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1 <!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
2 <div align="center">
4 [](#readme)
6 [](#installation "Installation")
7 [](https://pypi.org/project/yt-dlp "PyPi")
8 [](Collaborators.md#collaborators "Donate")
9 [](https://matrix.to/#/#yt-dlp:matrix.org "Matrix")
10 [](https://discord.gg/H5MNcFW63r "Discord")
11 [](supportedsites.md "Supported Sites")
12 [](LICENSE "License")
13 [](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/actions "CI Status")
14 [](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits "Commit History")
15 [](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/pulse/monthly "Last activity")
17 </div>
18 <!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
20 yt-dlp is a feature-rich command-line audio/video downloader with support for [thousands of sites](supportedsites.md). The project is a fork of [youtube-dl](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl) based on the now inactive [youtube-dlc](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc).
22 <!-- MANPAGE: MOVE "USAGE AND OPTIONS" SECTION HERE -->
24 <!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
25 * [INSTALLATION](#installation)
26 * [Detailed instructions](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Installation)
27 * [Release Files](#release-files)
28 * [Update](#update)
29 * [Dependencies](#dependencies)
30 * [Compile](#compile)
31 * [USAGE AND OPTIONS](#usage-and-options)
32 * [General Options](#general-options)
33 * [Network Options](#network-options)
34 * [Geo-restriction](#geo-restriction)
35 * [Video Selection](#video-selection)
36 * [Download Options](#download-options)
37 * [Filesystem Options](#filesystem-options)
38 * [Thumbnail Options](#thumbnail-options)
39 * [Internet Shortcut Options](#internet-shortcut-options)
40 * [Verbosity and Simulation Options](#verbosity-and-simulation-options)
41 * [Workarounds](#workarounds)
42 * [Video Format Options](#video-format-options)
43 * [Subtitle Options](#subtitle-options)
44 * [Authentication Options](#authentication-options)
45 * [Post-processing Options](#post-processing-options)
46 * [SponsorBlock Options](#sponsorblock-options)
47 * [Extractor Options](#extractor-options)
48 * [CONFIGURATION](#configuration)
49 * [Configuration file encoding](#configuration-file-encoding)
50 * [Authentication with netrc](#authentication-with-netrc)
51 * [Notes about environment variables](#notes-about-environment-variables)
52 * [OUTPUT TEMPLATE](#output-template)
53 * [Output template examples](#output-template-examples)
54 * [FORMAT SELECTION](#format-selection)
55 * [Filtering Formats](#filtering-formats)
56 * [Sorting Formats](#sorting-formats)
57 * [Format Selection examples](#format-selection-examples)
58 * [MODIFYING METADATA](#modifying-metadata)
59 * [Modifying metadata examples](#modifying-metadata-examples)
60 * [EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS](#extractor-arguments)
61 * [PLUGINS](#plugins)
62 * [Installing Plugins](#installing-plugins)
63 * [Developing Plugins](#developing-plugins)
64 * [EMBEDDING YT-DLP](#embedding-yt-dlp)
65 * [Embedding examples](#embedding-examples)
66 * [CHANGES FROM YOUTUBE-DL](#changes-from-youtube-dl)
67 * [New features](#new-features)
68 * [Differences in default behavior](#differences-in-default-behavior)
69 * [Deprecated options](#deprecated-options)
70 * [CONTRIBUTING](CONTRIBUTING.md#contributing-to-yt-dlp)
71 * [Opening an Issue](CONTRIBUTING.md#opening-an-issue)
72 * [Developer Instructions](CONTRIBUTING.md#developer-instructions)
73 * [WIKI](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki)
74 * [FAQ](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/FAQ)
75 <!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
78 # INSTALLATION
80 <!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
81 [](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.exe)
82 [](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp)
83 [](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_macos)
84 [](https://pypi.org/project/yt-dlp)
85 [](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.tar.gz)
86 [](#release-files)
87 [](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases)
88 <!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
90 You can install yt-dlp using [the binaries](#release-files), [pip](https://pypi.org/project/yt-dlp) or one using a third-party package manager. See [the wiki](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Installation) for detailed instructions
93 <!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
94 ## RELEASE FILES
96 #### Recommended
98 File|Description
99 :---|:---
100 [yt-dlp](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp)|Platform-independent [zipimport](https://docs.python.org/3/library/zipimport.html) binary. Needs Python (recommended for **Linux/BSD**)
101 [yt-dlp.exe](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.exe)|Windows (Win7 SP1+) standalone x64 binary (recommended for **Windows**)
102 [yt-dlp_macos](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_macos)|Universal MacOS (10.15+) standalone executable (recommended for **MacOS**)
104 #### Alternatives
106 File|Description
107 :---|:---
108 [yt-dlp_x86.exe](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_x86.exe)|Windows (Win7 SP1+) standalone x86 (32-bit) binary
109 [yt-dlp_min.exe](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_min.exe)|Windows (Win7 SP1+) standalone x64 binary built with `py2exe`<br/> ([Not recommended](#standalone-py2exe-builds-windows))
110 [yt-dlp_linux](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_linux)|Linux standalone x64 binary
111 [yt-dlp_linux_armv7l](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_linux_armv7l)|Linux standalone armv7l (32-bit) binary
112 [yt-dlp_linux_aarch64](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_linux_aarch64)|Linux standalone aarch64 (64-bit) binary
113 [yt-dlp_win.zip](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_win.zip)|Unpackaged Windows executable (no auto-update)
114 [yt-dlp_macos.zip](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_macos.zip)|Unpackaged MacOS (10.15+) executable (no auto-update)
115 [yt-dlp_macos_legacy](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_macos_legacy)|MacOS (10.9+) standalone x64 executable
117 #### Misc
119 File|Description
120 :---|:---
121 [yt-dlp.tar.gz](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.tar.gz)|Source tarball
122 [SHA2-512SUMS](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/SHA2-512SUMS)|GNU-style SHA512 sums
123 [SHA2-512SUMS.sig](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/SHA2-512SUMS.sig)|GPG signature file for SHA512 sums
124 [SHA2-256SUMS](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/SHA2-256SUMS)|GNU-style SHA256 sums
125 [SHA2-256SUMS.sig](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/SHA2-256SUMS.sig)|GPG signature file for SHA256 sums
127 The public key that can be used to verify the GPG signatures is [available here](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/master/public.key)
128 Example usage:
129 ```
130 curl -L https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/raw/master/public.key | gpg --import
131 gpg --verify SHA2-256SUMS.sig SHA2-256SUMS
132 gpg --verify SHA2-512SUMS.sig SHA2-512SUMS
133 ```
134 <!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
136 **Note**: The manpages, shell completion (autocomplete) files etc. are available inside the [source tarball](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp.tar.gz)
139 ## UPDATE
140 You can use `yt-dlp -U` to update if you are using the [release binaries](#release-files)
142 If you [installed with pip](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Installation#with-pip), simply re-run the same command that was used to install the program
144 For other third-party package managers, see [the wiki](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Installation#third-party-package-managers) or refer to their documentation
146 <a id="update-channels"></a>
148 There are currently three release channels for binaries: `stable`, `nightly` and `master`.
150 * `stable` is the default channel, and many of its changes have been tested by users of the `nightly` and `master` channels.
151 * The `nightly` channel has releases scheduled to build every day around midnight UTC, for a snapshot of the project's new patches and changes. This is the **recommended channel for regular users** of yt-dlp. The `nightly` releases are available from [yt-dlp/yt-dlp-nightly-builds](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp-nightly-builds/releases) or as development releases of the `yt-dlp` PyPI package (which can be installed with pip's `--pre` flag).
152 * The `master` channel features releases that are built after each push to the master branch, and these will have the very latest fixes and additions, but may also be more prone to regressions. They are available from [yt-dlp/yt-dlp-master-builds](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp-master-builds/releases).
154 When using `--update`/`-U`, a release binary will only update to its current channel.
155 `--update-to CHANNEL` can be used to switch to a different channel when a newer version is available. `--update-to [CHANNEL@]TAG` can also be used to upgrade or downgrade to specific tags from a channel.
157 You may also use `--update-to <repository>` (`<owner>/<repository>`) to update to a channel on a completely different repository. Be careful with what repository you are updating to though, there is no verification done for binaries from different repositories.
159 Example usage:
161 * `yt-dlp --update-to master` switch to the `master` channel and update to its latest release
162 * `yt-dlp --update-to stable@2023.07.06` upgrade/downgrade to release to `stable` channel tag `2023.07.06`
163 * `yt-dlp --update-to 2023.10.07` upgrade/downgrade to tag `2023.10.07` if it exists on the current channel
164 * `yt-dlp --update-to example/yt-dlp@2023.09.24` upgrade/downgrade to the release from the `example/yt-dlp` repository, tag `2023.09.24`
166 **Important**: Any user experiencing an issue with the `stable` release should install or update to the `nightly` release before submitting a bug report:
167 ```
168 # To update to nightly from stable executable/binary:
169 yt-dlp --update-to nightly
171 # To install nightly with pip:
172 python3 -m pip install -U --pre "yt-dlp[default]"
173 ```
175 ## DEPENDENCIES
176 Python versions 3.8+ (CPython and PyPy) are supported. Other versions and implementations may or may not work correctly.
178 <!-- Python 3.5+ uses VC++14 and it is already embedded in the binary created
179 <!x-- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=26999 --x>
180 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.
181 -->
183 While all the other dependencies are optional, `ffmpeg` and `ffprobe` are highly recommended
185 ### Strongly recommended
187 * [**ffmpeg** and **ffprobe**](https://www.ffmpeg.org) - Required for [merging separate video and audio files](#format-selection), as well as for various [post-processing](#post-processing-options) tasks. License [depends on the build](https://www.ffmpeg.org/legal.html)
189 There are bugs in ffmpeg that cause various issues when used alongside yt-dlp. Since ffmpeg is such an important dependency, we provide [custom builds](https://github.com/yt-dlp/FFmpeg-Builds#ffmpeg-static-auto-builds) with patches for some of these issues at [yt-dlp/FFmpeg-Builds](https://github.com/yt-dlp/FFmpeg-Builds). See [the readme](https://github.com/yt-dlp/FFmpeg-Builds#patches-applied) for details on the specific issues solved by these builds
191 **Important**: What you need is ffmpeg *binary*, **NOT** [the Python package of the same name](https://pypi.org/project/ffmpeg)
193 ### Networking
194 * [**certifi**](https://github.com/certifi/python-certifi)\* - Provides Mozilla's root certificate bundle. Licensed under [MPLv2](https://github.com/certifi/python-certifi/blob/master/LICENSE)
195 * [**brotli**](https://github.com/google/brotli)\* or [**brotlicffi**](https://github.com/python-hyper/brotlicffi) - [Brotli](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brotli) content encoding support. Both licensed under MIT <sup>[1](https://github.com/google/brotli/blob/master/LICENSE) [2](https://github.com/python-hyper/brotlicffi/blob/master/LICENSE) </sup>
196 * [**websockets**](https://github.com/aaugustin/websockets)\* - For downloading over websocket. Licensed under [BSD-3-Clause](https://github.com/aaugustin/websockets/blob/main/LICENSE)
197 * [**requests**](https://github.com/psf/requests)\* - HTTP library. For HTTPS proxy and persistent connections support. Licensed under [Apache-2.0](https://github.com/psf/requests/blob/main/LICENSE)
199 #### Impersonation
201 The following provide support for impersonating browser requests. This may be required for some sites that employ TLS fingerprinting.
203 * [**curl_cffi**](https://github.com/yifeikong/curl_cffi) (recommended) - Python binding for [curl-impersonate](https://github.com/lwthiker/curl-impersonate). Provides impersonation targets for Chrome, Edge and Safari. Licensed under [MIT](https://github.com/yifeikong/curl_cffi/blob/main/LICENSE)
204 * Can be installed with the `curl-cffi` group, e.g. `pip install "yt-dlp[default,curl-cffi]"`
205 * Currently included in `yt-dlp.exe`, `yt-dlp_linux` and `yt-dlp_macos` builds
208 ### Metadata
210 * [**mutagen**](https://github.com/quodlibet/mutagen)\* - For `--embed-thumbnail` in certain formats. Licensed under [GPLv2+](https://github.com/quodlibet/mutagen/blob/master/COPYING)
211 * [**AtomicParsley**](https://github.com/wez/atomicparsley) - For `--embed-thumbnail` in `mp4`/`m4a` files when `mutagen`/`ffmpeg` cannot. Licensed under [GPLv2+](https://github.com/wez/atomicparsley/blob/master/COPYING)
212 * [**xattr**](https://github.com/xattr/xattr), [**pyxattr**](https://github.com/iustin/pyxattr) or [**setfattr**](http://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/attr) - For writing xattr metadata (`--xattr`) on **Mac** and **BSD**. Licensed under [MIT](https://github.com/xattr/xattr/blob/master/LICENSE.txt), [LGPL2.1](https://github.com/iustin/pyxattr/blob/master/COPYING) and [GPLv2+](http://git.savannah.nongnu.org/cgit/attr.git/tree/doc/COPYING) respectively
214 ### Misc
216 * [**pycryptodomex**](https://github.com/Legrandin/pycryptodome)\* - For decrypting AES-128 HLS streams and various other data. Licensed under [BSD-2-Clause](https://github.com/Legrandin/pycryptodome/blob/master/LICENSE.rst)
217 * [**phantomjs**](https://github.com/ariya/phantomjs) - Used in extractors where javascript needs to be run. Licensed under [BSD-3-Clause](https://github.com/ariya/phantomjs/blob/master/LICENSE.BSD)
218 * [**secretstorage**](https://github.com/mitya57/secretstorage)\* - For `--cookies-from-browser` to access the **Gnome** keyring while decrypting cookies of **Chromium**-based browsers on **Linux**. Licensed under [BSD-3-Clause](https://github.com/mitya57/secretstorage/blob/master/LICENSE)
219 * Any external downloader that you want to use with `--downloader`
221 ### Deprecated
223 * [**avconv** and **avprobe**](https://www.libav.org) - Now **deprecated** alternative to ffmpeg. License [depends on the build](https://libav.org/legal)
224 * [**sponskrub**](https://github.com/faissaloo/SponSkrub) - For using the now **deprecated** [sponskrub options](#sponskrub-options). Licensed under [GPLv3+](https://github.com/faissaloo/SponSkrub/blob/master/LICENCE.md)
225 * [**rtmpdump**](http://rtmpdump.mplayerhq.hu) - For downloading `rtmp` streams. ffmpeg can be used instead with `--downloader ffmpeg`. Licensed under [GPLv2+](http://rtmpdump.mplayerhq.hu)
226 * [**mplayer**](http://mplayerhq.hu/design7/info.html) or [**mpv**](https://mpv.io) - For downloading `rstp`/`mms` streams. ffmpeg can be used instead with `--downloader ffmpeg`. Licensed under [GPLv2+](https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/blob/master/Copyright)
228 To use or redistribute the dependencies, you must agree to their respective licensing terms.
230 The standalone release binaries are built with the Python interpreter and the packages marked with **\*** included.
232 If you do not have the necessary dependencies for a task you are attempting, yt-dlp will warn you. All the currently available dependencies are visible at the top of the `--verbose` output
235 ## COMPILE
237 ### Standalone PyInstaller Builds
238 To build the standalone executable, you must have Python and `pyinstaller` (plus any of yt-dlp's [optional dependencies](#dependencies) if needed). The executable will be built for the same CPU architecture as the Python used.
240 You can run the following commands:
242 ```
243 python3 devscripts/install_deps.py --include pyinstaller
244 python3 devscripts/make_lazy_extractors.py
245 python3 -m bundle.pyinstaller
246 ```
248 On some systems, you may need to use `py` or `python` instead of `python3`.
250 `python -m bundle.pyinstaller` accepts any arguments that can be passed to `pyinstaller`, such as `--onefile/-F` or `--onedir/-D`, which is further [documented here](https://pyinstaller.org/en/stable/usage.html#what-to-generate).
