-dlp -P "C:/MyVideos" -o "%(series)s/%(season_number)s - %(season)s/%(episode_number)s - %(episode)s.%(ext)s" https://videomore.ru/kino_v_detalayah/5_sezon/367617
# Stream the video being downloaded to stdout
$ yt-dlp -o - BaW_jenozKc
```
# FORMAT SELECTION
By default, yt-dlp tries to download the best available quality if you **don't** pass any options.
This is generally equivalent to using `-f bestvideo*+bestaudio/best`. However, if multiple audiostreams is enabled (`--audio-multistreams`), the default format changes to `-f bestvideo+bestaudio/best`. Similarly, if ffmpeg is unavailable, or if you use yt-dlp to stream to `stdout` (`-o -`), the default becomes `-f best/bestvideo+bestaudio`.
The general syntax for format selection is `-f FORMAT` (or `--format FORMAT`) where `FORMAT` is a *selector expression*, i.e. an expression that describes format or formats you would like to download.
**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.
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.
You can also use special names to select particular edge case formats:
- `all`: Select all formats
- `mergeall`: Select and merge all formats (Must be used with `--audio-multistreams`, `--video-multistreams` or both)
- `b*`, `best*`: Select the best quality format irrespective of whether it contains video or audio
- `w*`, `worst*`: Select the worst quality format irrespective of whether it contains video or audio
- `b`, `best`: Select the best quality format that contains both video and audio. Equivalent to `best*[vcodec!=none][acodec!=none]`
- `w`, `worst`: Select the worst quality format that contains both video and audio. Equivalent to `worst*[vcodec!=none][acodec!=none]`
- `bv`, `bestvideo`: Select the best quality video-only format. Equivalent to `best*[acodec=none]`
- `wv`, `worstvideo`: Select the worst quality video-only format. Equivalent to `worst*[acodec=none]`
- `bv*`, `bestvideo*`: Select the best quality format that contains video. It may also contain audio. Equivalent to `best*[vcodec!=none]`
- `wv*`, `worstvideo*`: Select the worst quality format that contains video. It may also contain audio. Equivalent to `worst*[vcodec!=none]`
- `ba`, `bestaudio`: Select the best quality audio-only format. Equivalent to `best*[vcodec=none]`
- `wa`, `worstaudio`: Select the worst quality audio-only format. Equivalent to `worst*[vcodec=none]`
- `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 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.`. 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, for example `-f 22/17/18` will download format 22 if it's available, otherwise it will download format 17 if it's available, otherwise it will download format 18 if it's available, otherwise it will complain that no suitable formats are available for download.
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`.
You can merge the video and audio of multiple formats into a single file using `-f ++...` (requires ffmpeg installed), for example `-f bestvideo+bestaudio` will download the best video-only format, the best audio-only format and mux them together with ffmpeg. Unless `--video-multistreams` is used, all formats with a video stream except the first one are ignored. Similarly, unless `--audio-multistreams` is used, all formats with an audio stream except the first one are ignored. For example, `-f bestvideo+best+bestaudio --video-multistreams --audio-multistreams` will download and merge all 3 given formats. The resulting file will have 2 video streams and 2 audio streams. But `-f bestvideo+best+bestaudio --no-video-multistreams` will download and merge only `bestvideo` and `bestaudio`. `best` is ignored since another format containing a video stream (`bestvideo`) has already been selected. The order of the formats is therefore important. `-f best+bestaudio --no-audio-multistreams` will download and merge both formats while `-f bestaudio+best --no-audio-multistreams` will ignore `best` and download only `bestaudio`.
## Filtering Formats
You can also filter the video formats by putting a condition in brackets, as in `-f "best[height=720]"` (or `-f "[filesize>10M]"`).
The following numeric meta fields can be used with comparisons `<`, `<=`, `>`, `>=`, `=` (equals), `!=` (not equals):
- `filesize`: The number of bytes, if known in advance
- `width`: Width of the video, if known
- `height`: Height 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
- `asr`: Audio sampling rate in Hertz
- `fps`: Frame rate
Also filtering work for comparisons `=` (equals), `^=` (starts with), `$=` (ends with), `*=` (contains) and following string meta fields:
- `ext`: File extension
- `acodec`: Name of the audio codec in use
- `vcodec`: Name of the video codec in use
- `container`: Name of the container format
- `protocol`: The protocol that will be used for the actual download, lower-case (`http`, `https`, `rtsp`, `rtmp`, `rtmpe`, `mms`, `f4m`, `ism`, `http_dash_segments`, `m3u8`, or `m3u8_native`)
- `format_id`: A short description of the format
- `language`: Language code
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 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.
