.TH "YOUTUBE\-DL" "1" "" "" ""
.SH NAME
.PP
youtube\-dl \- download videos from youtube.com or other video platforms
.SH SYNOPSIS
.PP
\f[B]youtube\-dl\f[] OPTIONS (#options) URL [URL...]
.SH DESCRIPTION
.PP
\f[B]youtube\-dl\f[] is a small command\-line program to download videos
from YouTube.com and a few more sites.
It requires the Python interpreter, version 2.6, 2.7, or 3.3+, and it is
not platform specific.
It should work on your Unix box, on Windows or on Mac OS X.
It is released to the public domain, which means you can modify it,
redistribute it or use it however you like.
.SH OPTIONS
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
\-h,\ \-\-help\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ print\ this\ help\ text\ and\ exit
\-\-version\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ print\ program\ version\ and\ exit
\-U,\ \-\-update\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ update\ this\ program\ to\ latest\ version.\ Make
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ sure\ that\ you\ have\ sufficient\ permissions
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ (run\ with\ sudo\ if\ needed)
\-i,\ \-\-ignore\-errors\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ continue\ on\ download\ errors,\ for\ example\ to
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ skip\ unavailable\ videos\ in\ a\ playlist
\-\-abort\-on\-error\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Abort\ downloading\ of\ further\ videos\ (in\ the
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ playlist\ or\ the\ command\ line)\ if\ an\ error
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ occurs
\-\-dump\-user\-agent\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ display\ the\ current\ browser\ identification
\-\-list\-extractors\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ List\ all\ supported\ extractors\ and\ the\ URLs
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ they\ would\ handle
\-\-extractor\-descriptions\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Output\ descriptions\ of\ all\ supported
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ extractors
\-\-proxy\ URL\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Use\ the\ specified\ HTTP/HTTPS\ proxy.\ Pass\ in
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ an\ empty\ string\ (\-\-proxy\ "")\ for\ direct
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ connection
\-\-socket\-timeout\ None\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Time\ to\ wait\ before\ giving\ up,\ in\ seconds
\-\-default\-search\ PREFIX\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Use\ this\ prefix\ for\ unqualified\ URLs.\ For
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ example\ "gvsearch2:"\ downloads\ two\ videos
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ from\ google\ videos\ for\ \ youtube\-dl\ "large
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ apple".\ Use\ the\ value\ "auto"\ to\ let
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ youtube\-dl\ guess\ ("auto_warning"\ to\ emit\ a
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ warning\ when\ guessing).\ "error"\ just\ throws
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ an\ error.\ The\ default\ value\ "fixup_error"
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ repairs\ broken\ URLs,\ but\ emits\ an\ error\ if
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ this\ is\ not\ possible\ instead\ of\ searching.
\-\-ignore\-config\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Do\ not\ read\ configuration\ files.\ When\ given
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ in\ the\ global\ configuration\ file\ /etc
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ /youtube\-dl.conf:\ do\ not\ read\ the\ user
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ configuration\ in\ ~/.config/youtube\-dl.conf
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ (%APPDATA%/youtube\-dl/config.txt\ on
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Windows)
\f[]
.fi
.SS Video Selection:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
\-\-playlist\-start\ NUMBER\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ playlist\ video\ to\ start\ at\ (default\ is\ 1)
\-\-playlist\-end\ NUMBER\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ playlist\ video\ to\ end\ at\ (default\ is\ last)
\-\-match\-title\ REGEX\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ download\ only\ matching\ titles\ (regex\ or
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ caseless\ sub\-string)
\-\-reject\-title\ REGEX\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ skip\ download\ for\ matching\ titles\ (regex\ or
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ caseless\ sub\-string)
\-\-max\-downloads\ NUMBER\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Abort\ after\ downloading\ NUMBER\ files
\-\-min\-filesize\ SIZE\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Do\ not\ download\ any\ videos\ smaller\ than
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ SIZE\ (e.g.\ 50k\ or\ 44.6m)
\-\-max\-filesize\ SIZE\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Do\ not\ download\ any\ videos\ larger\ than\ SIZE
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ (e.g.\ 50k\ or\ 44.6m)
\-\-date\ DATE\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ download\ only\ videos\ uploaded\ in\ this\ date
\-\-datebefore\ DATE\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ download\ only\ videos\ uploaded\ on\ or\ before
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ this\ date\ (i.e.\ inclusive)
\-\-dateafter\ DATE\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ download\ only\ videos\ uploaded\ on\ or\ after
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ this\ date\ (i.e.\ inclusive)
\-\-min\-views\ COUNT\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Do\ not\ download\ any\ videos\ with\ less\ than
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ COUNT\ views
\-\-max\-views\ COUNT\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Do\ not\ download\ any\ videos\ with\ more\ than
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ COUNT\ views
\-\-no\-playlist\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ download\ only\ the\ currently\ playing\ video
\-\-age\-limit\ YEARS\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ download\ only\ videos\ suitable\ for\ the\ given
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ age
\-\-download\-archive\ FILE\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Download\ only\ videos\ not\ listed\ in\ the
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ archive\ file.\ Record\ the\ IDs\ of\ all
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ downloaded\ videos\ in\ it.