252 **Note**: Pyinstaller versions below 4.4 [do not support](https://github.com/pyinstaller/pyinstaller#requirements-and-tested-platforms) Python installed from the Windows store without using a virtual environment.
254 **Important**: Running `pyinstaller` directly **instead of** using `python -m bundle.pyinstaller` is **not** officially supported. This may or may not work correctly.
256 ### Platform-independent Binary (UNIX)
257 You will need the build tools `python` (3.8+), `zip`, `make` (GNU), `pandoc`\* and `pytest`\*.
259 After installing these, simply run `make`.
261 You can also run `make yt-dlp` instead to compile only the binary without updating any of the additional files. (The build tools marked with **\*** are not needed for this)
263 ### Standalone Py2Exe Builds (Windows)
265 While we provide the option to build with [py2exe](https://www.py2exe.org), it is recommended to build [using PyInstaller](#standalone-pyinstaller-builds) instead since the py2exe builds **cannot contain `pycryptodomex`/`certifi`/`requests` and need VC++14** on the target computer to run.
267 If you wish to build it anyway, install Python (if it is not already installed) and you can run the following commands:
269 ```
270 py devscripts/install_deps.py --include py2exe
271 py devscripts/make_lazy_extractors.py
272 py -m bundle.py2exe
273 ```
275 ### Related scripts
277 * **`devscripts/install_deps.py`** - Install dependencies for yt-dlp.
278 * **`devscripts/update-version.py`** - Update the version number based on the current date.
279 * **`devscripts/set-variant.py`** - Set the build variant of the executable.
280 * **`devscripts/make_changelog.py`** - Create a markdown changelog using short commit messages and update `CONTRIBUTORS` file.
281 * **`devscripts/make_lazy_extractors.py`** - Create lazy extractors. Running this before building the binaries (any variant) will improve their startup performance. Set the environment variable `YTDLP_NO_LAZY_EXTRACTORS=1` if you wish to forcefully disable lazy extractor loading.
283 Note: See their `--help` for more info.
285 ### Forking the project
286 If you fork the project on GitHub, you can run your fork's [build workflow](.github/workflows/build.yml) to automatically build the selected version(s) as artifacts. Alternatively, you can run the [release workflow](.github/workflows/release.yml) or enable the [nightly workflow](.github/workflows/release-nightly.yml) to create full (pre-)releases.
288 # USAGE AND OPTIONS
290 <!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
291 yt-dlp [OPTIONS] [--] URL [URL...]
293 `Ctrl+F` is your friend :D
294 <!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
296 <!-- Auto generated -->
297 ## General Options:
298 -h, --help Print this help text and exit
299 --version Print program version and exit
300 -U, --update Update this program to the latest version
301 --no-update Do not check for updates (default)
302 --update-to [CHANNEL]@[TAG] Upgrade/downgrade to a specific version.
303 CHANNEL can be a repository as well. CHANNEL
304 and TAG default to "stable" and "latest"
305 respectively if omitted; See "UPDATE" for
306 details. Supported channels: stable,
307 nightly, master
308 -i, --ignore-errors Ignore download and postprocessing errors.
309 The download will be considered successful
310 even if the postprocessing fails
311 --no-abort-on-error Continue with next video on download errors;
312 e.g. to skip unavailable videos in a
313 playlist (default)
314 --abort-on-error Abort downloading of further videos if an
315 error occurs (Alias: --no-ignore-errors)
316 --dump-user-agent Display the current user-agent and exit
317 --list-extractors List all supported extractors and exit
318 --extractor-descriptions Output descriptions of all supported
319 extractors and exit
320 --use-extractors NAMES Extractor names to use separated by commas.
321 You can also use regexes, "all", "default"
322 and "end" (end URL matching); e.g. --ies
323 "holodex.*,end,youtube". Prefix the name
324 with a "-" to exclude it, e.g. --ies
325 default,-generic. Use --list-extractors for
326 a list of extractor names. (Alias: --ies)
327 --default-search PREFIX Use this prefix for unqualified URLs. E.g.
328 "gvsearch2:python" downloads two videos from
329 google videos for the search term "python".
330 Use the value "auto" to let yt-dlp guess
331 ("auto_warning" to emit a warning when
332 guessing). "error" just throws an error. The
333 default value "fixup_error" repairs broken
334 URLs, but emits an error if this is not
335 possible instead of searching
336 --ignore-config Don't load any more configuration files
337 except those given to --config-locations.
338 For backward compatibility, if this option
339 is found inside the system configuration
340 file, the user configuration is not loaded.
341 (Alias: --no-config)
342 --no-config-locations Do not load any custom configuration files
343 (default). When given inside a configuration
344 file, ignore all previous --config-locations
345 defined in the current file
346 --config-locations PATH Location of the main configuration file;
347 either the path to the config or its
348 containing directory ("-" for stdin). Can be
349 used multiple times and inside other
350 configuration files
351 --flat-playlist Do not extract the videos of a playlist,
352 only list them
353 --no-flat-playlist Fully extract the videos of a playlist
354 (default)
355 --live-from-start Download livestreams from the start.
356 Currently only supported for YouTube
357 (Experimental)
358 --no-live-from-start Download livestreams from the current time
359 (default)
360 --wait-for-video MIN[-MAX] Wait for scheduled streams to become
361 available. Pass the minimum number of
362 seconds (or range) to wait between retries
363 --no-wait-for-video Do not wait for scheduled streams (default)
364 --mark-watched Mark videos watched (even with --simulate)
365 --no-mark-watched Do not mark videos watched (default)
366 --color [STREAM:]POLICY Whether to emit color codes in output,
367 optionally prefixed by the STREAM (stdout or
368 stderr) to apply the setting to. Can be one
369 of "always", "auto" (default), "never", or
370 "no_color" (use non color terminal
371 sequences). Can be used multiple times
372 --compat-options OPTS Options that can help keep compatibility
373 with youtube-dl or youtube-dlc
374 configurations by reverting some of the
375 changes made in yt-dlp. See "Differences in
376 default behavior" for details
377 --alias ALIASES OPTIONS Create aliases for an option string. Unless
378 an alias starts with a dash "-", it is
379 prefixed with "--". Arguments are parsed
380 according to the Python string formatting
381 mini-language. E.g. --alias get-audio,-X
382 "-S=aext:{0},abr -x --audio-format {0}"
383 creates options "--get-audio" and "-X" that
384 takes an argument (ARG0) and expands to
385 "-S=aext:ARG0,abr -x --audio-format ARG0".
386 All defined aliases are listed in the --help
387 output. Alias options can trigger more
388 aliases; so be careful to avoid defining
389 recursive options. As a safety measure, each
390 alias may be triggered a maximum of 100
391 times. This option can be used multiple times
393 ## Network Options:
394 --proxy URL Use the specified HTTP/HTTPS/SOCKS proxy. To
395 enable SOCKS proxy, specify a proper scheme,
396 e.g. socks5://user:pass@127.0.0.1:1080/.
397 Pass in an empty string (--proxy "") for
398 direct connection
399 --socket-timeout SECONDS Time to wait before giving up, in seconds
400 --source-address IP Client-side IP address to bind to
401 --impersonate CLIENT[:OS] Client to impersonate for requests. E.g.
402 chrome, chrome-110, chrome:windows-10. Pass
403 --impersonate="" to impersonate any client.
404 Note that forcing impersonation for all
405 requests may have a detrimental impact on
406 download speed and stability
407 --list-impersonate-targets List available clients to impersonate.
408 -4, --force-ipv4 Make all connections via IPv4
409 -6, --force-ipv6 Make all connections via IPv6
410 --enable-file-urls Enable file:// URLs. This is disabled by
411 default for security reasons.
413 ## Geo-restriction:
414 --geo-verification-proxy URL Use this proxy to verify the IP address for
415 some geo-restricted sites. The default proxy
416 specified by --proxy (or none, if the option
417 is not present) is used for the actual
418 downloading
419 --xff VALUE How to fake X-Forwarded-For HTTP header to
420 try bypassing geographic restriction. One of
421 "default" (only when known to be useful),
422 "never", an IP block in CIDR notation, or a
423 two-letter ISO 3166-2 country code
425 ## Video Selection:
426 -I, --playlist-items ITEM_SPEC Comma separated playlist_index of the items
427 to download. You can specify a range using
428 "[START]:[STOP][:STEP]". For backward
429 compatibility, START-STOP is also supported.
430 Use negative indices to count from the right
431 and negative STEP to download in reverse
432 order. E.g. "-I 1:3,7,-5::2" used on a
433 playlist of size 15 will download the items
434 at index 1,2,3,7,11,13,15
435 --min-filesize SIZE Abort download if filesize is smaller than
436 SIZE, e.g. 50k or 44.6M
437 --max-filesize SIZE Abort download if filesize is larger than
438 SIZE, e.g. 50k or 44.6M
439 --date DATE Download only videos uploaded on this date.
440 The date can be "YYYYMMDD" or in the format
441 [now|today|yesterday][-N[day|week|month|year]].
442 E.g. "--date today-2weeks" downloads only
443 videos uploaded on the same day two weeks ago
444 --datebefore DATE Download only videos uploaded on or before
445 this date. The date formats accepted is the
446 same as --date
447 --dateafter DATE Download only videos uploaded on or after
448 this date. The date formats accepted is the
449 same as --date
450 --match-filters FILTER Generic video filter. Any "OUTPUT TEMPLATE"
451 field can be compared with a number or a
452 string using the operators defined in
453 "Filtering Formats". You can also simply
454 specify a field to match if the field is
455 present, use "!field" to check if the field
456 is not present, and "&" to check multiple
457 conditions. Use a "\" to escape "&" or
458 quotes if needed. If used multiple times,
459 the filter matches if at least one of the
460 conditions is met. E.g. --match-filter
461 !is_live --match-filter "like_count>?100 &
462 description~='(?i)\bcats \& dogs\b'" matches
463 only videos that are not live OR those that
464 have a like count more than 100 (or the like
465 field is not available) and also has a
466 description that contains the phrase "cats &
467 dogs" (caseless). Use "--match-filter -" to
468 interactively ask whether to download each
469 video
470 --no-match-filters Do not use any --match-filter (default)
471 --break-match-filters FILTER Same as "--match-filters" but stops the
472 download process when a video is rejected
473 --no-break-match-filters Do not use any --break-match-filters (default)
474 --no-playlist Download only the video, if the URL refers
475 to a video and a playlist
476 --yes-playlist Download the playlist, if the URL refers to
477 a video and a playlist
478 --age-limit YEARS Download only videos suitable for the given
479 age
480 --download-archive FILE Download only videos not listed in the
481 archive file. Record the IDs of all
482 downloaded videos in it
483 --no-download-archive Do not use archive file (default)
484 --max-downloads NUMBER Abort after downloading NUMBER files
485 --break-on-existing Stop the download process when encountering
486 a file that is in the archive
487 --no-break-on-existing Do not stop the download process when
488 encountering a file that is in the archive
489 (default)
490 --break-per-input Alters --max-downloads, --break-on-existing,
491 --break-match-filter, and autonumber to
492 reset per input URL
493 --no-break-per-input --break-on-existing and similar options
494 terminates the entire download queue
495 --skip-playlist-after-errors N Number of allowed failures until the rest of
496 the playlist is skipped
498 ## Download Options:
499 -N, --concurrent-fragments N Number of fragments of a dash/hlsnative
500 video that should be downloaded concurrently
501 (default is 1)
502 -r, --limit-rate RATE Maximum download rate in bytes per second,
503 e.g. 50K or 4.2M
504 --throttled-rate RATE Minimum download rate in bytes per second
505 below which throttling is assumed and the
506 video data is re-extracted, e.g. 100K
507 -R, --retries RETRIES Number of retries (default is 10), or
508 "infinite"
509 --file-access-retries RETRIES Number of times to retry on file access
510 error (default is 3), or "infinite"
511 --fragment-retries RETRIES Number of retries for a fragment (default is
512 10), or "infinite" (DASH, hlsnative and ISM)
513 --retry-sleep [TYPE:]EXPR Time to sleep between retries in seconds
514 (optionally) prefixed by the type of retry
515 (http (default), fragment, file_access,
516 extractor) to apply the sleep to. EXPR can
517 be a number, linear=START[:END[:STEP=1]] or
518 exp=START[:END[:BASE=2]]. This option can be
519 used multiple times to set the sleep for the
520 different retry types, e.g. --retry-sleep
521 linear=1::2 --retry-sleep fragment:exp=1:20
522 --skip-unavailable-fragments Skip unavailable fragments for DASH,
523 hlsnative and ISM downloads (default)
524 (Alias: --no-abort-on-unavailable-fragments)
525 --abort-on-unavailable-fragments
526 Abort download if a fragment is unavailable
527 (Alias: --no-skip-unavailable-fragments)
528 --keep-fragments Keep downloaded fragments on disk after
529 downloading is finished
530 --no-keep-fragments Delete downloaded fragments after
531 downloading is finished (default)
532 --buffer-size SIZE Size of download buffer, e.g. 1024 or 16K
533 (default is 1024)
534 --resize-buffer The buffer size is automatically resized
535 from an initial value of --buffer-size
536 (default)
537 --no-resize-buffer Do not automatically adjust the buffer size
538 --http-chunk-size SIZE Size of a chunk for chunk-based HTTP
539 downloading, e.g. 10485760 or 10M (default
540 is disabled). May be useful for bypassing
541 bandwidth throttling imposed by a webserver
542 (experimental)
543 --playlist-random Download playlist videos in random order
544 --lazy-playlist Process entries in the playlist as they are
545 received. This disables n_entries,
546 --playlist-random and --playlist-reverse
547 --no-lazy-playlist Process videos in the playlist only after
548 the entire playlist is parsed (default)
549 --xattr-set-filesize Set file xattribute ytdl.filesize with
550 expected file size
551 --hls-use-mpegts Use the mpegts container for HLS videos;
552 allowing some players to play the video
553 while downloading, and reducing the chance
554 of file corruption if download is
555 interrupted. This is enabled by default for
556 live streams
557 --no-hls-use-mpegts Do not use the mpegts container for HLS
558 videos. This is default when not downloading
559 live streams
560 --download-sections REGEX Download only chapters that match the
561 regular expression. A "*" prefix denotes
562 time-range instead of chapter. Negative
563 timestamps are calculated from the end.
564 "*from-url" can be used to download between
565 the "start_time" and "end_time" extracted
566 from the URL. Needs ffmpeg. This option can
567 be used multiple times to download multiple
568 sections, e.g. --download-sections
569 "*10:15-inf" --download-sections "intro"
570 --downloader [PROTO:]NAME Name or path of the external downloader to
571 use (optionally) prefixed by the protocols
572 (http, ftp, m3u8, dash, rstp, rtmp, mms) to
573 use it for. Currently supports native,
574 aria2c, avconv, axel, curl, ffmpeg, httpie,
575 wget. You can use this option multiple times
576 to set different downloaders for different
577 protocols. E.g. --downloader aria2c
578 --downloader "dash,m3u8:native" will use
579 aria2c for http/ftp downloads, and the
580 native downloader for dash/m3u8 downloads
581 (Alias: --external-downloader)
582 --downloader-args NAME:ARGS Give these arguments to the external
583 downloader. Specify the downloader name and
584 the arguments separated by a colon ":". For
585 ffmpeg, arguments can be passed to different
586 positions using the same syntax as
587 --postprocessor-args. You can use this
588 option multiple times to give different
589 arguments to different downloaders (Alias:
590 --external-downloader-args)
592 ## Filesystem Options:
593 -a, --batch-file FILE File containing URLs to download ("-" for
594 stdin), one URL per line. Lines starting
595 with "#", ";" or "]" are considered as
596 comments and ignored
597 --no-batch-file Do not read URLs from batch file (default)
598 -P, --paths [TYPES:]PATH The paths where the files should be
599 downloaded. Specify the type of file and the
600 path separated by a colon ":". All the same
601 TYPES as --output are supported.
602 Additionally, you can also provide "home"
603 (default) and "temp" paths. All intermediary
604 files are first downloaded to the temp path
605 and then the final files are moved over to
606 the home path after download is finished.
