Media Downloader

Download video/audio from 1500+ websites using yt-dlp. Supports format selection, subtitles, playlists, and custom output naming.

Quick Start

bash

# Basic download (best quality)
yt-dlp "URL"

# Specific resolution
yt-dlp -f "bestvideo[height<=1080]+bestaudio/best[height<=1080]" "URL"

# With subtitles
yt-dlp --write-subs --sub-langs "en,zh" "URL"

# Audio only
yt-dlp -f "bestaudio" "URL"

Format Selection

Resolution Presets

Request	Command
Best quality	`-f "bestvideo+bestaudio/best"`
4K	`-f "bestvideo[height<=2160]+bestaudio/best"`
1080p	`-f "bestvideo[height<=1080]+bestaudio/best"`
720p	`-f "bestvideo[height<=720]+bestaudio/best"`
480p	`-f "bestvideo[height<=480]+bestaudio/best"`

List Available Formats

bash

yt-dlp -F "URL"  # Show all formats with codes

Advanced Format Selection

bash

# Prefer MP4 container
yt-dlp -f "bestvideo[ext=mp4]+bestaudio[ext=m4a]/best[ext=mp4]/best" "URL"

# Specific format code (from -F output)
yt-dlp -f 137+140 "URL"

# Merge to specific container
yt-dlp --merge-output-format mkv "URL"

Subtitles

Download Subtitles

bash

# Manual subtitles (human-created)
yt-dlp --write-subs --sub-langs "en,zh,ja" "URL"

# Auto-generated subtitles
yt-dlp --write-auto-subs --sub-langs "en" "URL"

# Both manual and auto
yt-dlp --write-subs --write-auto-subs --sub-langs "en,zh" "URL"

# Embed subtitles in video (MP4/MKV/WebM)
yt-dlp --write-subs --embed-subs "URL"

List Available Subtitles

bash

yt-dlp --list-subs "URL"

Subtitle Format

bash

# Convert to SRT
yt-dlp --write-subs --sub-format srt "URL"

# Available: srt, ass, vtt, lrc

Output Naming

Template Variables

Variable	Description	Example
`%(title)s`	Video title	My Video
`%(id)s`	Video ID	dQw4w9WgXcQ
`%(ext)s`	File extension	mp4
`%(upload_date)s`	Upload date	20231215
`%(uploader)s`	Channel name	Rick Astley
`%(playlist)s`	Playlist name	Best Songs
`%(playlist_index)s`	Position in playlist	01
`%(resolution)s`	Video resolution	1920x1080

Common Patterns

bash

# Default: title + extension
yt-dlp -o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" "URL"

# Date prefix
yt-dlp -o "%(upload_date)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s" "URL"

# Organized by uploader
yt-dlp -o "%(uploader)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "URL"

# Playlist with numbering
yt-dlp -o "%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)02d - %(title)s.%(ext)s" "URL"

# Sanitize title (remove special chars)
yt-dlp -o "%(title).100B.%(ext)s" "URL"  # Limit to 100 bytes

Playlist Handling

bash

# Download entire playlist
yt-dlp "PLAYLIST_URL"

# Only video (not playlist)
yt-dlp --no-playlist "URL"

# Specific items (1-indexed)
yt-dlp -I 1:5 "PLAYLIST_URL"        # First 5
yt-dlp -I 1,3,5 "PLAYLIST_URL"      # Items 1, 3, 5
yt-dlp -I -3: "PLAYLIST_URL"        # Last 3

# Skip already downloaded
yt-dlp --download-archive downloaded.txt "PLAYLIST_URL"

Platform-Specific Notes

YouTube

•Supports: videos, playlists, channels, shorts, live streams
•Cookies may be needed for age-restricted/member content

Bilibili

•Use --cookies-from-browser for premium content
•Subtitles: --write-subs --sub-langs "zh-Hans"

TikTok / Douyin

•Direct URL download works
•Watermark may be present in some cases

Twitter/X

•Supports video tweets and spaces
•Use --cookies-from-browser for private content

Instagram

•Stories require login
•Use --cookies-from-browser firefox or --cookies cookies.txt

Authentication

bash

# Browser cookies (recommended)
yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser firefox "URL"
yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser chrome "URL"

# Cookie file
yt-dlp --cookies cookies.txt "URL"

# Username/password (limited support)
yt-dlp -u USERNAME -p PASSWORD "URL"

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue	Solution
"Video unavailable"	Try `--cookies-from-browser`
Slow download	Add `--concurrent-fragments 4`
Format merge fails	Install ffmpeg
Geo-blocked	Use `--geo-bypass` or proxy

Update yt-dlp

bash

yt-dlp -U  # Update to latest stable

Complete Examples

Download YouTube video in 1080p with Chinese subtitles:

bash

yt-dlp -f "bestvideo[height<=1080]+bestaudio/best" \
       --write-subs --sub-langs "zh" \
       -o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" \
       "https://youtube.com/watch?v=..."

Download TikTok video:

bash

yt-dlp -o "%(uploader)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s" \
       "https://tiktok.com/@user/video/..."

Download Bilibili playlist:

bash

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser chrome \
       -o "%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)02d - %(title)s.%(ext)s" \
       "https://bilibili.com/video/BV..."

Download Twitter video:

bash

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser firefox \
       "https://twitter.com/user/status/..."