\-\-include\-ads\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Download\ advertisements\ as\ well
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ (experimental)
\-\-youtube\-include\-dash\-manifest\ \ Try\ to\ download\ the\ DASH\ manifest\ on
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ YouTube\ videos\ (experimental)
\f[]
.fi
.SS Download Options:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
\-r,\ \-\-rate\-limit\ LIMIT\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ maximum\ download\ rate\ in\ bytes\ per\ second
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ (e.g.\ 50K\ or\ 4.2M)
\-R,\ \-\-retries\ RETRIES\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ number\ of\ retries\ (default\ is\ 10)
\-\-buffer\-size\ SIZE\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ size\ of\ download\ buffer\ (e.g.\ 1024\ or\ 16K)
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ (default\ is\ 1024)
\-\-no\-resize\-buffer\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ do\ not\ automatically\ adjust\ the\ buffer
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ size.\ By\ default,\ the\ buffer\ size\ is
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ automatically\ resized\ from\ an\ initial\ value
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ of\ SIZE.
\f[]
.fi
.SS Filesystem Options:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
\-a,\ \-\-batch\-file\ FILE\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ file\ containing\ URLs\ to\ download\ (\[aq]\-\[aq]\ for
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ stdin)
\-\-id\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ use\ only\ video\ ID\ in\ file\ name
\-A,\ \-\-auto\-number\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ number\ downloaded\ files\ starting\ from\ 00000
\-o,\ \-\-output\ TEMPLATE\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ output\ filename\ template.\ Use\ %(title)s\ to
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ get\ the\ title,\ %(uploader)s\ for\ the
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ uploader\ name,\ %(uploader_id)s\ for\ the
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ uploader\ nickname\ if\ different,
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ %(autonumber)s\ to\ get\ an\ automatically
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ incremented\ number,\ %(ext)s\ for\ the
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ filename\ extension,\ %(format)s\ for\ the
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ format\ description\ (like\ "22\ \-\ 1280x720"\ or
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ "HD"),\ %(format_id)s\ for\ the\ unique\ id\ of
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ the\ format\ (like\ Youtube\[aq]s\ itags:\ "137"),
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ %(upload_date)s\ for\ the\ upload\ date
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ (YYYYMMDD),\ %(extractor)s\ for\ the\ provider
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ (youtube,\ metacafe,\ etc),\ %(id)s\ for\ the
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ video\ id,\ %(playlist)s\ for\ the\ playlist\ the
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ video\ is\ in,\ %(playlist_index)s\ for\ the
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ position\ in\ the\ playlist\ and\ %%\ for\ a
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ literal\ percent.\ %(height)s\ and\ %(width)s
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ for\ the\ width\ and\ height\ of\ the\ video
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ format.\ %(resolution)s\ for\ a\ textual
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ description\ of\ the\ resolution\ of\ the\ video
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ format.\ Use\ \-\ to\ output\ to\ stdout.\ Can\ also
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ be\ used\ to\ download\ to\ a\ different
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ directory,\ for\ example\ with\ \-o\ \[aq]/my/downloa
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ ds/%(uploader)s/%(title)s\-%(id)s.%(ext)s\[aq]\ .
\-\-autonumber\-size\ NUMBER\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Specifies\ the\ number\ of\ digits\ in
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ %(autonumber)s\ when\ it\ is\ present\ in\ output
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ filename\ template\ or\ \-\-auto\-number\ option
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ is\ given
\-\-restrict\-filenames\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Restrict\ filenames\ to\ only\ ASCII
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ characters,\ and\ avoid\ "&"\ and\ spaces\ in
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ filenames
\-t,\ \-\-title\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ [deprecated]\ use\ title\ in\ file\ name
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ (default)
\-l,\ \-\-literal\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ [deprecated]\ alias\ of\ \-\-title
\-w,\ \-\-no\-overwrites\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ do\ not\ overwrite\ files
\-c,\ \-\-continue\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ force\ resume\ of\ partially\ downloaded\ files.