607 This option is ignored if --output is an
608 absolute path
609 -o, --output [TYPES:]TEMPLATE Output filename template; see "OUTPUT
610 TEMPLATE" for details
611 --output-na-placeholder TEXT Placeholder for unavailable fields in
612 --output (default: "NA")
613 --restrict-filenames Restrict filenames to only ASCII characters,
614 and avoid "&" and spaces in filenames
615 --no-restrict-filenames Allow Unicode characters, "&" and spaces in
616 filenames (default)
617 --windows-filenames Force filenames to be Windows-compatible
618 --no-windows-filenames Make filenames Windows-compatible only if
619 using Windows (default)
620 --trim-filenames LENGTH Limit the filename length (excluding
621 extension) to the specified number of
622 characters
623 -w, --no-overwrites Do not overwrite any files
624 --force-overwrites Overwrite all video and metadata files. This
625 option includes --no-continue
626 --no-force-overwrites Do not overwrite the video, but overwrite
627 related files (default)
628 -c, --continue Resume partially downloaded files/fragments
629 (default)
630 --no-continue Do not resume partially downloaded
631 fragments. If the file is not fragmented,
632 restart download of the entire file
633 --part Use .part files instead of writing directly
634 into output file (default)
635 --no-part Do not use .part files - write directly into
636 output file
637 --mtime Use the Last-modified header to set the file
638 modification time (default)
639 --no-mtime Do not use the Last-modified header to set
640 the file modification time
641 --write-description Write video description to a .description file
642 --no-write-description Do not write video description (default)
643 --write-info-json Write video metadata to a .info.json file
644 (this may contain personal information)
645 --no-write-info-json Do not write video metadata (default)
646 --write-playlist-metafiles Write playlist metadata in addition to the
647 video metadata when using --write-info-json,
648 --write-description etc. (default)
649 --no-write-playlist-metafiles Do not write playlist metadata when using
650 --write-info-json, --write-description etc.
651 --clean-info-json Remove some internal metadata such as
652 filenames from the infojson (default)
653 --no-clean-info-json Write all fields to the infojson
654 --write-comments Retrieve video comments to be placed in the
655 infojson. The comments are fetched even
656 without this option if the extraction is
657 known to be quick (Alias: --get-comments)
658 --no-write-comments Do not retrieve video comments unless the
659 extraction is known to be quick (Alias:
660 --no-get-comments)
661 --load-info-json FILE JSON file containing the video information
662 (created with the "--write-info-json" option)
663 --cookies FILE Netscape formatted file to read cookies from
664 and dump cookie jar in
665 --no-cookies Do not read/dump cookies from/to file
666 (default)
667 --cookies-from-browser BROWSER[+KEYRING][:PROFILE][::CONTAINER]
668 The name of the browser to load cookies
669 from. Currently supported browsers are:
670 brave, chrome, chromium, edge, firefox,
671 opera, safari, vivaldi, whale. Optionally,
672 the KEYRING used for decrypting Chromium
673 cookies on Linux, the name/path of the
674 PROFILE to load cookies from, and the
675 CONTAINER name (if Firefox) ("none" for no
676 container) can be given with their
677 respective separators. By default, all
678 containers of the most recently accessed
679 profile are used. Currently supported
680 keyrings are: basictext, gnomekeyring,
681 kwallet, kwallet5, kwallet6
682 --no-cookies-from-browser Do not load cookies from browser (default)
683 --cache-dir DIR Location in the filesystem where yt-dlp can
684 store some downloaded information (such as
685 client ids and signatures) permanently. By
686 default ${XDG_CACHE_HOME}/yt-dlp
687 --no-cache-dir Disable filesystem caching
688 --rm-cache-dir Delete all filesystem cache files
690 ## Thumbnail Options:
691 --write-thumbnail Write thumbnail image to disk
692 --no-write-thumbnail Do not write thumbnail image to disk (default)
693 --write-all-thumbnails Write all thumbnail image formats to disk
694 --list-thumbnails List available thumbnails of each video.
695 Simulate unless --no-simulate is used
697 ## Internet Shortcut Options:
698 --write-link Write an internet shortcut file, depending
699 on the current platform (.url, .webloc or
700 .desktop). The URL may be cached by the OS
701 --write-url-link Write a .url Windows internet shortcut. The
702 OS caches the URL based on the file path
703 --write-webloc-link Write a .webloc macOS internet shortcut
704 --write-desktop-link Write a .desktop Linux internet shortcut
706 ## Verbosity and Simulation Options:
707 -q, --quiet Activate quiet mode. If used with --verbose,
708 print the log to stderr
709 --no-quiet Deactivate quiet mode. (Default)
710 --no-warnings Ignore warnings
711 -s, --simulate Do not download the video and do not write
712 anything to disk
713 --no-simulate Download the video even if printing/listing
714 options are used
715 --ignore-no-formats-error Ignore "No video formats" error. Useful for
716 extracting metadata even if the videos are
717 not actually available for download
718 (experimental)
719 --no-ignore-no-formats-error Throw error when no downloadable video
720 formats are found (default)
721 --skip-download Do not download the video but write all
722 related files (Alias: --no-download)
723 -O, --print [WHEN:]TEMPLATE Field name or output template to print to
724 screen, optionally prefixed with when to
725 print it, separated by a ":". Supported
726 values of "WHEN" are the same as that of
727 --use-postprocessor (default: video).
728 Implies --quiet. Implies --simulate unless
729 --no-simulate or later stages of WHEN are
730 used. This option can be used multiple times
731 --print-to-file [WHEN:]TEMPLATE FILE
732 Append given template to the file. The
733 values of WHEN and TEMPLATE are same as that
734 of --print. FILE uses the same syntax as the
735 output template. This option can be used
736 multiple times
737 -j, --dump-json Quiet, but print JSON information for each
738 video. Simulate unless --no-simulate is
739 used. See "OUTPUT TEMPLATE" for a
740 description of available keys
741 -J, --dump-single-json Quiet, but print JSON information for each
742 url or infojson passed. Simulate unless
743 --no-simulate is used. If the URL refers to
744 a playlist, the whole playlist information
745 is dumped in a single line
746 --force-write-archive Force download archive entries to be written
747 as far as no errors occur, even if -s or
748 another simulation option is used (Alias:
749 --force-download-archive)
750 --newline Output progress bar as new lines
751 --no-progress Do not print progress bar
752 --progress Show progress bar, even if in quiet mode
753 --console-title Display progress in console titlebar
754 --progress-template [TYPES:]TEMPLATE
755 Template for progress outputs, optionally
756 prefixed with one of "download:" (default),
757 "download-title:" (the console title),
758 "postprocess:", or "postprocess-title:".
759 The video's fields are accessible under the
760 "info" key and the progress attributes are
761 accessible under "progress" key. E.g.
762 --console-title --progress-template
763 "download-title:%(info.id)s-%(progress.eta)s"
764 --progress-delta SECONDS Time between progress output (default: 0)
765 -v, --verbose Print various debugging information
766 --dump-pages Print downloaded pages encoded using base64
767 to debug problems (very verbose)
768 --write-pages Write downloaded intermediary pages to files
769 in the current directory to debug problems
770 --print-traffic Display sent and read HTTP traffic
772 ## Workarounds:
773 --encoding ENCODING Force the specified encoding (experimental)
774 --legacy-server-connect Explicitly allow HTTPS connection to servers
775 that do not support RFC 5746 secure
776 renegotiation
777 --no-check-certificates Suppress HTTPS certificate validation
778 --prefer-insecure Use an unencrypted connection to retrieve
779 information about the video (Currently
780 supported only for YouTube)
781 --add-headers FIELD:VALUE Specify a custom HTTP header and its value,
782 separated by a colon ":". You can use this
783 option multiple times
784 --bidi-workaround Work around terminals that lack
785 bidirectional text support. Requires bidiv
786 or fribidi executable in PATH
787 --sleep-requests SECONDS Number of seconds to sleep between requests
788 during data extraction
789 --sleep-interval SECONDS Number of seconds to sleep before each
790 download. This is the minimum time to sleep
791 when used along with --max-sleep-interval
792 (Alias: --min-sleep-interval)
793 --max-sleep-interval SECONDS Maximum number of seconds to sleep. Can only
794 be used along with --min-sleep-interval
795 --sleep-subtitles SECONDS Number of seconds to sleep before each
796 subtitle download
798 ## Video Format Options:
799 -f, --format FORMAT Video format code, see "FORMAT SELECTION"
800 for more details
801 -S, --format-sort SORTORDER Sort the formats by the fields given, see
802 "Sorting Formats" for more details
803 --format-sort-force Force user specified sort order to have
804 precedence over all fields, see "Sorting
805 Formats" for more details (Alias: --S-force)
806 --no-format-sort-force Some fields have precedence over the user
807 specified sort order (default)
808 --video-multistreams Allow multiple video streams to be merged
809 into a single file
810 --no-video-multistreams Only one video stream is downloaded for each
811 output file (default)
812 --audio-multistreams Allow multiple audio streams to be merged
813 into a single file
814 --no-audio-multistreams Only one audio stream is downloaded for each
815 output file (default)
816 --prefer-free-formats Prefer video formats with free containers
817 over non-free ones of same quality. Use with
818 "-S ext" to strictly prefer free containers
819 irrespective of quality
820 --no-prefer-free-formats Don't give any special preference to free
821 containers (default)
822 --check-formats Make sure formats are selected only from
823 those that are actually downloadable
824 --check-all-formats Check all formats for whether they are
825 actually downloadable
826 --no-check-formats Do not check that the formats are actually
827 downloadable
828 -F, --list-formats List available formats of each video.
829 Simulate unless --no-simulate is used
830 --merge-output-format FORMAT Containers that may be used when merging
831 formats, separated by "/", e.g. "mp4/mkv".
832 Ignored if no merge is required. (currently
833 supported: avi, flv, mkv, mov, mp4, webm)
835 ## Subtitle Options:
836 --write-subs Write subtitle file
837 --no-write-subs Do not write subtitle file (default)
838 --write-auto-subs Write automatically generated subtitle file
839 (Alias: --write-automatic-subs)
840 --no-write-auto-subs Do not write auto-generated subtitles
841 (default) (Alias: --no-write-automatic-subs)
842 --list-subs List available subtitles of each video.
843 Simulate unless --no-simulate is used
844 --sub-format FORMAT Subtitle format; accepts formats preference,
845 e.g. "srt" or "ass/srt/best"
846 --sub-langs LANGS Languages of the subtitles to download (can
847 be regex) or "all" separated by commas, e.g.
848 --sub-langs "en.*,ja". You can prefix the
849 language code with a "-" to exclude it from
850 the requested languages, e.g. --sub-langs
851 all,-live_chat. Use --list-subs for a list
852 of available language tags
854 ## Authentication Options:
855 -u, --username USERNAME Login with this account ID
856 -p, --password PASSWORD Account password. If this option is left
857 out, yt-dlp will ask interactively
858 -2, --twofactor TWOFACTOR Two-factor authentication code
859 -n, --netrc Use .netrc authentication data
860 --netrc-location PATH Location of .netrc authentication data;
861 either the path or its containing directory.
862 Defaults to ~/.netrc
863 --netrc-cmd NETRC_CMD Command to execute to get the credentials
864 for an extractor.
865 --video-password PASSWORD Video-specific password
866 --ap-mso MSO Adobe Pass multiple-system operator (TV
867 provider) identifier, use --ap-list-mso for
868 a list of available MSOs
869 --ap-username USERNAME Multiple-system operator account login
870 --ap-password PASSWORD Multiple-system operator account password.
871 If this option is left out, yt-dlp will ask
872 interactively
873 --ap-list-mso List all supported multiple-system operators
874 --client-certificate CERTFILE Path to client certificate file in PEM
875 format. May include the private key
876 --client-certificate-key KEYFILE
877 Path to private key file for client
878 certificate
879 --client-certificate-password PASSWORD
880 Password for client certificate private key,
881 if encrypted. If not provided, and the key
882 is encrypted, yt-dlp will ask interactively
884 ## Post-Processing Options:
885 -x, --extract-audio Convert video files to audio-only files
886 (requires ffmpeg and ffprobe)
887 --audio-format FORMAT Format to convert the audio to when -x is
888 used. (currently supported: best (default),
889 aac, alac, flac, m4a, mp3, opus, vorbis,
890 wav). You can specify multiple rules using
891 similar syntax as --remux-video
892 --audio-quality QUALITY Specify ffmpeg audio quality to use when
893 converting the audio with -x. Insert a value
894 between 0 (best) and 10 (worst) for VBR or a
895 specific bitrate like 128K (default 5)
896 --remux-video FORMAT Remux the video into another container if
897 necessary (currently supported: avi, flv,
898 gif, mkv, mov, mp4, webm, aac, aiff, alac,
899 flac, m4a, mka, mp3, ogg, opus, vorbis,
900 wav). If target container does not support
901 the video/audio codec, remuxing will fail.
902 You can specify multiple rules; e.g.
903 "aac>m4a/mov>mp4/mkv" will remux aac to m4a,
904 mov to mp4 and anything else to mkv
905 --recode-video FORMAT Re-encode the video into another format if
906 necessary. The syntax and supported formats
907 are the same as --remux-video
908 --postprocessor-args NAME:ARGS Give these arguments to the postprocessors.
909 Specify the postprocessor/executable name
910 and the arguments separated by a colon ":"
911 to give the argument to the specified
912 postprocessor/executable. Supported PP are:
913 Merger, ModifyChapters, SplitChapters,
914 ExtractAudio, VideoRemuxer, VideoConvertor,
915 Metadata, EmbedSubtitle, EmbedThumbnail,
916 SubtitlesConvertor, ThumbnailsConvertor,
917 FixupStretched, FixupM4a, FixupM3u8,
918 FixupTimestamp and FixupDuration. The
919 supported executables are: AtomicParsley,
920 FFmpeg and FFprobe. You can also specify
921 "PP+EXE:ARGS" to give the arguments to the
922 specified executable only when being used by
923 the specified postprocessor. Additionally,
924 for ffmpeg/ffprobe, "_i"/"_o" can be
925 appended to the prefix optionally followed
926 by a number to pass the argument before the
927 specified input/output file, e.g. --ppa
928 "Merger+ffmpeg_i1:-v quiet". You can use
929 this option multiple times to give different
930 arguments to different postprocessors.
931 (Alias: --ppa)
932 -k, --keep-video Keep the intermediate video file on disk
933 after post-processing
934 --no-keep-video Delete the intermediate video file after
935 post-processing (default)
936 --post-overwrites Overwrite post-processed files (default)
937 --no-post-overwrites Do not overwrite post-processed files
938 --embed-subs Embed subtitles in the video (only for mp4,
939 webm and mkv videos)
940 --no-embed-subs Do not embed subtitles (default)
941 --embed-thumbnail Embed thumbnail in the video as cover art
942 --no-embed-thumbnail Do not embed thumbnail (default)
943 --embed-metadata Embed metadata to the video file. Also
944 embeds chapters/infojson if present unless
945 --no-embed-chapters/--no-embed-info-json are
946 used (Alias: --add-metadata)
947 --no-embed-metadata Do not add metadata to file (default)
948 (Alias: --no-add-metadata)
949 --embed-chapters Add chapter markers to the video file
950 (Alias: --add-chapters)
951 --no-embed-chapters Do not add chapter markers (default) (Alias:
952 --no-add-chapters)
953 --embed-info-json Embed the infojson as an attachment to
954 mkv/mka video files
955 --no-embed-info-json Do not embed the infojson as an attachment
956 to the video file
957 --parse-metadata [WHEN:]FROM:TO
958 Parse additional metadata like title/artist
959 from other fields; see "MODIFYING METADATA"
960 for details. Supported values of "WHEN" are
961 the same as that of --use-postprocessor
962 (default: pre_process)
963 --replace-in-metadata [WHEN:]FIELDS REGEX REPLACE
964 Replace text in a metadata field using the
965 given regex. This option can be used
966 multiple times. Supported values of "WHEN"
967 are the same as that of --use-postprocessor
968 (default: pre_process)
969 --xattrs Write metadata to the video file's xattrs
970 (using dublin core and xdg standards)
971 --concat-playlist POLICY Concatenate videos in a playlist. One of
972 "never", "always", or "multi_video"
973 (default; only when the videos form a single
974 show). All the video files must have same
975 codecs and number of streams to be
976 concatable. The "pl_video:" prefix can be
977 used with "--paths" and "--output" to set
978 the output filename for the concatenated
979 files. See "OUTPUT TEMPLATE" for details
980 --fixup POLICY Automatically correct known faults of the
981 file. One of never (do nothing), warn (only
982 emit a warning), detect_or_warn (the
983 default; fix file if we can, warn
984 otherwise), force (try fixing even if file
985 already exists)
986 --ffmpeg-location PATH Location of the ffmpeg binary; either the
987 path to the binary or its containing directory
988 --exec [WHEN:]CMD Execute a command, optionally prefixed with
989 when to execute it, separated by a ":".
