Video Downloader Guide
Download videos with customizable quality and format options using yt-dlp.
When to Use
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Downloading videos from YouTube and other sites
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Saving videos for offline viewing
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Extracting audio as MP3
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Choosing specific quality settings
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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
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Video filename generated from video title
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Higher quality = larger file size
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Some sites may have restrictions
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Keep yt-dlp updated for best compatibility