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ By\ default,\ youtube\-dl\ will\ resume
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ downloads\ if\ possible.
\-\-no\-continue\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ do\ not\ resume\ partially\ downloaded\ files
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ (restart\ from\ beginning)
\-\-no\-part\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ do\ not\ use\ .part\ files
\-\-no\-mtime\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ do\ not\ use\ the\ Last\-modified\ header\ to\ set
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ the\ file\ modification\ time
\-\-write\-description\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ write\ video\ description\ to\ a\ .description
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ file
\-\-write\-info\-json\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ write\ video\ metadata\ to\ a\ .info.json\ file
\-\-write\-annotations\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ write\ video\ annotations\ to\ a\ .annotation
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ file
\-\-write\-thumbnail\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ write\ thumbnail\ image\ to\ disk
\-\-load\-info\ FILE\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ json\ file\ containing\ the\ video\ information
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ (created\ with\ the\ "\-\-write\-json"\ option)
\-\-cookies\ FILE\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ file\ to\ read\ cookies\ from\ and\ dump\ cookie
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ jar\ in
\-\-cache\-dir\ DIR\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Location\ in\ the\ filesystem\ where\ youtube\-dl
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ can\ store\ some\ downloaded\ information
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ permanently.\ By\ default\ $XDG_CACHE_HOME
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ /youtube\-dl\ or\ ~/.cache/youtube\-dl\ .\ At\ the
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ moment,\ only\ YouTube\ player\ files\ (for
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ videos\ with\ obfuscated\ signatures)\ are
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ cached,\ but\ that\ may\ change.
\-\-no\-cache\-dir\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Disable\ filesystem\ caching
\-\-rm\-cache\-dir\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Delete\ all\ filesystem\ cache\ files
\f[]
.fi
.SS Verbosity / Simulation Options:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
\-q,\ \-\-quiet\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ activates\ quiet\ mode
\-\-no\-warnings\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Ignore\ warnings
\-s,\ \-\-simulate\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ do\ not\ download\ the\ video\ and\ do\ not\ write
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ anything\ to\ disk
\-\-skip\-download\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ do\ not\ download\ the\ video
\-g,\ \-\-get\-url\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ simulate,\ quiet\ but\ print\ URL
\-e,\ \-\-get\-title\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ simulate,\ quiet\ but\ print\ title
\-\-get\-id\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ simulate,\ quiet\ but\ print\ id
\-\-get\-thumbnail\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ simulate,\ quiet\ but\ print\ thumbnail\ URL
\-\-get\-description\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ simulate,\ quiet\ but\ print\ video\ description
\-\-get\-duration\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ simulate,\ quiet\ but\ print\ video\ length
\-\-get\-filename\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ simulate,\ quiet\ but\ print\ output\ filename
\-\-get\-format\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ simulate,\ quiet\ but\ print\ output\ format
\-j,\ \-\-dump\-json\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ simulate,\ quiet\ but\ print\ JSON\ information.
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ See\ \-\-output\ for\ a\ description\ of\ available
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ keys.
\-\-newline\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ output\ progress\ bar\ as\ new\ lines
\-\-no\-progress\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ do\ not\ print\ progress\ bar
\-\-console\-title\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ display\ progress\ in\ console\ titlebar
\-v,\ \-\-verbose\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ print\ various\ debugging\ information
\-\-dump\-intermediate\-pages\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ print\ downloaded\ pages\ to\ debug\ problems
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ (very\ verbose)
\-\-write\-pages\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Write\ downloaded\ intermediary\ pages\ to
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ files\ in\ the\ current\ directory\ to\ debug
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ problems
\-\-print\-traffic\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Display\ sent\ and\ read\ HTTP\ traffic
\f[]
.fi
.SS Workarounds:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
\-\-encoding\ ENCODING\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Force\ the\ specified\ encoding\ (experimental)
\-\-no\-check\-certificate\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Suppress\ HTTPS\ certificate\ validation.
\-\-prefer\-insecure\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Use\ an\ unencrypted\ connection\ to\ retrieve
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ information\ about\ the\ video.\ (Currently
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ supported\ only\ for\ YouTube)
\-\-user\-agent\ UA\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ specify\ a\ custom\ user\ agent
\-\-referer\ REF\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ specify\ a\ custom\ referer,\ use\ if\ the\ video
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ access\ is\ restricted\ to\ one\ domain
\-\-add\-header\ FIELD:VALUE\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ specify\ a\ custom\ HTTP\ header\ and\ its\ value,
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ separated\ by\ a\ colon\ \[aq]:\[aq].\ You\ can\ use\ this
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ option\ multiple\ times
\-\-bidi\-workaround\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Work\ around\ terminals\ that\ lack
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ bidirectional\ text\ support.\ Requires\ bidiv
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ or\ fribidi\ executable\ in\ PATH
\f[]
.fi
.SS Video Format Options:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
\-f,\ \-\-format\ FORMAT\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ video\ format\ code,\ specify\ the\ order\ of
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ preference\ using\ slashes:\ "\-f\ 22/17/18".