990 Supported values of "WHEN" are the same as
991 that of --use-postprocessor (default:
992 after_move). Same syntax as the output
993 template can be used to pass any field as
994 arguments to the command. If no fields are
995 passed, %(filepath,_filename|)q is appended
996 to the end of the command. This option can
997 be used multiple times
998 --no-exec Remove any previously defined --exec
999 --convert-subs FORMAT Convert the subtitles to another format
1000 (currently supported: ass, lrc, srt, vtt)
1001 (Alias: --convert-subtitles)
1002 --convert-thumbnails FORMAT Convert the thumbnails to another format
1003 (currently supported: jpg, png, webp). You
1004 can specify multiple rules using similar
1005 syntax as --remux-video
1006 --split-chapters Split video into multiple files based on
1007 internal chapters. The "chapter:" prefix can
1008 be used with "--paths" and "--output" to set
1009 the output filename for the split files. See
1010 "OUTPUT TEMPLATE" for details
1011 --no-split-chapters Do not split video based on chapters (default)
1012 --remove-chapters REGEX Remove chapters whose title matches the
1013 given regular expression. The syntax is the
1014 same as --download-sections. This option can
1015 be used multiple times
1016 --no-remove-chapters Do not remove any chapters from the file
1017 (default)
1018 --force-keyframes-at-cuts Force keyframes at cuts when
1019 downloading/splitting/removing sections.
1020 This is slow due to needing a re-encode, but
1021 the resulting video may have fewer artifacts
1022 around the cuts
1023 --no-force-keyframes-at-cuts Do not force keyframes around the chapters
1024 when cutting/splitting (default)
1025 --use-postprocessor NAME[:ARGS]
1026 The (case sensitive) name of plugin
1027 postprocessors to be enabled, and
1028 (optionally) arguments to be passed to it,
1029 separated by a colon ":". ARGS are a
1030 semicolon ";" delimited list of NAME=VALUE.
1031 The "when" argument determines when the
1032 postprocessor is invoked. It can be one of
1033 "pre_process" (after video extraction),
1034 "after_filter" (after video passes filter),
1035 "video" (after --format; before
1036 --print/--output), "before_dl" (before each
1037 video download), "post_process" (after each
1038 video download; default), "after_move"
1039 (after moving video file to its final
1040 locations), "after_video" (after downloading
1041 and processing all formats of a video), or
1042 "playlist" (at end of playlist). This option
1043 can be used multiple times to add different
1044 postprocessors
1046 ## SponsorBlock Options:
1047 Make chapter entries for, or remove various segments (sponsor,
1048 introductions, etc.) from downloaded YouTube videos using the
1049 [SponsorBlock API](https://sponsor.ajay.app)
1051 --sponsorblock-mark CATS SponsorBlock categories to create chapters
1052 for, separated by commas. Available
1053 categories are sponsor, intro, outro,
1054 selfpromo, preview, filler, interaction,
1055 music_offtopic, poi_highlight, chapter, all
1056 and default (=all). You can prefix the
1057 category with a "-" to exclude it. See [1]
1058 for description of the categories. E.g.
1059 --sponsorblock-mark all,-preview
1060 [1] https://wiki.sponsor.ajay.app/w/Segment_Categories
1061 --sponsorblock-remove CATS SponsorBlock categories to be removed from
1062 the video file, separated by commas. If a
1063 category is present in both mark and remove,
1064 remove takes precedence. The syntax and
1065 available categories are the same as for
1066 --sponsorblock-mark except that "default"
1067 refers to "all,-filler" and poi_highlight,
1068 chapter are not available
1069 --sponsorblock-chapter-title TEMPLATE
1070 An output template for the title of the
1071 SponsorBlock chapters created by
1072 --sponsorblock-mark. The only available
1073 fields are start_time, end_time, category,
1074 categories, name, category_names. Defaults
1075 to "[SponsorBlock]: %(category_names)l"
1076 --no-sponsorblock Disable both --sponsorblock-mark and
1077 --sponsorblock-remove
1078 --sponsorblock-api URL SponsorBlock API location, defaults to
1079 https://sponsor.ajay.app
1081 ## Extractor Options:
1082 --extractor-retries RETRIES Number of retries for known extractor errors
1083 (default is 3), or "infinite"
1084 --allow-dynamic-mpd Process dynamic DASH manifests (default)
1085 (Alias: --no-ignore-dynamic-mpd)
1086 --ignore-dynamic-mpd Do not process dynamic DASH manifests
1087 (Alias: --no-allow-dynamic-mpd)
1088 --hls-split-discontinuity Split HLS playlists to different formats at
1089 discontinuities such as ad breaks
1090 --no-hls-split-discontinuity Do not split HLS playlists to different
1091 formats at discontinuities such as ad breaks
1092 (default)
1093 --extractor-args IE_KEY:ARGS Pass ARGS arguments to the IE_KEY extractor.
1094 See "EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS" for details. You
1095 can use this option multiple times to give
1096 arguments for different extractors
1098 # CONFIGURATION
1100 You can configure yt-dlp by placing any supported command line option to a configuration file. The configuration is loaded from the following locations:
1102 1. **Main Configuration**:
1103 * The file given to `--config-location`
1104 1. **Portable Configuration**: (Recommended for portable installations)
1105 * If using a binary, `yt-dlp.conf` in the same directory as the binary
1106 * If running from source-code, `yt-dlp.conf` in the parent directory of `yt_dlp`
1107 1. **Home Configuration**:
1108 * `yt-dlp.conf` in the home path given to `-P`
1109 * If `-P` is not given, the current directory is searched
1110 1. **User Configuration**:
1111 * `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp.conf`
1112 * `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp/config` (recommended on Linux/macOS)
1113 * `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp/config.txt`
1114 * `${APPDATA}/yt-dlp.conf`
1115 * `${APPDATA}/yt-dlp/config` (recommended on Windows)
1116 * `${APPDATA}/yt-dlp/config.txt`
1117 * `~/yt-dlp.conf`
1118 * `~/yt-dlp.conf.txt`
1119 * `~/.yt-dlp/config`
1120 * `~/.yt-dlp/config.txt`
1122 See also: [Notes about environment variables](#notes-about-environment-variables)
1123 1. **System Configuration**:
1124 * `/etc/yt-dlp.conf`
1125 * `/etc/yt-dlp/config`
1126 * `/etc/yt-dlp/config.txt`
1128 E.g. 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:
1129 ```
1130 # Lines starting with # are comments
1132 # Always extract audio
1133 -x
1135 # Do not copy the mtime
1136 --no-mtime
1138 # Use this proxy
1139 --proxy 127.0.0.1:3128
1141 # Save all videos under YouTube directory in your home directory
1142 -o ~/YouTube/%(title)s.%(ext)s
1143 ```
1145 **Note**: 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`. They must also be quoted when necessary, as if it were a UNIX shell.
1147 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 home, user, and system configurations. Additionally, (for backward compatibility) if `--ignore-config` is found inside the system configuration file, the user configuration is not loaded.
1149 ### Configuration file encoding
1151 The configuration files are decoded according to the UTF BOM if present, and in the encoding from system locale otherwise.
1153 If you want your file to be decoded differently, add `# coding: ENCODING` to the beginning of the file (e.g. `# coding: shift-jis`). There must be no characters before that, even spaces or BOM.
1155 ### Authentication with netrc
1157 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 `--netrc-location` and restrict permissions to read/write by only you:
1158 ```
1159 touch ${HOME}/.netrc
1160 chmod a-rwx,u+rw ${HOME}/.netrc
1161 ```
1162 After that, you can add credentials for an extractor in the following format, where *extractor* is the name of the extractor in lowercase:
1163 ```
1164 machine <extractor> login <username> password <password>
1165 ```
1166 E.g.
1167 ```
1168 machine youtube login myaccount@gmail.com password my_youtube_password
1169 machine twitch login my_twitch_account_name password my_twitch_password
1170 ```
1171 To activate authentication with the `.netrc` file you should pass `--netrc` to yt-dlp or place it in the [configuration file](#configuration).
1173 The default location of the .netrc file is `~` (see below).
1175 As an alternative to using the `.netrc` file, which has the disadvantage of keeping your passwords in a plain text file, you can configure a custom shell command to provide the credentials for an extractor. This is done by providing the `--netrc-cmd` parameter, it shall output the credentials in the netrc format and return `0` on success, other values will be treated as an error. `{}` in the command will be replaced by the name of the extractor to make it possible to select the credentials for the right extractor.
1177 E.g. To use an encrypted `.netrc` file stored as `.authinfo.gpg`
1178 ```
1179 yt-dlp --netrc-cmd 'gpg --decrypt ~/.authinfo.gpg' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc
1180 ```
1183 ### Notes about environment variables
1184 * Environment variables are normally specified as `${VARIABLE}`/`$VARIABLE` on UNIX and `%VARIABLE%` on Windows; but is always shown as `${VARIABLE}` in this documentation
1185 * yt-dlp also allow using UNIX-style variables on Windows for path-like options; e.g. `--output`, `--config-location`
1186 * If unset, `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}` defaults to `~/.config` and `${XDG_CACHE_HOME}` to `~/.cache`
1187 * On Windows, `~` points to `${HOME}` if present; or, `${USERPROFILE}` or `${HOMEDRIVE}${HOMEPATH}` otherwise
1188 * On Windows, `${USERPROFILE}` generally points to `C:\Users\<user name>` and `${APPDATA}` to `${USERPROFILE}\AppData\Roaming`
1190 # OUTPUT TEMPLATE
1192 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.
1194 <!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
1195 **tl;dr:** [navigate me to examples](#output-template-examples).
1196 <!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
1198 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).
1200 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/3/library/stdtypes.html#printf-style-string-formatting), e.g. `%(NAME)s` or `%(NAME)05d`. To clarify, that is a percent symbol followed by a name in parentheses, followed by formatting operations.
1202 The field names themselves (the part inside the parenthesis) can also have some special formatting:
1204 1. **Object traversal**: The dictionaries and lists available in metadata can be traversed by using a dot `.` separator; e.g. `%(tags.0)s`, `%(subtitles.en.-1.ext)s`. You can do Python slicing with colon `:`; E.g. `%(id.3:7)s`, `%(id.6:2:-1)s`, `%(formats.:.format_id)s`. Curly braces `{}` can be used to build dictionaries with only specific keys; e.g. `%(formats.:.{format_id,height})#j`. An empty field name `%()s` refers to the entire infodict; e.g. `%(.{id,title})s`. Note that all the fields that become available using this method are not listed below. Use `-j` to see such fields
1206 1. **Arithmetic**: Simple arithmetic can be done on numeric fields using `+`, `-` and `*`. E.g. `%(playlist_index+10)03d`, `%(n_entries+1-playlist_index)d`
1208 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 `>`. E.g. `%(duration>%H-%M-%S)s`, `%(upload_date>%Y-%m-%d)s`, `%(epoch-3600>%H-%M-%S)s`
1210 1. **Alternatives**: Alternate fields can be specified separated with a `,`. E.g. `%(release_date>%Y,upload_date>%Y|Unknown)s`
1212 1. **Replacement**: A replacement value can be specified using a `&` separator according to the [`str.format` mini-language](https://docs.python.org/3/library/string.html#format-specification-mini-language). If the field is *not* empty, this replacement value will be used instead of the actual field content. This is done after alternate fields are considered; thus the replacement is used if *any* of the alternative fields is *not* empty. E.g. `%(chapters&has chapters|no chapters)s`, `%(title&TITLE={:>20}|NO TITLE)s`
1214 1. **Default**: A literal default value can be specified for when the field is empty using a `|` separator. This overrides `--output-na-placeholder`. E.g. `%(uploader|Unknown)s`
1216 1. **More Conversions**: In addition to the normal format types `diouxXeEfFgGcrs`, yt-dlp additionally supports converting to `B` = **B**ytes, `j` = **j**son (flag `#` for pretty-printing, `+` for Unicode), `h` = HTML escaping, `l` = a comma separated **l**ist (flag `#` for `\n` newline-separated), `q` = a string **q**uoted for the terminal (flag `#` to split a list into different arguments), `D` = add **D**ecimal suffixes (e.g. 10M) (flag `#` to use 1024 as factor), and `S` = **S**anitize as filename (flag `#` for restricted)
1218 1. **Unicode normalization**: The format type `U` can be used for NFC [Unicode normalization](https://docs.python.org/3/library/unicodedata.html#unicodedata.normalize). The alternate form flag (`#`) changes the normalization to NFD and the conversion flag `+` can be used for NFKC/NFKD compatibility equivalence normalization. E.g. `%(title)+.100U` is NFKC
1220 To summarize, the general syntax for a field is:
1221 ```
1222 %(name[.keys][addition][>strf][,alternate][&replacement][|default])[flags][width][.precision][length]type
1223 ```
1225 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` (deprecated), `infojson`, `link`, `pl_thumbnail`, `pl_description`, `pl_infojson`, `chapter`, `pl_video`. E.g. `-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. If any of the templates is empty, that type of file will not be written. E.g. `--write-thumbnail -o "thumbnail:"` will write thumbnails only for playlists and not for video.
1227 <a id="outtmpl-postprocess-note"></a>
1229 **Note**: Due to post-processing (i.e. merging etc.), the actual output filename might differ. Use `--print after_move:filepath` to get the name after all post-processing is complete.
1231 The available fields are:
1233 - `id` (string): Video identifier
1234 - `title` (string): Video title
1235 - `fulltitle` (string): Video title ignoring live timestamp and generic title
1236 - `ext` (string): Video filename extension
1237 - `alt_title` (string): A secondary title of the video
1238 - `description` (string): The description of the video
1239 - `display_id` (string): An alternative identifier for the video
1240 - `uploader` (string): Full name of the video uploader
1241 - `uploader_id` (string): Nickname or id of the video uploader
1242 - `uploader_url` (string): URL to the video uploader's profile
1243 - `license` (string): License name the video is licensed under
1244 - `creators` (list): The creators of the video
1245 - `creator` (string): The creators of the video; comma-separated
1246 - `timestamp` (numeric): UNIX timestamp of the moment the video became available
1247 - `upload_date` (string): Video upload date in UTC (YYYYMMDD)
1248 - `release_timestamp` (numeric): UNIX timestamp of the moment the video was released
1249 - `release_date` (string): The date (YYYYMMDD) when the video was released in UTC
1250 - `release_year` (numeric): Year (YYYY) when the video or album was released
1251 - `modified_timestamp` (numeric): UNIX timestamp of the moment the video was last modified
1252 - `modified_date` (string): The date (YYYYMMDD) when the video was last modified in UTC
1253 - `channel` (string): Full name of the channel the video is uploaded on
1254 - `channel_id` (string): Id of the channel
1255 - `channel_url` (string): URL of the channel
1256 - `channel_follower_count` (numeric): Number of followers of the channel
1257 - `channel_is_verified` (boolean): Whether the channel is verified on the platform
1258 - `location` (string): Physical location where the video was filmed
1259 - `duration` (numeric): Length of the video in seconds
1260 - `duration_string` (string): Length of the video (HH:mm:ss)
1261 - `view_count` (numeric): How many users have watched the video on the platform
1262 - `concurrent_view_count` (numeric): How many users are currently watching the video on the platform.