Format selectors can also be grouped using parentheses, for example if you want to download the best mp4 and webm formats with a height lower than 480 you can use `-f '(mp4,webm)[height<480]'`.
## Sorting Formats
You can change the criteria for being considered the `best` by using `-S` (`--format-sort`). The general format for this is `--format-sort field1,field2...`. The available fields are:
- `hasvid`: Gives priority to formats that has a video stream
- `hasaud`: Gives priority to formats that has a audio stream
- `ie_pref`: The format preference as given by the extractor
- `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`> `websocket_frag` > 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`
- `vext`: Video Extension (`mp4` > `webm` > `flv` > other > unknown). If `--prefer-free-formats` is used, `webm` is prefered.
- `aext`: Audio Extension (`m4a` > `aac` > `mp3` > `ogg` > `opus` > `webm` > other > unknown). If `--prefer-free-formats` is used, the order changes to `opus` > `ogg` > `webm` > `m4a` > `mp3` > `aac`.
- `ext`: Equivalent to `vext,aext`
- `filesize`: Exact filesize, if know in advance. This will be unavailable for mu38 and DASH formats.
- `fs_approx`: Approximate filesize calculated from the manifests
- `size`: Exact filesize if available, otherwise approximate filesize
- `height`: Height of video
- `width`: Width of video
- `res`: Video resolution, calculated as the smallest dimension.
- `fps`: Framerate of video
- `tbr`: Total average bitrate in KBit/s
- `vbr`: Average video bitrate in KBit/s
- `abr`: Average audio bitrate in KBit/s
- `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 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 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).
## Format Selection examples
Note that on Windows you may need to use double quotes instead of single.
```bash
# 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'
# Download best format that contains video,
# and if it doesn't already have an audio stream, merge it with best audio-only format
$ yt-dlp -f 'bv*+ba/b'
# Same as above
$ yt-dlp
# Download the best video-only format and the best audio-only format without merging them
# For this case, an output template should be used since
# by default, bestvideo and bestaudio will have the same file name.
$ yt-dlp -f 'bv,ba' -o '%(title)s.f%(format_id)s.%(ext)s'
# Download and merge the best format that has a video stream,
# and all audio-only formats into one file
$ yt-dlp -f 'bv*+mergeall[vcodec=none]' --audio-multistreams
# Download and merge the best format that has a video stream,
# and the best 2 audio-only formats into one file
$ yt-dlp -f 'bv*+ba+ba.2' --audio-multistreams
# The following examples show the old method (without -S) of format selection
# and how to use -S to achieve a similar but (generally) better result
# Download the worst video available (old method)
$ yt-dlp -f 'wv*+wa/w'
# Download the best video available but with the smallest resolution
$ yt-dlp -S '+res'
# Download the smallest video available
$ yt-dlp -S '+size,+br'
# Download the best mp4 video available, or the best video if no mp4 available
$ 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 ...)
$ yt-dlp -S 'ext'
# Download the best video available but no better than 480p,
# or the worst video if there is no video under 480p
$ yt-dlp -f 'bv*[height<=480]+ba/b[height<=480] / wv*+ba/w'
# Download the best video available with the largest height but no better than 480p,
# or the best video with the smallest resolution if there is no video under 480p
$ yt-dlp -S 'height:480'
# Download the best video available with the largest resolution but no better than 480p,
# or the best video with the smallest resolution if there is no video under 480p
# Resolution is determined by using the smallest dimension.
# So this works correctly for vertical videos as well
$ yt-dlp -S 'res:480'
# Download the best video (that also has audio) but no bigger than 50 MB,
# or the worst video (that also has audio) if there is no video under 50 MB
$ yt-dlp -f 'b[filesize<50M] / w'
# Download largest video (that also has audio) but no bigger than 50 MB,
# or the smallest video (that also has audio) if there is no video under 50 MB
$ yt-dlp -f 'b' -S 'filesize:50M'
# Download best video (that also has audio) that is closest in size to 50 MB
$ yt-dlp -f 'b' -S 'filesize~50M'
# Download best video available via direct link over HTTP/HTTPS protocol,
# or the best video available via any protocol if there is no such video
$ yt-dlp -f '(bv*+ba/b)[protocol^=http][protocol!*=dash] / (bv*+ba/b)'
# Download best video available via the best protocol
# (https/ftps > http/ftp > m3u8_native > m3u8 > http_dash_segments ...)
$ yt-dlp -S 'proto'
# Download the best video with h264 codec, or the best video if there is no such video
$ yt-dlp -f '(bv*+ba/b)[vcodec^=avc1] / (bv*+ba/b)'
# Download the best video with best codec no better than h264,
# or the best video with worst codec if there is no such video
$ yt-dlp -S 'codec:h264'
# Download the best video with worst codec no worse than h264,
# or the best video with best codec if there is no such video
$ yt-dlp -S '+codec:h264'
# More complex examples
# 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,
# 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,
# 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.
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`.