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ "\-f\ mp4"\ and\ "\-f\ flv"\ are\ also\ supported.
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ You\ can\ also\ use\ the\ special\ names\ "best",
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ "bestvideo",\ "bestaudio",\ "worst",
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ "worstvideo"\ and\ "worstaudio".\ By\ default,
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ youtube\-dl\ will\ pick\ the\ best\ quality.
\-\-all\-formats\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ download\ all\ available\ video\ formats
\-\-prefer\-free\-formats\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ prefer\ free\ video\ formats\ unless\ a\ specific
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ one\ is\ requested
\-\-max\-quality\ FORMAT\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ highest\ quality\ format\ to\ download
\-F,\ \-\-list\-formats\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ list\ all\ available\ formats
\f[]
.fi
.SS Subtitle Options:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
\-\-write\-sub\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ write\ subtitle\ file
\-\-write\-auto\-sub\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ write\ automatic\ subtitle\ file\ (youtube
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ only)
\-\-all\-subs\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ downloads\ all\ the\ available\ subtitles\ of
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ the\ video
\-\-list\-subs\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ lists\ all\ available\ subtitles\ for\ the\ video
\-\-sub\-format\ FORMAT\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ subtitle\ format\ (default=srt)\ ([sbv/vtt]
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ youtube\ only)
\-\-sub\-lang\ LANGS\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ languages\ of\ the\ subtitles\ to\ download
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ (optional)\ separated\ by\ commas,\ use\ IETF
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ language\ tags\ like\ \[aq]en,pt\[aq]
\f[]
.fi
.SS Authentication Options:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
\-u,\ \-\-username\ USERNAME\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ account\ username
\-p,\ \-\-password\ PASSWORD\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ account\ password
\-n,\ \-\-netrc\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ use\ .netrc\ authentication\ data
\-\-video\-password\ PASSWORD\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ video\ password\ (vimeo,\ smotri)
\f[]
.fi
.SS Post\-processing Options:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
\-x,\ \-\-extract\-audio\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ convert\ video\ files\ to\ audio\-only\ files
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ (requires\ ffmpeg\ or\ avconv\ and\ ffprobe\ or
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ avprobe)
\-\-audio\-format\ FORMAT\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ "best",\ "aac",\ "vorbis",\ "mp3",\ "m4a",
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ "opus",\ or\ "wav";\ best\ by\ default
\-\-audio\-quality\ QUALITY\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ ffmpeg/avconv\ audio\ quality\ specification,
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ insert\ a\ value\ between\ 0\ (better)\ and\ 9
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ (worse)\ for\ VBR\ or\ a\ specific\ bitrate\ like
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ 128K\ (default\ 5)
\-\-recode\-video\ FORMAT\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Encode\ the\ video\ to\ another\ format\ if
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ necessary\ (currently\ supported:
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ mp4|flv|ogg|webm|mkv)
\-k,\ \-\-keep\-video\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ keeps\ the\ video\ file\ on\ disk\ after\ the
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ post\-processing;\ the\ video\ is\ erased\ by
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ default
\-\-no\-post\-overwrites\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ do\ not\ overwrite\ post\-processed\ files;\ the
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ post\-processed\ files\ are\ overwritten\ by
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ default
\-\-embed\-subs\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ embed\ subtitles\ in\ the\ video\ (only\ for\ mp4
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ videos)
\-\-embed\-thumbnail\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ embed\ thumbnail\ in\ the\ audio\ as\ cover\ art
\-\-add\-metadata\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ write\ metadata\ to\ the\ video\ file
\-\-xattrs\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ write\ metadata\ to\ the\ video\ file\[aq]s\ xattrs
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ (using\ dublin\ core\ and\ xdg\ standards)
\-\-prefer\-avconv\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Prefer\ avconv\ over\ ffmpeg\ for\ running\ the
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ postprocessors\ (default)
\-\-prefer\-ffmpeg\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Prefer\ ffmpeg\ over\ avconv\ for\ running\ the
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ postprocessors
\f[]
.fi
.SH CONFIGURATION
.PP
You can configure youtube\-dl by placing default arguments (such as
\f[C]\-\-extract\-audio\ \-\-no\-mtime\f[] to always extract the audio
and not copy the mtime) into \f[C]/etc/youtube\-dl.conf\f[] and/or
\f[C]~/.config/youtube\-dl/config\f[].