1263 - `like_count` (numeric): Number of positive ratings of the video
1264 - `dislike_count` (numeric): Number of negative ratings of the video
1265 - `repost_count` (numeric): Number of reposts of the video
1266 - `average_rating` (numeric): Average rating give by users, the scale used depends on the webpage
1267 - `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)
1268 - `age_limit` (numeric): Age restriction for the video (years)
1269 - `live_status` (string): One of "not_live", "is_live", "is_upcoming", "was_live", "post_live" (was live, but VOD is not yet processed)
1270 - `is_live` (boolean): Whether this video is a live stream or a fixed-length video
1271 - `was_live` (boolean): Whether this video was originally a live stream
1272 - `playable_in_embed` (string): Whether this video is allowed to play in embedded players on other sites
1273 - `availability` (string): Whether the video is "private", "premium_only", "subscriber_only", "needs_auth", "unlisted" or "public"
1274 - `media_type` (string): The type of media as classified by the site, e.g. "episode", "clip", "trailer"
1275 - `start_time` (numeric): Time in seconds where the reproduction should start, as specified in the URL
1276 - `end_time` (numeric): Time in seconds where the reproduction should end, as specified in the URL
1277 - `extractor` (string): Name of the extractor
1278 - `extractor_key` (string): Key name of the extractor
1279 - `epoch` (numeric): Unix epoch of when the information extraction was completed
1280 - `autonumber` (numeric): Number that will be increased with each download, starting at `--autonumber-start`, padded with leading zeros to 5 digits
1281 - `video_autonumber` (numeric): Number that will be increased with each video
1282 - `n_entries` (numeric): Total number of extracted items in the playlist
1283 - `playlist_id` (string): Identifier of the playlist that contains the video
1284 - `playlist_title` (string): Name of the playlist that contains the video
1285 - `playlist` (string): `playlist_title` if available or else `playlist_id`
1286 - `playlist_count` (numeric): Total number of items in the playlist. May not be known if entire playlist is not extracted
1287 - `playlist_index` (numeric): Index of the video in the playlist padded with leading zeros according the final index
1288 - `playlist_autonumber` (numeric): Position of the video in the playlist download queue padded with leading zeros according to the total length of the playlist
1289 - `playlist_uploader` (string): Full name of the playlist uploader
1290 - `playlist_uploader_id` (string): Nickname or id of the playlist uploader
1291 - `playlist_channel` (string): Display name of the channel that uploaded the playlist
1292 - `playlist_channel_id` (string): Identifier of the channel that uploaded the playlist
1293 - `webpage_url` (string): A URL to the video webpage which, if given to yt-dlp, should yield the same result again
1294 - `webpage_url_basename` (string): The basename of the webpage URL
1295 - `webpage_url_domain` (string): The domain of the webpage URL
1296 - `original_url` (string): The URL given by the user (or same as `webpage_url` for playlist entries)
1297 - `categories` (list): List of categories the video belongs to
1298 - `tags` (list): List of tags assigned to the video
1299 - `cast` (list): List of cast members
1301 All the fields in [Filtering Formats](#filtering-formats) can also be used
1303 Available for the video that belongs to some logical chapter or section:
1305 - `chapter` (string): Name or title of the chapter the video belongs to
1306 - `chapter_number` (numeric): Number of the chapter the video belongs to
1307 - `chapter_id` (string): Id of the chapter the video belongs to
1309 Available for the video that is an episode of some series or program:
1311 - `series` (string): Title of the series or program the video episode belongs to
1312 - `series_id` (string): Id of the series or program the video episode belongs to
1313 - `season` (string): Title of the season the video episode belongs to
1314 - `season_number` (numeric): Number of the season the video episode belongs to
1315 - `season_id` (string): Id of the season the video episode belongs to
1316 - `episode` (string): Title of the video episode
1317 - `episode_number` (numeric): Number of the video episode within a season
1318 - `episode_id` (string): Id of the video episode
1320 Available for the media that is a track or a part of a music album:
1322 - `track` (string): Title of the track
1323 - `track_number` (numeric): Number of the track within an album or a disc
1324 - `track_id` (string): Id of the track
1325 - `artists` (list): Artist(s) of the track
1326 - `artist` (string): Artist(s) of the track; comma-separated
1327 - `genres` (list): Genre(s) of the track
1328 - `genre` (string): Genre(s) of the track; comma-separated
1329 - `composers` (list): Composer(s) of the piece
1330 - `composer` (string): Composer(s) of the piece; comma-separated
1331 - `album` (string): Title of the album the track belongs to
1332 - `album_type` (string): Type of the album
1333 - `album_artists` (list): All artists appeared on the album
1334 - `album_artist` (string): All artists appeared on the album; comma-separated
1335 - `disc_number` (numeric): Number of the disc or other physical medium the track belongs to
1337 Available only when using `--download-sections` and for `chapter:` prefix when using `--split-chapters` for videos with internal chapters:
1339 - `section_title` (string): Title of the chapter
1340 - `section_number` (numeric): Number of the chapter within the file
1341 - `section_start` (numeric): Start time of the chapter in seconds
1342 - `section_end` (numeric): End time of the chapter in seconds
1344 Available only when used in `--print`:
1346 - `urls` (string): The URLs of all requested formats, one in each line
1347 - `filename` (string): Name of the video file. Note that the [actual filename may differ](#outtmpl-postprocess-note)
1348 - `formats_table` (table): The video format table as printed by `--list-formats`
1349 - `thumbnails_table` (table): The thumbnail format table as printed by `--list-thumbnails`
1350 - `subtitles_table` (table): The subtitle format table as printed by `--list-subs`
1351 - `automatic_captions_table` (table): The automatic subtitle format table as printed by `--list-subs`
1353 Available only after the video is downloaded (`post_process`/`after_move`):
1355 - `filepath`: Actual path of downloaded video file
1357 Available only in `--sponsorblock-chapter-title`:
1359 - `start_time` (numeric): Start time of the chapter in seconds
1360 - `end_time` (numeric): End time of the chapter in seconds
1361 - `categories` (list): The [SponsorBlock categories](https://wiki.sponsor.ajay.app/w/Types#Category) the chapter belongs to
1362 - `category` (string): The smallest SponsorBlock category the chapter belongs to
1363 - `category_names` (list): Friendly names of the categories
1364 - `name` (string): Friendly name of the smallest category
1365 - `type` (string): The [SponsorBlock action type](https://wiki.sponsor.ajay.app/w/Types#Action_Type) of the chapter
1367 Each aforementioned sequence when referenced in an output template will be replaced by the actual value corresponding to the sequence name. E.g. 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.
1369 **Note**: 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).
1371 **Tip**: Look at the `-j` output to identify which fields are available for the particular URL
1373 For numeric sequences you can use [numeric related formatting](https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#printf-style-string-formatting); e.g. `%(view_count)05d` will result in a string with view count padded with zeros up to 5 characters, like in `00042`.
1375 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.
1377 To use percent literals in an output template use `%%`. To output to stdout use `-o -`.
1379 The current default template is `%(title)s [%(id)s].%(ext)s`.
1381 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.
1383 #### Output template examples
1385 ```bash
1386 $ yt-dlp --print filename -o "test video.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc
1387 test video.webm # Literal name with correct extension
1389 $ yt-dlp --print filename -o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc
1390 youtube-dl test video ''_ä↭𝕐.webm # All kinds of weird characters
1392 $ yt-dlp --print filename -o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc --restrict-filenames
1393 youtube-dl_test_video_.webm # Restricted file name
1395 # Download YouTube playlist videos in separate directory indexed by video order in a playlist
1396 $ yt-dlp -o "%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s" "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwiyx1dc3P2JR9N8gQaQN_BCvlSlap7re"
1398 # Download YouTube playlist videos in separate directories according to their uploaded year
1399 $ yt-dlp -o "%(upload_date>%Y)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwiyx1dc3P2JR9N8gQaQN_BCvlSlap7re"
1401 # Prefix playlist index with " - " separator, but only if it is available
1402 $ yt-dlp -o "%(playlist_index&{} - |)s%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc "https://www.youtube.com/user/TheLinuxFoundation/playlists"
1404 # Download all playlists of YouTube channel/user keeping each playlist in separate directory:
1405 $ yt-dlp -o "%(uploader)s/%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s" "https://www.youtube.com/user/TheLinuxFoundation/playlists"
1407 # Download Udemy course keeping each chapter in separate directory under MyVideos directory in your home
1408 $ 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"
1410 # Download entire series season keeping each series and each season in separate directory under C:/MyVideos
1411 $ 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"
1413 # Download video as "C:\MyVideos\uploader\title.ext", subtitles as "C:\MyVideos\subs\uploader\title.ext"
1414 # and put all temporary files in "C:\MyVideos\tmp"
1415 $ yt-dlp -P "C:/MyVideos" -P "temp:tmp" -P "subtitle:subs" -o "%(uploader)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenoz --write-subs
1417 # Download video as "C:\MyVideos\uploader\title.ext" and subtitles as "C:\MyVideos\uploader\subs\title.ext"
1418 $ yt-dlp -P "C:/MyVideos" -o "%(uploader)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s" -o "subtitle:%(uploader)s/subs/%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc --write-subs
1420 # Stream the video being downloaded to stdout
1421 $ yt-dlp -o - BaW_jenozKc
1422 ```
1424 # FORMAT SELECTION
1426 By default, yt-dlp tries to download the best available quality if you **don't** pass any options.
1427 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`.
1429 **Deprecation warning**: Latest versions of yt-dlp can stream multiple formats to the stdout simultaneously using ffmpeg. So, in future versions, the default for this will be set to `-f bv*+ba/b` similar to normal downloads. If you want to preserve the `-f b/bv+ba` setting, it is recommended to explicitly specify it in the configuration options.
1431 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.
1433 <!-- MANPAGE: BEGIN EXCLUDED SECTION -->
1434 **tl;dr:** [navigate me to examples](#format-selection-examples).
1435 <!-- MANPAGE: END EXCLUDED SECTION -->
1437 The simplest case is requesting a specific format; e.g. 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.
1439 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.
1441 You can use `-f -` to interactively provide the format selector *for each video*
1443 You can also use special names to select particular edge case formats:
1445 - `all`: Select **all formats** separately
1446 - `mergeall`: Select and **merge all formats** (Must be used with `--audio-multistreams`, `--video-multistreams` or both)
1447 - `b*`, `best*`: Select the best quality format that **contains either** a video or an audio or both (i.e.; `vcodec!=none or acodec!=none`)
1448 - `b`, `best`: Select the best quality format that **contains both** video and audio. Equivalent to `best*[vcodec!=none][acodec!=none]`
1449 - `bv`, `bestvideo`: Select the best quality **video-only** format. Equivalent to `best*[acodec=none]`
1450 - `bv*`, `bestvideo*`: Select the best quality format that **contains video**. It may also contain audio. Equivalent to `best*[vcodec!=none]`
1451 - `ba`, `bestaudio`: Select the best quality **audio-only** format. Equivalent to `best*[vcodec=none]`
1452 - `ba*`, `bestaudio*`: Select the best quality format that **contains audio**. It may also contain video. Equivalent to `best*[acodec!=none]` ([Do not use!](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/979#issuecomment-919629354))
1453 - `w*`, `worst*`: Select the worst quality format that contains either a video or an audio
1454 - `w`, `worst`: Select the worst quality format that contains both video and audio. Equivalent to `worst*[vcodec!=none][acodec!=none]`
1455 - `wv`, `worstvideo`: Select the worst quality video-only format. Equivalent to `worst*[acodec=none]`
1456 - `wv*`, `worstvideo*`: Select the worst quality format that contains video. It may also contain audio. Equivalent to `worst*[vcodec!=none]`
1457 - `wa`, `worstaudio`: Select the worst quality audio-only format. Equivalent to `worst*[vcodec=none]`
1458 - `wa*`, `worstaudio*`: Select the worst quality format that contains audio. It may also contain video. Equivalent to `worst*[acodec!=none]`
1460 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 `-S +size` or more rigorously, `-S +size,+br,+res,+fps` instead of `-f worst`. See [Sorting Formats](#sorting-formats) for more details.
1462 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.
1464 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; e.g. `-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.
1466 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`.
1468 You can merge the video and audio of multiple formats into a single file using `-f <format1>+<format2>+...` (requires ffmpeg installed); e.g. `-f bestvideo+bestaudio` will download the best video-only format, the best audio-only format and mux them together with ffmpeg.
1470 **Deprecation warning**: Since the *below* described behavior is complex and counter-intuitive, this will be removed and multistreams will be enabled by default in the future. A new operator will be instead added to limit formats to single audio/video
1472 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. E.g. `-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 only `best` while `-f bestaudio+best --no-audio-multistreams` will ignore `best` and download only `bestaudio`.
1474 ## Filtering Formats
1476 You can also filter the video formats by putting a condition in brackets, as in `-f "best[height=720]"` (or `-f "[filesize>10M]"` since filters without a selector are interpreted as `best`).
1478 The following numeric meta fields can be used with comparisons `<`, `<=`, `>`, `>=`, `=` (equals), `!=` (not equals):
1480 - `filesize`: The number of bytes, if known in advance
1481 - `filesize_approx`: An estimate for the number of bytes
1482 - `width`: Width of the video, if known
1483 - `height`: Height of the video, if known
1484 - `aspect_ratio`: Aspect ratio of the video, if known
1485 - `tbr`: Average bitrate of audio and video in [kbps](## "1000 bits/sec")
1486 - `abr`: Average audio bitrate in [kbps](## "1000 bits/sec")
1487 - `vbr`: Average video bitrate in [kbps](## "1000 bits/sec")
1488 - `asr`: Audio sampling rate in Hertz
1489 - `fps`: Frame rate
1490 - `audio_channels`: The number of audio channels
1491 - `stretched_ratio`: `width:height` of the video's pixels, if not square
1493 Also filtering work for comparisons `=` (equals), `^=` (starts with), `$=` (ends with), `*=` (contains), `~=` (matches regex) and following string meta fields:
1495 - `url`: Video URL
1496 - `ext`: File extension
1497 - `acodec`: Name of the audio codec in use
1498 - `vcodec`: Name of the video codec in use
1499 - `container`: Name of the container format
1500 - `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`)
1501 - `language`: Language code
1502 - `dynamic_range`: The dynamic range of the video
1503 - `format_id`: A short description of the format
1504 - `format`: A human-readable description of the format
1505 - `format_note`: Additional info about the format
1506 - `resolution`: Textual description of width and height
1508 Any string comparison may be prefixed with negation `!` in order to produce an opposite comparison, e.g. `!*=` (does not contain). The comparand of a string comparison needs to be quoted with either double or single quotes if it contains spaces or special characters other than `._-`.
1510 **Note**: None of the aforementioned meta fields are guaranteed to be present since this solely depends on the metadata obtained by the particular extractor, i.e. the metadata offered by the website. Any other field made available by the extractor can also be used for filtering.
1512 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 "bv[height<=?720][tbr>500]"` selects up to 720p videos (or videos where the height is not known) with a bitrate of at least 500 kbps. You can also use the filters with `all` to download all formats that satisfy the filter, e.g. `-f "all[vcodec=none]"` selects all audio-only formats.
1514 Format selectors can also be grouped using parentheses; e.g. `-f "(mp4,webm)[height<480]"` will download the best pre-merged mp4 and webm formats with a height lower than 480.
1516 ## Sorting Formats
1518 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...`.