This option also has a few special uses:
* You can use this to change the metadata that is embedded in the media file. To do this, set the value of the corresponding field with a `meta_` prefix. For example, any value you set to `meta_description` field will be added to the `description` field in the file. You can use this to set a different "description" and "synopsis", for example
* You can download an additional URL based on the metadata of the currently downloaded video. To do this, set the field `additional_urls` to the URL that you want to download. Eg: `--parse-metadata "description:(?Phttps?://www\.vimeo\.com/\d+)` will download the first vimeo video found in the description
## Modifying metadata examples
Note that on Windows you may need to use double quotes instead of single.
```bash
# Interpret the title as "Artist - Title"
$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata 'title:%(artist)s - %(title)s'
# Regex example
$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata 'description:Artist - (?P.+)'
# Set title as "Series name S01E05"
$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata '%(series)s S%(season_number)02dE%(episode_number)02d:%(title)s'
# Set "comment" field in video metadata using description instead of webpage_url
$ yt-dlp --parse-metadata 'description:(?s)(?P.+)' --add-metadata
```
# EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS
Some extractors accept additional arguments which can be passed using `--extractor-args KEY:ARGS`. `ARGS` is a `;` (semicolon) seperated string of `ARG=VAL1,VAL2`. Eg: `--extractor-args "youtube:skip=dash,hls;player_client=android" --extractor-args "funimation:version=uncut"`
The following extractors use this feature:
* **youtube**
* `skip`: `hls` or `dash` (or both) to skip download of the respective manifests
* `player_client`: Clients to extract video data from - one or more of `web`, `android`, `ios`, `web_music`, `android_music`, `ios_music`. By default, `android,web` is used. If the URL is from `music.youtube.com`, `android,web,android_music,web_music` is used
* `player_skip`: `configs` - skip any requests for client configs and use defaults
* `comment_sort`: `top` or `new` (default) - choose comment sorting mode (on YouTube's side).
* `max_comments`: maximum amount of comments to download (default all).
* `max_comment_depth`: maximum depth for nested comments. YouTube supports depths 1 or 2 (default).
* **funimation**
* `language`: Languages to extract. Eg: `funimation:language=english,japanese`
* `version`: The video version to extract - `uncut` or `simulcast`
* **vikiChannel**
* `video_types`: Types of videos to download - one or more of `episodes`, `movies`, `clips`, `trailers`
NOTE: These options may be changed/removed in the future without concern for backward compatibility
# PLUGINS
Plugins are loaded from `/ytdlp_plugins//__init__.py`. Currently only `extractor` plugins are supported. Support for `downloader` and `postprocessor` plugins may be added in the future. See [ytdlp_plugins](ytdlp_plugins) for example.
**Note**: `` is the directory of the binary (`/yt-dlp`), or the root directory of the module if you are running directly from source-code (`/yt_dlp/__main__.py`)
# DEPRECATED OPTIONS
These are all the deprecated options and the current alternative to achieve the same effect
#### Not recommended
While these options still work, their use is not recommended since there are other alternatives to achieve the same
--get-description --print description
--get-duration --print duration_string
--get-filename --print filename
--get-format --print format
--get-id --print id
--get-thumbnail --print thumbnail
-e, --get-title --print title
-g, --get-url --print urls
--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"
--hls-prefer-native --downloader "m3u8:native"
--hls-prefer-ffmpeg --downloader "m3u8:ffmpeg"
--list-formats-old --compat-options list-formats (Alias: --no-list-formats-as-table)
--list-formats-as-table --compat-options -list-formats [Default] (Alias: --no-list-formats-old)
--sponskrub-args ARGS --ppa "sponskrub:ARGS"
--youtube-skip-dash-manifest --extractor-args "youtube:skip=dash" (Alias: --no-youtube-include-dash-manifest)
--youtube-skip-hls-manifest --extractor-args "youtube:skip=hls" (Alias: --no-youtube-include-hls-manifest)
--youtube-include-dash-manifest Default (Alias: --no-youtube-skip-dash-manifest)
--youtube-include-hls-manifest Default (Alias: --no-youtube-skip-hls-manifest)
--test Used by developers for testing extractors. Not intended for the end user
--youtube-print-sig-code Used for testing youtube signatures
#### 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
--prefer-unsecure --prefer-insecure
--rate-limit RATE --limit-rate RATE
--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
#### 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
#### Removed
These options were deprecated since 2014 and have now been entirely removed
--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
# MORE
For FAQ, Developer Instructions etc., see the [original README](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl#faq)