On Windows, the configuration file locations are
\f[C]%APPDATA%\\youtube\-dl\\config.txt\f[] and
\f[C]C:\\Users\\<Yourname>\\youtube\-dl.conf\f[].
.SH OUTPUT TEMPLATE
.PP
The \f[C]\-o\f[] option allows users to indicate a template for the
output file names.
The basic usage is not to set any template arguments when downloading a
single file, like in
\f[C]youtube\-dl\ \-o\ funny_video.flv\ "http://some/video"\f[].
However, it may contain special sequences that will be replaced when
downloading each video.
The special sequences have the format \f[C]%(NAME)s\f[].
To clarify, that is a percent symbol followed by a name in parenthesis,
followed by a lowercase S.
Allowed names are:
.IP \[bu] 2
\f[C]id\f[]: The sequence will be replaced by the video identifier.
.IP \[bu] 2
\f[C]url\f[]: The sequence will be replaced by the video URL.
.IP \[bu] 2
\f[C]uploader\f[]: The sequence will be replaced by the nickname of the
person who uploaded the video.
.IP \[bu] 2
\f[C]upload_date\f[]: The sequence will be replaced by the upload date
in YYYYMMDD format.
.IP \[bu] 2
\f[C]title\f[]: The sequence will be replaced by the video title.
.IP \[bu] 2
\f[C]ext\f[]: The sequence will be replaced by the appropriate extension
(like flv or mp4).
.IP \[bu] 2
\f[C]epoch\f[]: The sequence will be replaced by the Unix epoch when
creating the file.
.IP \[bu] 2
\f[C]autonumber\f[]: The sequence will be replaced by a five\-digit
number that will be increased with each download, starting at zero.
.IP \[bu] 2
\f[C]playlist\f[]: The name or the id of the playlist that contains the
video.
.IP \[bu] 2
\f[C]playlist_index\f[]: The index of the video in the playlist, a
five\-digit number.
.PP
The current default template is \f[C]%(title)s\-%(id)s.%(ext)s\f[].
.PP
In some cases, you don\[aq]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 \f[C]\-\-restrict\-filenames\f[] flag to get a
shorter title:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
$\ youtube\-dl\ \-\-get\-filename\ \-o\ "%(title)s.%(ext)s"\ BaW_jenozKc
youtube\-dl\ test\ video\ \[aq]\[aq]_ä↭𝕐.mp4\ \ \ \ #\ All\ kinds\ of\ weird\ characters
$\ youtube\-dl\ \-\-get\-filename\ \-o\ "%(title)s.%(ext)s"\ BaW_jenozKc\ \-\-restrict\-filenames
youtube\-dl_test_video_.mp4\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ #\ A\ simple\ file\ name
\f[]
.fi
.SH VIDEO SELECTION
.PP
Videos can be filtered by their upload date using the options
\f[C]\-\-date\f[], \f[C]\-\-datebefore\f[] or \f[C]\-\-dateafter\f[],
they accept dates in two formats:
.IP \[bu] 2
Absolute dates: Dates in the format \f[C]YYYYMMDD\f[].
.IP \[bu] 2
Relative dates: Dates in the format
\f[C](now|today)[+\-][0\-9](day|week|month|year)(s)?\f[]
.PP
Examples:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
#\ Download\ only\ the\ videos\ uploaded\ in\ the\ last\ 6\ months
$\ youtube\-dl\ \-\-dateafter\ now\-6months

#\ Download\ only\ the\ videos\ uploaded\ on\ January\ 1,\ 1970
$\ youtube\-dl\ \-\-date\ 19700101

$\ #\ will\ only\ download\ the\ videos\ uploaded\ in\ the\ 200x\ decade
$\ youtube\-dl\ \-\-dateafter\ 20000101\ \-\-datebefore\ 20091231
\f[]
.fi
.SH FAQ
.SS Can you please put the \-b option back?
.PP
Most people asking this question are not aware that youtube\-dl now
defaults to downloading the highest available quality as reported by
YouTube, which will be 1080p or 720p in some cases, so you no longer
need the \f[C]\-b\f[] option.
For some specific videos, maybe YouTube does not report them to be
available in a specific high quality format you\[aq]re interested in.