1520 The available fields are:
1522 - `hasvid`: Gives priority to formats that have a video stream
1523 - `hasaud`: Gives priority to formats that have an audio stream
1524 - `ie_pref`: The format preference
1525 - `lang`: The language preference
1526 - `quality`: The quality of the format
1527 - `source`: The preference of the source
1528 - `proto`: Protocol used for download (`https`/`ftps` > `http`/`ftp` > `m3u8_native`/`m3u8` > `http_dash_segments`> `websocket_frag` > `mms`/`rtsp` > `f4f`/`f4m`)
1529 - `vcodec`: Video Codec (`av01` > `vp9.2` > `vp9` > `h265` > `h264` > `vp8` > `h263` > `theora` > other)
1530 - `acodec`: Audio Codec (`flac`/`alac` > `wav`/`aiff` > `opus` > `vorbis` > `aac` > `mp4a` > `mp3` > `ac4` > `eac3` > `ac3` > `dts` > other)
1531 - `codec`: Equivalent to `vcodec,acodec`
1532 - `vext`: Video Extension (`mp4` > `mov` > `webm` > `flv` > other). If `--prefer-free-formats` is used, `webm` is preferred.
1533 - `aext`: Audio Extension (`m4a` > `aac` > `mp3` > `ogg` > `opus` > `webm` > other). If `--prefer-free-formats` is used, the order changes to `ogg` > `opus` > `webm` > `mp3` > `m4a` > `aac`
1534 - `ext`: Equivalent to `vext,aext`
1535 - `filesize`: Exact filesize, if known in advance
1536 - `fs_approx`: Approximate filesize
1537 - `size`: Exact filesize if available, otherwise approximate filesize
1538 - `height`: Height of video
1539 - `width`: Width of video
1540 - `res`: Video resolution, calculated as the smallest dimension.
1541 - `fps`: Framerate of video
1542 - `hdr`: The dynamic range of the video (`DV` > `HDR12` > `HDR10+` > `HDR10` > `HLG` > `SDR`)
1543 - `channels`: The number of audio channels
1544 - `tbr`: Total average bitrate in [kbps](## "1000 bits/sec")
1545 - `vbr`: Average video bitrate in [kbps](## "1000 bits/sec")
1546 - `abr`: Average audio bitrate in [kbps](## "1000 bits/sec")
1547 - `br`: Average bitrate in [kbps](## "1000 bits/sec"), `tbr`/`vbr`/`abr`
1548 - `asr`: Audio sample rate in Hz
1550 **Deprecation warning**: Many of these fields have (currently undocumented) aliases, that may be removed in a future version. It is recommended to use only the documented field names.
1552 All fields, unless specified otherwise, are sorted in descending order. To reverse this, prefix the field with a `+`. E.g. `+res` prefers format with the smallest resolution. Additionally, you can suffix a preferred value for the fields, separated by a `:`. E.g. `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. E.g. `+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. E.g. `filesize~1G` prefers the format with filesize closest to 1 GiB.
1554 The fields `hasvid` and `ie_pref` are always given highest priority in sorting, irrespective of the user-defined order. This behavior can be changed by using `--format-sort-force`. Apart from these, the default order used is: `lang,quality,res,fps,hdr:12,vcodec:vp9.2,channels,acodec,size,br,asr,proto,ext,hasaud,source,id`. The extractors may override this default order, but they cannot override the user-provided order.
1556 Note that the default has `vcodec:vp9.2`; i.e. `av1` is not preferred. Similarly, the default for hdr is `hdr:12`; i.e. Dolby Vision is not preferred. These choices are made since DV and AV1 formats are not yet fully compatible with most devices. This may be changed in the future as more devices become capable of smoothly playing back these formats.
1558 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`.
1560 **Tip**: You can use the `-v -F` to see how the formats have been sorted (worst to best).
1562 ## Format Selection examples
1564 ```bash
1565 # Download and merge the best video-only format and the best audio-only format,
1566 # or download the best combined format if video-only format is not available
1567 $ yt-dlp -f "bv+ba/b"
1569 # Download best format that contains video,
1570 # and if it doesn't already have an audio stream, merge it with best audio-only format
1571 $ yt-dlp -f "bv*+ba/b"
1573 # Same as above
1574 $ yt-dlp
1576 # Download the best video-only format and the best audio-only format without merging them
1577 # For this case, an output template should be used since
1578 # by default, bestvideo and bestaudio will have the same file name.
1579 $ yt-dlp -f "bv,ba" -o "%(title)s.f%(format_id)s.%(ext)s"
1581 # Download and merge the best format that has a video stream,
1582 # and all audio-only formats into one file
1583 $ yt-dlp -f "bv*+mergeall[vcodec=none]" --audio-multistreams
1585 # Download and merge the best format that has a video stream,
1586 # and the best 2 audio-only formats into one file
1587 $ yt-dlp -f "bv*+ba+ba.2" --audio-multistreams
1590 # The following examples show the old method (without -S) of format selection
1591 # and how to use -S to achieve a similar but (generally) better result
1593 # Download the worst video available (old method)
1594 $ yt-dlp -f "wv*+wa/w"
1596 # Download the best video available but with the smallest resolution
1597 $ yt-dlp -S "+res"
1599 # Download the smallest video available
1600 $ yt-dlp -S "+size,+br"
1604 # Download the best mp4 video available, or the best video if no mp4 available
1605 $ yt-dlp -f "bv*[ext=mp4]+ba[ext=m4a]/b[ext=mp4] / bv*+ba/b"
1607 # Download the best video with the best extension
1608 # (For video, mp4 > mov > webm > flv. For audio, m4a > aac > mp3 ...)
1609 $ yt-dlp -S "ext"
1613 # Download the best video available but no better than 480p,
1614 # or the worst video if there is no video under 480p
1615 $ yt-dlp -f "bv*[height<=480]+ba/b[height<=480] / wv*+ba/w"
1617 # Download the best video available with the largest height but no better than 480p,
1618 # or the best video with the smallest resolution if there is no video under 480p
1619 $ yt-dlp -S "height:480"
1621 # Download the best video available with the largest resolution but no better than 480p,
1622 # or the best video with the smallest resolution if there is no video under 480p
1623 # Resolution is determined by using the smallest dimension.
1624 # So this works correctly for vertical videos as well
1625 $ yt-dlp -S "res:480"
1629 # Download the best video (that also has audio) but no bigger than 50 MB,
1630 # or the worst video (that also has audio) if there is no video under 50 MB
1631 $ yt-dlp -f "b[filesize<50M] / w"
1633 # Download largest video (that also has audio) but no bigger than 50 MB,
1634 # or the smallest video (that also has audio) if there is no video under 50 MB
1635 $ yt-dlp -f "b" -S "filesize:50M"
1637 # Download best video (that also has audio) that is closest in size to 50 MB
1638 $ yt-dlp -f "b" -S "filesize~50M"
1642 # Download best video available via direct link over HTTP/HTTPS protocol,
1643 # or the best video available via any protocol if there is no such video
1644 $ yt-dlp -f "(bv*+ba/b)[protocol^=http][protocol!*=dash] / (bv*+ba/b)"
1646 # Download best video available via the best protocol
1647 # (https/ftps > http/ftp > m3u8_native > m3u8 > http_dash_segments ...)
1648 $ yt-dlp -S "proto"
1652 # Download the best video with either h264 or h265 codec,
1653 # or the best video if there is no such video
1654 $ yt-dlp -f "(bv*[vcodec~='^((he|a)vc|h26[45])']+ba) / (bv*+ba/b)"
1656 # Download the best video with best codec no better than h264,
1657 # or the best video with worst codec if there is no such video
1658 $ yt-dlp -S "codec:h264"
1660 # Download the best video with worst codec no worse than h264,
1661 # or the best video with best codec if there is no such video
1662 $ yt-dlp -S "+codec:h264"
1666 # More complex examples
1668 # Download the best video no better than 720p preferring framerate greater than 30,
1669 # or the worst video (still preferring framerate greater than 30) if there is no such video
1670 $ yt-dlp -f "((bv*[fps>30]/bv*)[height<=720]/(wv*[fps>30]/wv*)) + ba / (b[fps>30]/b)[height<=720]/(w[fps>30]/w)"
1672 # Download the video with the largest resolution no better than 720p,
1673 # or the video with the smallest resolution available if there is no such video,
1674 # preferring larger framerate for formats with the same resolution
1675 $ yt-dlp -S "res:720,fps"
1679 # Download the video with smallest resolution no worse than 480p,
1680 # or the video with the largest resolution available if there is no such video,
1681 # preferring better codec and then larger total bitrate for the same resolution
1682 $ yt-dlp -S "+res:480,codec,br"
1683 ```
1685 # MODIFYING METADATA
1687 The metadata obtained by the extractors can be modified by using `--parse-metadata` and `--replace-in-metadata`
1689 `--replace-in-metadata FIELDS REGEX REPLACE` is used to replace text in any metadata field using [Python regular expression](https://docs.python.org/3/library/re.html#regular-expression-syntax). [Backreferences](https://docs.python.org/3/library/re.html?highlight=backreferences#re.sub) can be used in the replace string for advanced use.
1691 The general syntax of `--parse-metadata FROM:TO` is to give the name of a field or an [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, a single field name, 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.
1693 Note that these options preserve their relative order, allowing replacements to be made in parsed fields and viceversa. Also, any field thus created can be used in the [output template](#output-template) and will also affect the media file's metadata added when using `--embed-metadata`.
1695 This option also has a few special uses:
1697 * 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. E.g. `--parse-metadata "description:(?P<additional_urls>https?://www\.vimeo\.com/\d+)"` will download the first vimeo video found in the description
1699 * 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". To modify the metadata of individual streams, use the `meta<n>_` prefix (e.g. `meta1_language`). Any value set to the `meta_` field will overwrite all default values.
1701 **Note**: Metadata modification happens before format selection, post-extraction and other post-processing operations. Some fields may be added or changed during these steps, overriding your changes.
1703 For reference, these are the fields yt-dlp adds by default to the file metadata:
1705 Metadata fields | From
1706 :--------------------------|:------------------------------------------------
1707 `title` | `track` or `title`
1708 `date` | `upload_date`
1709 `description`, `synopsis` | `description`
1710 `purl`, `comment` | `webpage_url`
1711 `track` | `track_number`
1712 `artist` | `artist`, `artists`, `creator`, `creators`, `uploader` or `uploader_id`
1713 `composer` | `composer` or `composers`
1714 `genre` | `genre` or `genres`
1715 `album` | `album`
1716 `album_artist` | `album_artist` or `album_artists`
1717 `disc` | `disc_number`
1718 `show` | `series`
1719 `season_number` | `season_number`
1720 `episode_id` | `episode` or `episode_id`
1721 `episode_sort` | `episode_number`
1722 `language` of each stream | the format's `language`
1724 **Note**: The file format may not support some of these fields
1727 ## Modifying metadata examples
1729 ```bash
1730 # Interpret the title as "Artist - Title"
1731 $ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "title:%(artist)s - %(title)s"
1733 # Regex example
1734 $ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "description:Artist - (?P<artist>.+)"
1736 # Set title as "Series name S01E05"
1737 $ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "%(series)s S%(season_number)02dE%(episode_number)02d:%(title)s"
1739 # Prioritize uploader as the "artist" field in video metadata
1740 $ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "%(uploader|)s:%(meta_artist)s" --embed-metadata
1742 # Set "comment" field in video metadata using description instead of webpage_url,
1743 # handling multiple lines correctly
1744 $ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "description:(?s)(?P<meta_comment>.+)" --embed-metadata
1746 # Do not set any "synopsis" in the video metadata
1747 $ yt-dlp --parse-metadata ":(?P<meta_synopsis>)"
1749 # Remove "formats" field from the infojson by setting it to an empty string
1750 $ yt-dlp --parse-metadata "video::(?P<formats>)" --write-info-json
1752 # Replace all spaces and "_" in title and uploader with a `-`
1753 $ yt-dlp --replace-in-metadata "title,uploader" "[ _]" "-"
1755 ```
1757 # EXTRACTOR ARGUMENTS
1759 Some extractors accept additional arguments which can be passed using `--extractor-args KEY:ARGS`. `ARGS` is a `;` (semicolon) separated string of `ARG=VAL1,VAL2`. E.g. `--extractor-args "youtube:player-client=android_embedded,web;formats=incomplete" --extractor-args "funimation:version=uncut"`
1761 Note: In CLI, `ARG` can use `-` instead of `_`; e.g. `youtube:player-client"` becomes `youtube:player_client"`
1763 The following extractors use this feature:
1765 #### youtube
1766 * `lang`: Prefer translated metadata (`title`, `description` etc) of this language code (case-sensitive). By default, the video primary language metadata is preferred, with a fallback to `en` translated. See [youtube.py](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/c26f9b991a0681fd3ea548d535919cec1fbbd430/yt_dlp/extractor/youtube.py#L381-L390) for list of supported content language codes
1767 * `skip`: One or more of `hls`, `dash` or `translated_subs` to skip extraction of the m3u8 manifests, dash manifests and [auto-translated subtitles](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/4090#issuecomment-1158102032) respectively
1768 * `player_client`: Clients to extract video data from. The main clients are `web`, `ios` and `android`, with variants `_music`, `_embedded`, `_embedscreen`, `_creator` (e.g. `web_embedded`); and `mediaconnect`, `mweb`, `mweb_embedscreen` and `tv_embedded` (agegate bypass) with no variants. By default, `ios,web` is used, but `tv_embedded` and `creator` variants are added as required for age-gated videos. Similarly, the music variants are added for `music.youtube.com` urls. The `android` clients will always be given lowest priority since their formats are broken. You can use `all` to use all the clients, and `default` for the default clients.
1769 * `player_skip`: Skip some network requests that are generally needed for robust extraction. One or more of `configs` (skip client configs), `webpage` (skip initial webpage), `js` (skip js player). While these options can help reduce the number of requests needed or avoid some rate-limiting, they could cause some issues. See [#860](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/pull/860) for more details
1770 * `player_params`: YouTube player parameters to use for player requests. Will overwrite any default ones set by yt-dlp.
1771 * `comment_sort`: `top` or `new` (default) - choose comment sorting mode (on YouTube's side)
1772 * `max_comments`: Limit the amount of comments to gather. Comma-separated list of integers representing `max-comments,max-parents,max-replies,max-replies-per-thread`. Default is `all,all,all,all`
1773 * E.g. `all,all,1000,10` will get a maximum of 1000 replies total, with up to 10 replies per thread. `1000,all,100` will get a maximum of 1000 comments, with a maximum of 100 replies total
1774 * `formats`: Change the types of formats to return. `dashy` (convert HTTP to DASH), `duplicate` (identical content but different URLs or protocol; includes `dashy`), `incomplete` (cannot be downloaded completely - live dash and post-live m3u8)
1775 * `innertube_host`: Innertube API host to use for all API requests; e.g. `studio.youtube.com`, `youtubei.googleapis.com`. Note that cookies exported from one subdomain will not work on others
1776 * `innertube_key`: Innertube API key to use for all API requests
1777 * `raise_incomplete_data`: `Incomplete Data Received` raises an error instead of reporting a warning
1779 #### youtubetab (YouTube playlists, channels, feeds, etc.)