In that case, simply request it with the \f[C]\-f\f[] option and
youtube\-dl will try to download it.
.SS I get HTTP error 402 when trying to download a video. What\[aq]s
this?
.PP
Apparently YouTube requires you to pass a CAPTCHA test if you download
too much.
We\[aq]re considering to provide a way to let you solve the
CAPTCHA (https://github.com/rg3/youtube-dl/issues/154), but at the
moment, your best course of action is pointing a webbrowser to the
youtube URL, solving the CAPTCHA, and restart youtube\-dl.
.SS I have downloaded a video but how can I play it?
.PP
Once the video is fully downloaded, use any video player, such as
vlc (http://www.videolan.org) or mplayer (http://www.mplayerhq.hu/).
.SS The links provided by youtube\-dl \-g are not working anymore
.PP
The URLs youtube\-dl outputs require the downloader to have the correct
cookies.
Use the \f[C]\-\-cookies\f[] option to write the required cookies into a
file, and advise your downloader to read cookies from that file.
Some sites also require a common user agent to be used, use
\f[C]\-\-dump\-user\-agent\f[] to see the one in use by youtube\-dl.
.SS ERROR: no fmt_url_map or conn information found in video info
.PP
youtube has switched to a new video info format in July 2011 which is
not supported by old versions of youtube\-dl.
You can update youtube\-dl with \f[C]sudo\ youtube\-dl\ \-\-update\f[].
.SS ERROR: unable to download video
.PP
youtube requires an additional signature since September 2012 which is
not supported by old versions of youtube\-dl.
You can update youtube\-dl with \f[C]sudo\ youtube\-dl\ \-\-update\f[].
.SS SyntaxError: Non\-ASCII character
.PP
The error
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
File\ "youtube\-dl",\ line\ 2
SyntaxError:\ Non\-ASCII\ character\ \[aq]\\x93\[aq]\ ...
\f[]
.fi
.PP
means you\[aq]re using an outdated version of Python.
Please update to Python 2.6 or 2.7.
.SS What is this binary file? Where has the code gone?
.PP
Since June 2012 (#342) youtube\-dl is packed as an executable zipfile,
simply unzip it (might need renaming to \f[C]youtube\-dl.zip\f[] first
on some systems) or clone the git repository, as laid out above.
If you modify the code, you can run it by executing the
\f[C]__main__.py\f[] file.
To recompile the executable, run \f[C]make\ youtube\-dl\f[].
.SS The exe throws a \f[I]Runtime error from Visual C++\f[]
.PP
To run the exe you need to install first the Microsoft Visual C++ 2008
Redistributable
Package (http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29).
.SH DEVELOPER INSTRUCTIONS
.PP
Most users do not need to build youtube\-dl and can download the
builds (http://rg3.github.io/youtube-dl/download.html) or get them from
their distribution.
.PP
To run youtube\-dl as a developer, you don\[aq]t need to build anything
either.
Simply execute
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
python\ \-m\ youtube_dl
\f[]
.fi
.PP
To run the test, simply invoke your favorite test runner, or execute a
test file directly; any of the following work:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
python\ \-m\ unittest\ discover
python\ test/test_download.py
nosetests
\f[]
.fi
.PP
If you want to create a build of youtube\-dl yourself, you\[aq]ll need
.IP \[bu] 2
python
.IP \[bu] 2
make
.IP \[bu] 2
pandoc
.IP \[bu] 2
zip
.IP \[bu] 2
nosetests
.SS Adding support for a new site
.PP
If you want to add support for a new site, you can follow this quick
list (assuming your service is called \f[C]yourextractor\f[]):
.IP " 1." 4
Fork this repository (https://github.com/rg3/youtube-dl/fork)
.IP " 2." 4
Check out the source code with
\f[C]git\ clone\ git\@github.com:YOUR_GITHUB_USERNAME/youtube\-dl.git\f[]
.IP " 3." 4
Start a new git branch with
\f[C]cd\ youtube\-dl;\ git\ checkout\ \-b\ yourextractor\f[]
.IP " 4." 4
Start with this simple template and save it to
\f[C]youtube_dl/extractor/yourextractor.py\f[]:
.RS 4
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
#\ coding:\ utf\-8
from\ __future__\ import\ unicode_literals

import\ re

from\ .common\ import\ InfoExtractor


class\ YourExtractorIE(InfoExtractor):
\ \ \ \ _VALID_URL\ =\ r\[aq]https?://(?:www\\.)?yourextractor\\.com/watch/(?P<id>[0\-9]+)\[aq]
\ \ \ \ _TEST\ =\ {
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \[aq]url\[aq]:\ \[aq]http://yourextractor.com/watch/42\[aq],
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \[aq]md5\[aq]:\ \[aq]TODO:\ md5\ sum\ of\ the\ first\ 10KiB\ of\ the\ video\ file\[aq],
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \[aq]info_dict\[aq]:\ {
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \[aq]id\[aq]:\ \[aq]42\[aq],
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \[aq]ext\[aq]:\ \[aq]mp4\[aq],
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \[aq]title\[aq]:\ \[aq]Video\ title\ goes\ here\[aq],
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ #\ TODO\ more\ properties,\ either\ as:
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ #\ *\ A\ value
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ #\ *\ MD5\ checksum;\ start\ the\ string\ with\ md5:
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ #\ *\ A\ regular\ expression;\ start\ the\ string\ with\ re:
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ #\ *\ Any\ Python\ type\ (for\ example\ int\ or\ float)
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ }
\ \ \ \ }

\ \ \ \ def\ _real_extract(self,\ url):
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ mobj\ =\ re.match(self._VALID_URL,\ url)
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ video_id\ =\ mobj.group(\[aq]id\[aq])

\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ #\ TODO\ more\ code\ goes\ here,\ for\ example\ ...
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ webpage\ =\ self._download_webpage(url,\ video_id)
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ title\ =\ self._html_search_regex(r\[aq]<h1>(.*?)</h1>\[aq],\ webpage,\ \[aq]title\[aq])

\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ return\ {
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \[aq]id\[aq]:\ video_id,
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \[aq]title\[aq]:\ title,
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ #\ TODO\ more\ properties\ (see\ youtube_dl/extractor/common.py)
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ }
\f[]
.fi
.RE
.IP " 5." 4
Add an import in
\f[C]youtube_dl/extractor/__init__.py\f[] (https://github.com/rg3/youtube-dl/blob/master/youtube_dl/extractor/__init__.py).
.IP " 6." 4
Run
\f[C]python\ test/test_download.py\ TestDownload.test_YourExtractor\f[].
This \f[I]should fail\f[] at first, but you can continually re\-run it
until you\[aq]re done.
.IP " 7." 4
Have a look at
\f[C]youtube_dl/common/extractor/common.py\f[] (https://github.com/rg3/youtube-dl/blob/master/youtube_dl/extractor/common.py)
for possible helper methods and a detailed description of what your
extractor should
return (https://github.com/rg3/youtube-dl/blob/master/youtube_dl/extractor/common.py#L38).
Add tests and code for as many as you want.
.IP " 8." 4
If you can, check the code with
pyflakes (https://pypi.python.org/pypi/pyflakes) (a good idea) and
pep8 (https://pypi.python.org/pypi/pep8) (optional, ignore E501).
.IP " 9." 4
When the tests pass,
add (https://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/git-add.html) the
new files and
commit (https://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/git-commit.html)
them and
push (https://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/git-push.html)
the result, like this:
.RS 4
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
$\ git\ add\ youtube_dl/extractor/__init__.py
$\ git\ add\ youtube_dl/extractor/yourextractor.py
$\ git\ commit\ \-m\ \[aq][yourextractor]\ Add\ new\ extractor\[aq]
$\ git\ push\ origin\ yourextractor
\f[]
.fi
.RE
.IP "10." 4
Finally, create a pull
request (https://help.github.com/articles/creating-a-pull-request).
We\[aq]ll then review and merge it.
.PP
In any case, thank you very much for your contributions!
.SH BUGS
.PP
Bugs and suggestions should be reported at:
<https://github.com/rg3/youtube-dl/issues> .
Unless you were prompted so or there is another pertinent reason (e.g.
GitHub fails to accept the bug report), please do not send bug reports
via personal email.
.PP
Please include the full output of the command when run with
\f[C]\-\-verbose\f[].
The output (including the first lines) contain important debugging
information.
Issues without the full output are often not reproducible and therefore
do not get solved in short order, if ever.
.PP
For discussions, join us in the irc channel #youtube\-dl on freenode.
.PP
When you submit a request, please re\-read it once to avoid a couple of
mistakes (you can and should use this as a checklist):
.SS Is the description of the issue itself sufficient?
.PP
We often get issue reports that we cannot really decipher.
While in most cases we eventually get the required information after
asking back multiple times, this poses an unnecessary drain on our
resources.
Many contributors, including myself, are also not native speakers, so we
may misread some parts.
.PP
So please elaborate on what feature you are requesting, or what bug you
want to be fixed.