1780 * `skip`: One or more of `webpage` (skip initial webpage download), `authcheck` (allow the download of playlists requiring authentication when no initial webpage is downloaded. This may cause unwanted behavior, see [#1122](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/pull/1122) for more details)
1781 * `approximate_date`: Extract approximate `upload_date` and `timestamp` in flat-playlist. This may cause date-based filters to be slightly off
1783 #### generic
1784 * `fragment_query`: Passthrough any query in mpd/m3u8 manifest URLs to their fragments if no value is provided, or else apply the query string given as `fragment_query=VALUE`. Note that if the stream has an HLS AES-128 key, then the query parameters will be passed to the key URI as well, unless the `key_query` extractor-arg is passed, or unless an external key URI is provided via the `hls_key` extractor-arg. Does not apply to ffmpeg
1785 * `variant_query`: Passthrough the master m3u8 URL query to its variant playlist URLs if no value is provided, or else apply the query string given as `variant_query=VALUE`
1786 * `key_query`: Passthrough the master m3u8 URL query to its HLS AES-128 decryption key URI if no value is provided, or else apply the query string given as `key_query=VALUE`. Note that this will have no effect if the key URI is provided via the `hls_key` extractor-arg. Does not apply to ffmpeg
1787 * `hls_key`: An HLS AES-128 key URI *or* key (as hex), and optionally the IV (as hex), in the form of `(URI|KEY)[,IV]`; e.g. `generic:hls_key=ABCDEF1234567980,0xFEDCBA0987654321`. Passing any of these values will force usage of the native HLS downloader and override the corresponding values found in the m3u8 playlist
1788 * `is_live`: Bypass live HLS detection and manually set `live_status` - a value of `false` will set `not_live`, any other value (or no value) will set `is_live`
1790 #### funimation
1791 * `language`: Audio languages to extract, e.g. `funimation:language=english,japanese`
1792 * `version`: The video version to extract - `uncut` or `simulcast`
1794 #### crunchyrollbeta (Crunchyroll)
1795 * `hardsub`: One or more hardsub versions to extract (in order of preference), or `all` (default: `None` = no hardsubs will be extracted), e.g. `crunchyrollbeta:hardsub=en-US,de-DE`
1797 #### vikichannel
1798 * `video_types`: Types of videos to download - one or more of `episodes`, `movies`, `clips`, `trailers`
1800 #### niconico
1801 * `segment_duration`: Segment duration in milliseconds for HLS-DMC formats. Use it at your own risk since this feature **may result in your account termination.**
1803 #### youtubewebarchive
1804 * `check_all`: Try to check more at the cost of more requests. One or more of `thumbnails`, `captures`
1806 #### gamejolt
1807 * `comment_sort`: `hot` (default), `you` (cookies needed), `top`, `new` - choose comment sorting mode (on GameJolt's side)
1809 #### hotstar
1810 * `res`: resolution to ignore - one or more of `sd`, `hd`, `fhd`
1811 * `vcodec`: vcodec to ignore - one or more of `h264`, `h265`, `dvh265`
1812 * `dr`: dynamic range to ignore - one or more of `sdr`, `hdr10`, `dv`
1814 #### niconicochannelplus
1815 * `max_comments`: Maximum number of comments to extract - default is `120`
1817 #### tiktok
1818 * `api_hostname`: Hostname to use for mobile API calls, e.g. `api22-normal-c-alisg.tiktokv.com`
1819 * `app_name`: Default app name to use with mobile API calls, e.g. `trill`
1820 * `app_version`: Default app version to use with mobile API calls - should be set along with `manifest_app_version`, e.g. `34.1.2`
1821 * `manifest_app_version`: Default numeric app version to use with mobile API calls, e.g. `2023401020`
1822 * `aid`: Default app ID to use with mobile API calls, e.g. `1180`
1823 * `app_info`: Enable mobile API extraction with one or more app info strings in the format of `<iid>/[app_name]/[app_version]/[manifest_app_version]/[aid]`, where `iid` is the unique app install ID. `iid` is the only required value; all other values and their `/` separators can be omitted, e.g. `tiktok:app_info=1234567890123456789` or `tiktok:app_info=123,456/trill///1180,789//34.0.1/340001`
1824 * `device_id`: Enable mobile API extraction with a genuine device ID to be used with mobile API calls. Default is a random 19-digit string
1826 #### rokfinchannel
1827 * `tab`: Which tab to download - one of `new`, `top`, `videos`, `podcasts`, `streams`, `stacks`
1829 #### twitter
1830 * `api`: Select one of `graphql` (default), `legacy` or `syndication` as the API for tweet extraction. Has no effect if logged in
1832 #### stacommu, wrestleuniverse
1833 * `device_id`: UUID value assigned by the website and used to enforce device limits for paid livestream content. Can be found in browser local storage
1835 #### twitch
1836 * `client_id`: Client ID value to be sent with GraphQL requests, e.g. `twitch:client_id=kimne78kx3ncx6brgo4mv6wki5h1ko`
1838 #### nhkradirulive (NHK らじる★らじる LIVE)
1839 * `area`: Which regional variation to extract. Valid areas are: `sapporo`, `sendai`, `tokyo`, `nagoya`, `osaka`, `hiroshima`, `matsuyama`, `fukuoka`. Defaults to `tokyo`
1841 #### nflplusreplay
1842 * `type`: Type(s) of game replays to extract. Valid types are: `full_game`, `full_game_spanish`, `condensed_game` and `all_22`. You can use `all` to extract all available replay types, which is the default
1844 #### jiocinema
1845 * `refresh_token`: The `refreshToken` UUID from browser local storage can be passed to extend the life of your login session when logging in with `token` as username and the `accessToken` from browser local storage as password
1847 #### jiosaavn
1848 * `bitrate`: Audio bitrates to request. One or more of `16`, `32`, `64`, `128`, `320`. Default is `128,320`
1850 #### afreecatvlive
1851 * `cdn`: One or more CDN IDs to use with the API call for stream URLs, e.g. `gcp_cdn`, `gs_cdn_pc_app`, `gs_cdn_mobile_web`, `gs_cdn_pc_web`
1853 #### soundcloud
1854 * `formats`: Formats to request from the API. Requested values should be in the format of `{protocol}_{extension}` (omitting the bitrate), e.g. `hls_opus,http_aac`. The `*` character functions as a wildcard, e.g. `*_mp3`, and can be passed by itself to request all formats. Known protocols include `http`, `hls` and `hls-aes`; known extensions include `aac`, `opus` and `mp3`. Original `download` formats are always extracted. Default is `http_aac,hls_aac,http_opus,hls_opus,http_mp3,hls_mp3`
1856 #### orfon (orf:on)
1857 * `prefer_segments_playlist`: Prefer a playlist of program segments instead of a single complete video when available. If individual segments are desired, use `--concat-playlist never --extractor-args "orfon:prefer_segments_playlist"`
1859 #### bilibili
1860 * `prefer_multi_flv`: Prefer extracting flv formats over mp4 for older videos that still provide legacy formats
1862 #### digitalconcerthall
1863 * `prefer_combined_hls`: Prefer extracting combined/pre-merged video and audio HLS formats. This will exclude 4K/HEVC video and lossless/FLAC audio formats, which are only available as split video/audio HLS formats
1865 **Note**: These options may be changed/removed in the future without concern for backward compatibility
1867 <!-- MANPAGE: MOVE "INSTALLATION" SECTION HERE -->
1870 # PLUGINS
1872 Note that **all** plugins are imported even if not invoked, and that **there are no checks** performed on plugin code. **Use plugins at your own risk and only if you trust the code!**
1874 Plugins can be of `<type>`s `extractor` or `postprocessor`.
1875 - Extractor plugins do not need to be enabled from the CLI and are automatically invoked when the input URL is suitable for it.
1876 - Extractor plugins take priority over built-in extractors.
1877 - Postprocessor plugins can be invoked using `--use-postprocessor NAME`.
1880 Plugins are loaded from the namespace packages `yt_dlp_plugins.extractor` and `yt_dlp_plugins.postprocessor`.
1882 In other words, the file structure on the disk looks something like:
1884 yt_dlp_plugins/
1885 extractor/
1886 myplugin.py
1887 postprocessor/
1888 myplugin.py
1890 yt-dlp looks for these `yt_dlp_plugins` namespace folders in many locations (see below) and loads in plugins from **all** of them.
1892 See the [wiki for some known plugins](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Plugins)
1894 ## Installing Plugins
1896 Plugins can be installed using various methods and locations.
1898 1. **Configuration directories**:
1899 Plugin packages (containing a `yt_dlp_plugins` namespace folder) can be dropped into the following standard [configuration locations](#configuration):
1900 * **User Plugins**
1901 * `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp/plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/` (recommended on Linux/macOS)
1902 * `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1903 * `${APPDATA}/yt-dlp/plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/` (recommended on Windows)
1904 * `${APPDATA}/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1905 * `~/.yt-dlp/plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1906 * `~/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1907 * **System Plugins**
1908 * `/etc/yt-dlp/plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1909 * `/etc/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1910 2. **Executable location**: Plugin packages can similarly be installed in a `yt-dlp-plugins` directory under the executable location (recommended for portable installations):
1911 * Binary: where `<root-dir>/yt-dlp.exe`, `<root-dir>/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1912 * Source: where `<root-dir>/yt_dlp/__main__.py`, `<root-dir>/yt-dlp-plugins/<package name>/yt_dlp_plugins/`
1914 3. **pip and other locations in `PYTHONPATH`**
1915 * Plugin packages can be installed and managed using `pip`. See [yt-dlp-sample-plugins](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp-sample-plugins) for an example.
1916 * Note: plugin files between plugin packages installed with pip must have unique filenames.
1917 * Any path in `PYTHONPATH` is searched in for the `yt_dlp_plugins` namespace folder.
1918 * Note: This does not apply for Pyinstaller/py2exe builds.
1921 `.zip`, `.egg` and `.whl` archives containing a `yt_dlp_plugins` namespace folder in their root are also supported as plugin packages.
1923 * e.g. `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/yt-dlp/plugins/mypluginpkg.zip` where `mypluginpkg.zip` contains `yt_dlp_plugins/<type>/myplugin.py`
1925 Run yt-dlp with `--verbose` to check if the plugin has been loaded.
1927 ## Developing Plugins
1929 See the [yt-dlp-sample-plugins](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp-sample-plugins) repo for a template plugin package and the [Plugin Development](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Plugin-Development) section of the wiki for a plugin development guide.
1931 All public classes with a name ending in `IE`/`PP` are imported from each file for extractors and postprocessors respectively. This respects underscore prefix (e.g. `_MyBasePluginIE` is private) and `__all__`. Modules can similarly be excluded by prefixing the module name with an underscore (e.g. `_myplugin.py`).
1933 To replace an existing extractor with a subclass of one, set the `plugin_name` class keyword argument (e.g. `class MyPluginIE(ABuiltInIE, plugin_name='myplugin')` will replace `ABuiltInIE` with `MyPluginIE`). Since the extractor replaces the parent, you should exclude the subclass extractor from being imported separately by making it private using one of the methods described above.
1935 If you are a plugin author, add [yt-dlp-plugins](https://github.com/topics/yt-dlp-plugins) as a topic to your repository for discoverability.
1937 See the [Developer Instructions](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md#developer-instructions) on how to write and test an extractor.
1939 # EMBEDDING YT-DLP
1941 yt-dlp makes the best effort to be a good command-line program, and thus should be callable from any programming language.
1943 Your program should avoid parsing the normal stdout since they may change in future versions. Instead, they should use options such as `-J`, `--print`, `--progress-template`, `--exec` etc to create console output that you can reliably reproduce and parse.
1945 From a Python program, you can embed yt-dlp in a more powerful fashion, like this:
1947 ```python
1948 from yt_dlp import YoutubeDL
1950 URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
1951 with YoutubeDL() as ydl:
1952 ydl.download(URLS)
1953 ```
1955 Most likely, you'll want to use various options. For a list of options available, have a look at [`yt_dlp/YoutubeDL.py`](yt_dlp/YoutubeDL.py#L183) or `help(yt_dlp.YoutubeDL)` in a Python shell. If you are already familiar with the CLI, you can use [`devscripts/cli_to_api.py`](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/master/devscripts/cli_to_api.py) to translate any CLI switches to `YoutubeDL` params.
1957 **Tip**: If you are porting your code from youtube-dl to yt-dlp, one important point to look out for is that we do not guarantee the return value of `YoutubeDL.extract_info` to be json serializable, or even be a dictionary. It will be dictionary-like, but if you want to ensure it is a serializable dictionary, pass it through `YoutubeDL.sanitize_info` as shown in the [example below](#extracting-information)
1959 ## Embedding examples
1961 #### Extracting information
1963 ```python
1964 import json
1965 import yt_dlp
1967 URL = 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc'
1969 # ℹ️ See help(yt_dlp.YoutubeDL) for a list of available options and public functions
1970 ydl_opts = {}
1971 with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
1972 info = ydl.extract_info(URL, download=False)
1974 # ℹ️ ydl.sanitize_info makes the info json-serializable
1975 print(json.dumps(ydl.sanitize_info(info)))
1976 ```
1977 #### Download using an info-json
1979 ```python
1980 import yt_dlp
1982 INFO_FILE = 'path/to/video.info.json'
1984 with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL() as ydl:
1985 error_code = ydl.download_with_info_file(INFO_FILE)
1987 print('Some videos failed to download' if error_code
1988 else 'All videos successfully downloaded')
1989 ```
1991 #### Extract audio
1993 ```python
1994 import yt_dlp
1996 URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
1998 ydl_opts = {
1999 'format': 'm4a/bestaudio/best',
2000 # ℹ️ See help(yt_dlp.postprocessor) for a list of available Postprocessors and their arguments
2001 'postprocessors': [{ # Extract audio using ffmpeg
2002 'key': 'FFmpegExtractAudio',
2003 'preferredcodec': 'm4a',
2004 }]
2005 }
2007 with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
2008 error_code = ydl.download(URLS)
2009 ```
2011 #### Filter videos
2013 ```python
2014 import yt_dlp
2016 URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
2018 def longer_than_a_minute(info, *, incomplete):
2019 """Download only videos longer than a minute (or with unknown duration)"""
2020 duration = info.get('duration')
2021 if duration and duration < 60:
2022 return 'The video is too short'
2024 ydl_opts = {
2025 'match_filter': longer_than_a_minute,
2026 }
2028 with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
2029 error_code = ydl.download(URLS)
2030 ```
2032 #### Adding logger and progress hook
2034 ```python
2035 import yt_dlp
2037 URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
2039 class MyLogger:
2040 def debug(self, msg):
2041 # For compatibility with youtube-dl, both debug and info are passed into debug
2042 # You can distinguish them by the prefix '[debug] '
2043 if msg.startswith('[debug] '):
2044 pass
2045 else:
2046 self.info(msg)
2048 def info(self, msg):
2049 pass
2051 def warning(self, msg):
2052 pass
2054 def error(self, msg):
2055 print(msg)
2058 # ℹ️ See "progress_hooks" in help(yt_dlp.YoutubeDL)
2059 def my_hook(d):
2060 if d['status'] == 'finished':
2061 print('Done downloading, now post-processing ...')
2064 ydl_opts = {
2065 'logger': MyLogger(),
2066 'progress_hooks': [my_hook],
2067 }
2069 with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
2070 ydl.download(URLS)
2071 ```
2073 #### Add a custom PostProcessor
2075 ```python
2076 import yt_dlp
2078 URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
2080 # ℹ️ See help(yt_dlp.postprocessor.PostProcessor)
2081 class MyCustomPP(yt_dlp.postprocessor.PostProcessor):
2082 def run(self, info):
2083 self.to_screen('Doing stuff')
2084 return [], info
2087 with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL() as ydl:
2088 # ℹ️ "when" can take any value in yt_dlp.utils.POSTPROCESS_WHEN
2089 ydl.add_post_processor(MyCustomPP(), when='pre_process')
2090 ydl.download(URLS)
2091 ```
2094 #### Use a custom format selector
2096 ```python
2097 import yt_dlp
2099 URLS = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc']
2101 def format_selector(ctx):
2102 """ Select the best video and the best audio that won't result in an mkv.
2103 NOTE: This is just an example and does not handle all cases """
2105 # formats are already sorted worst to best
2106 formats = ctx.get('formats')[::-1]
2108 # acodec='none' means there is no audio
2109 best_video = next(f for f in formats
2110 if f['vcodec'] != 'none' and f['acodec'] == 'none')
2112 # find compatible audio extension
2113 audio_ext = {'mp4': 'm4a', 'webm': 'webm'}[best_video['ext']]
2114 # vcodec='none' means there is no video
2115 best_audio = next(f for f in formats if (
2116 f['acodec'] != 'none' and f['vcodec'] == 'none' and f['ext'] == audio_ext))
2118 # These are the minimum required fields for a merged format
2119 yield {
2120 'format_id': f'{best_video["format_id"]}+{best_audio["format_id"]}',
2121 'ext': best_video['ext'],
2122 'requested_formats': [best_video, best_audio],
2123 # Must be + separated list of protocols
2124 'protocol': f'{best_video["protocol"]}+{best_audio["protocol"]}'
2125 }
2128 ydl_opts = {
2129 'format': format_selector,
2130 }
2132 with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
2133 ydl.download(URLS)
2134 ```
2137 # CHANGES FROM YOUTUBE-DL
2139 ### New features
2141 * Forked from [**yt-dlc@f9401f2**](https://github.com/blackjack4494/yt-dlc/commit/f9401f2a91987068139c5f757b12fc711d4c0cee) and merged with [**youtube-dl@a08f2b7**](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/commit/a08f2b7e4567cdc50c0614ee0a4ffdff49b8b6e6) ([exceptions](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/21))
2143 * **[SponsorBlock Integration](#sponsorblock-options)**: You can mark/remove sponsor sections in YouTube videos by utilizing the [SponsorBlock](https://sponsor.ajay.app) API
2145 * **[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 than what is possible by simply using `--format` ([examples](#format-selection-examples))
2147 * **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 NicoNico livestreams are not available. See [#31](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/pull/31) for details.