Make sure that it\[aq]s obvious
.IP \[bu] 2
What the problem is
.IP \[bu] 2
How it could be fixed
.IP \[bu] 2
How your proposed solution would look like
.PP
If your report is shorter than two lines, it is almost certainly missing
some of these, which makes it hard for us to respond to it.
We\[aq]re often too polite to close the issue outright, but the missing
info makes misinterpretation likely.
As a commiter myself, I often get frustrated by these issues, since the
only possible way for me to move forward on them is to ask for
clarification over and over.
.PP
For bug reports, this means that your report should contain the
\f[I]complete\f[] output of youtube\-dl when called with the \-v flag.
The error message you get for (most) bugs even says so, but you would
not believe how many of our bug reports do not contain this information.
.PP
Site support requests \f[B]must contain an example URL\f[].
An example URL is a URL you might want to download, like
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc .
There should be an obvious video present.
Except under very special circumstances, the main page of a video
service (e.g.
http://www.youtube.com/ ) is \f[I]not\f[] an example URL.
.SS Are you using the latest version?
.PP
Before reporting any issue, type youtube\-dl \-U.
This should report that you\[aq]re up\-to\-date.
About 20% of the reports we receive are already fixed, but people are
using outdated versions.
This goes for feature requests as well.
.SS Is the issue already documented?
.PP
Make sure that someone has not already opened the issue you\[aq]re
trying to open.
Search at the top of the window or at
https://github.com/rg3/youtube\-dl/search?type=Issues .
If there is an issue, feel free to write something along the lines of
"This affects me as well, with version 2015.01.01.
Here is some more information on the issue: ...".
While some issues may be old, a new post into them often spurs rapid
activity.
.SS Why are existing options not enough?
.PP
Before requesting a new feature, please have a quick peek at the list of
supported
options (https://github.com/rg3/youtube-dl/blob/master/README.md#synopsis).
Many feature requests are for features that actually exist already!
Please, absolutely do show off your work in the issue report and detail
how the existing similar options do \f[I]not\f[] solve your problem.
.SS Is there enough context in your bug report?
.PP
People want to solve problems, and often think they do us a favor by
breaking down their larger problems (e.g.
wanting to skip already downloaded files) to a specific request (e.g.
requesting us to look whether the file exists before downloading the
info page).
However, what often happens is that they break down the problem into two
steps: One simple, and one impossible (or extremely complicated one).
.PP
We are then presented with a very complicated request when the original
problem could be solved far easier, e.g.
by recording the downloaded video IDs in a separate file.
To avoid this, you must include the greater context where it is
non\-obvious.
In particular, every feature request that does not consist of adding
support for a new site should contain a use case scenario that explains
in what situation the missing feature would be useful.
.SS Does the issue involve one problem, and one problem only?
.PP
Some of our users seem to think there is a limit of issues they can or
should open.
There is no limit of issues they can or should open.
While it may seem appealing to be able to dump all your issues into one
ticket, that means that someone who solves one of your issues cannot
mark the issue as closed.
Typically, reporting a bunch of issues leads to the ticket lingering
since nobody wants to attack that behemoth, until someone mercifully
splits the issue into multiple ones.
.PP
In particular, every site support request issue should only pertain to
services at one site (generally under a common domain, but always using
the same backend technology).
Do not request support for vimeo user videos, Whitehouse podcasts, and
Google Plus pages in the same issue.
Also, make sure that you don\[aq]t post bug reports alongside feature
requests.
As a rule of thumb, a feature request does not include outputs of
youtube\-dl that are not immediately related to the feature at hand.
Do not post reports of a network error alongside the request for a new
video service.
.SS Is anyone going to need the feature?
.PP
Only post features that you (or an incapicated friend you can personally
talk to) require.
Do not post features because they seem like a good idea.
If they are really useful, they will be requested by someone who
requires them.
.SS Is your question about youtube\-dl?
.PP
It may sound strange, but some bug reports we receive are completely
unrelated to youtube\-dl and relate to a different or even the
reporter\[aq]s own application.
Please make sure that you are actually using youtube\-dl.
If you are using a UI for youtube\-dl, report the bug to the maintainer
of the actual application providing the UI.
On the other hand, if your UI for youtube\-dl fails in some way you
believe is related to youtube\-dl, by all means, go ahead and report the
bug.
.SH COPYRIGHT
.PP
youtube\-dl is released into the public domain by the copyright holders.
.PP
This README file was originally written by Daniel Bolton
(<https://github.com/dbbolton>) and is likewise released into the public
domain.