2149 * **YouTube improvements**:
2150 * Supports Clips, Stories (`ytstories:<channel UCID>`), Search (including filters)**\***, YouTube Music Search, Channel-specific search, Search prefixes (`ytsearch:`, `ytsearchdate:`)**\***, Mixes, and Feeds (`:ytfav`, `:ytwatchlater`, `:ytsubs`, `:ythistory`, `:ytrec`, `:ytnotif`)
2151 * Fix for [n-sig based throttling](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/issues/29326) **\***
2152 * Supports some (but not all) age-gated content without cookies
2153 * Download livestreams from the start using `--live-from-start` (*experimental*)
2154 * Channel URLs download all uploads of the channel, including shorts and live
2156 * **Cookies from browser**: Cookies can be automatically extracted from all major web browsers using `--cookies-from-browser BROWSER[+KEYRING][:PROFILE][::CONTAINER]`
2158 * **Download time range**: Videos can be downloaded partially based on either timestamps or chapters using `--download-sections`
2160 * **Split video by chapters**: Videos can be split into multiple files based on chapters using `--split-chapters`
2162 * **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
2164 * **Aria2c with HLS/DASH**: You can use `aria2c` as the external downloader for DASH(mpd) and HLS(m3u8) formats
2166 * **New and fixed extractors**: Many new extractors have been added and a lot of existing ones have been fixed. See the [changelog](Changelog.md) or the [list of supported sites](supportedsites.md)
2168 * **New MSOs**: Philo, Spectrum, SlingTV, Cablevision, RCN etc.
2170 * **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
2172 * **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`)
2174 * **Portable Configuration**: Configuration files are automatically loaded from the home and root directories. See [CONFIGURATION](#configuration) for details
2176 * **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` and `--replace-in-metadata`
2178 * **Other new options**: Many new options have been added such as `--alias`, `--print`, `--concat-playlist`, `--wait-for-video`, `--retry-sleep`, `--sleep-requests`, `--convert-thumbnails`, `--force-download-archive`, `--force-overwrites`, `--break-match-filter` etc
2180 * **Improvements**: Regex and other operators in `--format`/`--match-filter`, multiple `--postprocessor-args` and `--downloader-args`, faster archive checking, more [format selection options](#format-selection), merge multi-video/audio, multiple `--config-locations`, `--exec` at different stages, etc
2182 * **Plugins**: Extractors and PostProcessors can be loaded from an external file. See [plugins](#plugins) for details
2184 * **Self updater**: The releases can be updated using `yt-dlp -U`, and downgraded using `--update-to` if required
2186 * **Automated builds**: [Nightly/master builds](#update-channels) can be used with `--update-to nightly` and `--update-to master`
2188 See [changelog](Changelog.md) or [commits](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commits) for the full list of changes
2190 Features marked with a **\*** have been back-ported to youtube-dl
2192 ### Differences in default behavior
2194 Some of yt-dlp's default options are different from that of youtube-dl and youtube-dlc:
2196 * yt-dlp supports only [Python 3.8+](## "Windows 7"), and *may* remove support for more versions as they [become EOL](https://devguide.python.org/versions/#python-release-cycle); while [youtube-dl still supports Python 2.6+ and 3.2+](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/issues/30568#issue-1118238743)
2197 * The options `--auto-number` (`-A`), `--title` (`-t`) and `--literal` (`-l`), no longer work. See [removed options](#Removed) for details
2198 * `avconv` is not supported as an alternative to `ffmpeg`
2199 * yt-dlp stores config files in slightly different locations to youtube-dl. See [CONFIGURATION](#configuration) for a list of correct locations
2200 * 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`
2201 * 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
2202 * 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 preferred. Use `-f bv+ba/b` or `--compat-options format-spec` to revert this
2203 * 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
2204 * `--no-abort-on-error` is enabled by default. Use `--abort-on-error` or `--compat-options abort-on-error` to abort on errors instead
2205 * 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
2206 * `--add-metadata` attaches the `infojson` to `mkv` files in addition to writing the metadata when used with `--write-info-json`. Use `--no-embed-info-json` or `--compat-options no-attach-info-json` to revert this
2207 * Some metadata are embedded into different fields when using `--add-metadata` as compared to youtube-dl. Most notably, `comment` field contains the `webpage_url` and `synopsis` contains the `description`. You can [use `--parse-metadata`](#modifying-metadata) to modify this to your liking or use `--compat-options embed-metadata` to revert this
2208 * `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
2209 * The output of `-F` is listed in a new format. Use `--compat-options list-formats` to revert this
2210 * Live chats (if available) are considered as subtitles. Use `--sub-langs all,-live_chat` to download all subtitles except live chat. You can also use `--compat-options no-live-chat` to prevent any live chat/danmaku from downloading
2211 * YouTube channel URLs download all uploads of the channel. To download only the videos in a specific tab, pass the tab's URL. If the channel does not show the requested tab, an error will be raised. 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
2212 * Unavailable videos are also listed for YouTube playlists. Use `--compat-options no-youtube-unavailable-videos` to remove this
2213 * The upload dates extracted from YouTube are in UTC [when available](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/89e4d86171c7b7c997c77d4714542e0383bf0db0/yt_dlp/extractor/youtube.py#L3898-L3900). Use `--compat-options no-youtube-prefer-utc-upload-date` to prefer the non-UTC upload date.
2214 * 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
2215 * Thumbnail embedding in `mp4` is done with mutagen if possible. Use `--compat-options embed-thumbnail-atomicparsley` to force the use of AtomicParsley instead
2216 * Some internal metadata such as filenames are removed by default from the infojson. Use `--no-clean-infojson` or `--compat-options no-clean-infojson` to revert this
2217 * When `--embed-subs` and `--write-subs` are used together, the subtitles are written to disk and also embedded in the media file. You can use just `--embed-subs` to embed the subs and automatically delete the separate file. See [#630 (comment)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/630#issuecomment-893659460) for more info. `--compat-options no-keep-subs` can be used to revert this
2218 * `certifi` will be used for SSL root certificates, if installed. If you want to use system certificates (e.g. self-signed), use `--compat-options no-certifi`
2219 * yt-dlp's sanitization of invalid characters in filenames is different/smarter than in youtube-dl. You can use `--compat-options filename-sanitization` to revert to youtube-dl's behavior
2220 * ~~yt-dlp tries to parse the external downloader outputs into the standard progress output if possible (Currently implemented: [aria2c](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/5931)). You can use `--compat-options no-external-downloader-progress` to get the downloader output as-is~~
2221 * yt-dlp versions between 2021.09.01 and 2023.01.02 applies `--match-filter` to nested playlists. This was an unintentional side-effect of [8f18ac](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/8f18aca8717bb0dd49054555af8d386e5eda3a88) and is fixed in [d7b460](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/d7b460d0e5fc710950582baed2e3fc616ed98a80). Use `--compat-options playlist-match-filter` to revert this
2222 * yt-dlp versions between 2021.11.10 and 2023.06.21 estimated `filesize_approx` values for fragmented/manifest formats. This was added for convenience in [f2fe69](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/f2fe69c7b0d208bdb1f6292b4ae92bc1e1a7444a), but was reverted in [0dff8e](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/commit/0dff8e4d1e6e9fb938f4256ea9af7d81f42fd54f) due to the potentially extreme inaccuracy of the estimated values. Use `--compat-options manifest-filesize-approx` to keep extracting the estimated values
2223 * yt-dlp uses modern http client backends such as `requests`. Use `--compat-options prefer-legacy-http-handler` to prefer the legacy http handler (`urllib`) to be used for standard http requests.
2224 * The sub-modules `swfinterp`, `casefold` are removed.
2225 * Passing `--simulate` (or calling `extract_info` with `download=False`) no longer alters the default format selection. See [#9843](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/9843) for details.
2227 For ease of use, a few more compat options are available:
2229 * `--compat-options all`: Use all compat options (**Do NOT use this!**)
2230 * `--compat-options youtube-dl`: Same as `--compat-options all,-multistreams,-playlist-match-filter,-manifest-filesize-approx,-allow-unsafe-ext`
2231 * `--compat-options youtube-dlc`: Same as `--compat-options all,-no-live-chat,-no-youtube-channel-redirect,-playlist-match-filter,-manifest-filesize-approx,-allow-unsafe-ext`
2232 * `--compat-options 2021`: Same as `--compat-options 2022,no-certifi,filename-sanitization,no-youtube-prefer-utc-upload-date`
2233 * `--compat-options 2022`: Same as `--compat-options 2023,playlist-match-filter,no-external-downloader-progress,prefer-legacy-http-handler,manifest-filesize-approx`
2234 * `--compat-options 2023`: Currently does nothing. Use this to enable all future compat options
2236 The following compat options restore vulnerable behavior from before security patches:
2238 * `--compat-options allow-unsafe-ext`: Allow files with any extension (including unsafe ones) to be downloaded ([GHSA-79w7-vh3h-8g4j](<https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/security/advisories/GHSA-79w7-vh3h-8g4j>))
2240 > :warning: Only use if a valid file download is rejected because its extension is detected as uncommon
2241 >
2242 > **This option can enable remote code execution! Consider [opening an issue](<https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/new/choose>) instead!**
2244 ### Deprecated options
2246 These are all the deprecated options and the current alternative to achieve the same effect
2248 #### Almost redundant options
2249 While these options are almost the same as their new counterparts, there are some differences that prevents them being redundant
2251 -j, --dump-json --print "%()j"
2252 -F, --list-formats --print formats_table
2253 --list-thumbnails --print thumbnails_table --print playlist:thumbnails_table
2254 --list-subs --print automatic_captions_table --print subtitles_table
2256 #### Redundant options
2257 While these options are redundant, they are still expected to be used due to their ease of use
2259 --get-description --print description
2260 --get-duration --print duration_string
2261 --get-filename --print filename
2262 --get-format --print format
2263 --get-id --print id
2264 --get-thumbnail --print thumbnail
2265 -e, --get-title --print title
2266 -g, --get-url --print urls
2267 --match-title REGEX --match-filter "title ~= (?i)REGEX"
2268 --reject-title REGEX --match-filter "title !~= (?i)REGEX"
2269 --min-views COUNT --match-filter "view_count >=? COUNT"
2270 --max-views COUNT --match-filter "view_count <=? COUNT"
2271 --break-on-reject Use --break-match-filter
2272 --user-agent UA --add-header "User-Agent:UA"
2273 --referer URL --add-header "Referer:URL"
2274 --playlist-start NUMBER -I NUMBER:
2275 --playlist-end NUMBER -I :NUMBER
2276 --playlist-reverse -I ::-1
2277 --no-playlist-reverse Default
2278 --no-colors --color no_color
2280 #### Not recommended
2281 While these options still work, their use is not recommended since there are other alternatives to achieve the same
2283 --force-generic-extractor --ies generic,default
2284 --exec-before-download CMD --exec "before_dl:CMD"
2285 --no-exec-before-download --no-exec
2286 --all-formats -f all
2287 --all-subs --sub-langs all --write-subs
2288 --print-json -j --no-simulate
2289 --autonumber-size NUMBER Use string formatting, e.g. %(autonumber)03d
2290 --autonumber-start NUMBER Use internal field formatting like %(autonumber+NUMBER)s
2291 --id -o "%(id)s.%(ext)s"
2292 --metadata-from-title FORMAT --parse-metadata "%(title)s:FORMAT"
2293 --hls-prefer-native --downloader "m3u8:native"
2294 --hls-prefer-ffmpeg --downloader "m3u8:ffmpeg"
2295 --list-formats-old --compat-options list-formats (Alias: --no-list-formats-as-table)
2296 --list-formats-as-table --compat-options -list-formats [Default] (Alias: --no-list-formats-old)
2297 --youtube-skip-dash-manifest --extractor-args "youtube:skip=dash" (Alias: --no-youtube-include-dash-manifest)
2298 --youtube-skip-hls-manifest --extractor-args "youtube:skip=hls" (Alias: --no-youtube-include-hls-manifest)
2299 --youtube-include-dash-manifest Default (Alias: --no-youtube-skip-dash-manifest)
2300 --youtube-include-hls-manifest Default (Alias: --no-youtube-skip-hls-manifest)
2301 --geo-bypass --xff "default"
2302 --no-geo-bypass --xff "never"
2303 --geo-bypass-country CODE --xff CODE
2304 --geo-bypass-ip-block IP_BLOCK --xff IP_BLOCK
2306 #### Developer options
2307 These options are not intended to be used by the end-user
2309 --test Download only part of video for testing extractors
2310 --load-pages Load pages dumped by --write-pages
2311 --youtube-print-sig-code For testing youtube signatures
2312 --allow-unplayable-formats List unplayable formats also
2313 --no-allow-unplayable-formats Default
2315 #### Old aliases
2316 These are aliases that are no longer documented for various reasons
2318 --avconv-location --ffmpeg-location
2319 --clean-infojson --clean-info-json
2320 --cn-verification-proxy URL --geo-verification-proxy URL
2321 --dump-headers --print-traffic
2322 --dump-intermediate-pages --dump-pages
2323 --force-write-download-archive --force-write-archive
2324 --load-info --load-info-json
2325 --no-clean-infojson --no-clean-info-json
2326 --no-split-tracks --no-split-chapters
2327 --no-write-srt --no-write-subs
2328 --prefer-unsecure --prefer-insecure
2329 --rate-limit RATE --limit-rate RATE
2330 --split-tracks --split-chapters
2331 --srt-lang LANGS --sub-langs LANGS
2332 --trim-file-names LENGTH --trim-filenames LENGTH
2333 --write-srt --write-subs
2334 --yes-overwrites --force-overwrites
2336 #### Sponskrub Options
2337 Support for [SponSkrub](https://github.com/faissaloo/SponSkrub) has been deprecated in favor of the `--sponsorblock` options
2339 --sponskrub --sponsorblock-mark all
2340 --no-sponskrub --no-sponsorblock
2341 --sponskrub-cut --sponsorblock-remove all
2342 --no-sponskrub-cut --sponsorblock-remove -all
2343 --sponskrub-force Not applicable
2344 --no-sponskrub-force Not applicable
2345 --sponskrub-location Not applicable
2346 --sponskrub-args Not applicable
2348 #### No longer supported
2349 These options may no longer work as intended
2351 --prefer-avconv avconv is not officially supported by yt-dlp (Alias: --no-prefer-ffmpeg)
2352 --prefer-ffmpeg Default (Alias: --no-prefer-avconv)
2353 -C, --call-home Not implemented
2354 --no-call-home Default
2355 --include-ads No longer supported
2356 --no-include-ads Default
2357 --write-annotations No supported site has annotations now
2358 --no-write-annotations Default
2359 --compat-options seperate-video-versions No longer needed
2360 --compat-options no-youtube-prefer-utc-upload-date No longer supported
2362 #### Removed
2363 These options were deprecated since 2014 and have now been entirely removed
2365 -A, --auto-number -o "%(autonumber)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s"
2366 -t, -l, --title, --literal -o "%(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s"
2369 # CONTRIBUTING
2370 See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md#contributing-to-yt-dlp) for instructions on [Opening an Issue](CONTRIBUTING.md#opening-an-issue) and [Contributing code to the project](CONTRIBUTING.md#developer-instructions)
2372 # WIKI
2373 See the [Wiki](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki) for more information