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Authentication Methods

yt-dlp supports various authentication methods to access private content, age-restricted videos, and platform-specific features.

Import cookies from Chrome:

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser chrome "VIDEO_URL"

Import cookies from Firefox:

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser firefox "VIDEO_URL"

Import cookies from Safari:

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser safari "VIDEO_URL"

Import cookies from Edge:

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser edge "VIDEO_URL"

Profile-Specific Cookies​

Chrome with specific profile:

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser "chrome:Profile 1" "VIDEO_URL"

Firefox with specific profile:

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser "firefox:default-release" "VIDEO_URL"

Custom profile path:

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser "chrome:/path/to/profile" "VIDEO_URL"

Browser Container Support​

Firefox container "Personal":

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser "firefox:default-release:Personal" "VIDEO_URL"

Firefox container "Work":

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser "firefox:default-release:Work" "VIDEO_URL"

Netscape cookie format:

yt-dlp --cookies cookies.txt "VIDEO_URL"

JSON cookie format:

yt-dlp --cookies cookies.json "VIDEO_URL"

Multiple cookie files:

yt-dlp --cookies "cookies1.txt,cookies2.txt" "VIDEO_URL"

Exporting Cookies​

Browser Extension Method:

  1. Install "cookies.txt" extension
  2. Navigate to the target site
  3. Export cookies to file
  4. Use with yt-dlp

Manual Export Example:

.youtube.com TRUE / FALSE 1234567890 session_token abc123 .youtube.com TRUE / FALSE 1234567890 LOGIN_INFO xyz789

Username/Password Authentication​

Basic Login​

Username and password:

yt-dlp --username "your_username" --password "your_password" "VIDEO_URL"

Interactive password prompt:

yt-dlp --username "your_username" --password "" "VIDEO_URL"

Store credentials securely:

yt-dlp --username "user" --password "$(cat password_file)" "VIDEO_URL"

Two-Factor Authentication​

Platforms supporting 2FA:

yt-dlp --username "user" --password "pass" --twofactor "123456" "VIDEO_URL"

Interactive 2FA prompt:

yt-dlp --username "user" --password "pass" --twofactor "" "VIDEO_URL"

Platform-Specific Login​

Crunchyroll login:

yt-dlp --username "user" --password "pass" "https://crunchyroll.com/video"

Adobe Pass (TV networks):

yt-dlp --ap-mso "provider" --ap-username "user" --ap-password "pass" "VIDEO_URL"

OAuth and Token Authentication​

YouTube OAuth​

OAuth token for private videos:

yt-dlp --oauth2-token "your_oauth_token" "PRIVATE_YOUTUBE_URL"

Interactive OAuth flow:

yt-dlp --oauth2-interactive "PRIVATE_YOUTUBE_URL"

API Token Authentication​

Custom API token:

yt-dlp --api-token "your_api_token" "VIDEO_URL"

Bearer token via HTTP header:

yt-dlp --http-header "Authorization: Bearer your_token" "VIDEO_URL"

Network and Proxy Authentication​

Proxy with Authentication​

HTTP proxy with credentials:

yt-dlp --proxy "http://user:pass@proxy.com:8080" "VIDEO_URL"

SOCKS proxy with credentials:

yt-dlp --proxy "socks5://user:pass@proxy.com:1080" "VIDEO_URL"

Multiple proxies:

yt-dlp --proxy "http://user:pass@proxy1.com:8080,http://user2:pass2@proxy2.com:8080" "VIDEO_URL"

HTTP Authentication​

Basic HTTP header:

yt-dlp --http-header "Authorization: Basic $(echo -n 'user:pass' | base64)" "VIDEO_URL"

Custom headers:

yt-dlp --http-header "X-API-Key: your_key" \
  --http-header "X-User-Token: token" "VIDEO_URL"

Platform-Specific Authentication​

YouTube​

YouTube private videos via cookies:

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser chrome "https://youtube.com/watch?v=PRIVATE_VIDEO"

YouTube Music private tracks:

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser firefox "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=PRIVATE_SONG"

Twitch​

Twitch subscriber content:

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser firefox "https://twitch.tv/subscriber_video"

Twitch VODs:

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser chrome "https://twitch.tv/videos/subscriber_vod"

Streaming Services​

Netflix (where permitted):

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser chrome "NETFLIX_URL"

Disney+:

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser firefox "DISNEY_PLUS_URL"

HBO Max:

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser edge "HBO_MAX_URL"

Social Media​

Instagram private content:

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser chrome "INSTAGRAM_PRIVATE_URL"

Facebook private videos:

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser firefox "FACEBOOK_PRIVATE_URL"

Twitter private content:

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser chrome "TWITTER_PRIVATE_URL"

Advanced Authentication​

Session Management​

Save session cookies:

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser chrome --write-cookies session.txt "VIDEO_URL"

Load saved session:

yt-dlp --cookies session.txt "VIDEO_URL"

Refresh expired cookies:

yt-dlp --cookies session.txt --refresh-cookies "VIDEO_URL"

Authentication Caching​

Cache directory usage:

yt-dlp --cache-dir ~/.cache/yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser chrome "VIDEO_URL"

Clear cache directory:

yt-dlp --rm-cache-dir "VIDEO_URL"

Force fresh auth:

yt-dlp --no-cache-dir --cookies-from-browser chrome "VIDEO_URL"

Multi-Account Support​

Use different cookie files per site:

yt-dlp --cookies youtube_cookies.txt "YOUTUBE_URL"

Specify config file:

yt-dlp --config-location youtube_config.conf "YOUTUBE_URL"

Security Considerations​

Restrict cookie file permissions:

chmod 600 cookies.txt

Encrypted cookie storage:

gpg -c cookies.txt
yt-dlp --cookies <(gpg -d cookies.txt.gpg) "VIDEO_URL"

Temporary cookie use and removal:

yt-dlp --cookies /tmp/temp_cookies.txt "VIDEO_URL" && \
  rm /tmp/temp_cookies.txt

Credential Management​

Set credentials via environment:

export YTDLP_USERNAME="your_username"
export YTDLP_PASSWORD="your_password"

Use with yt-dlp:

yt-dlp "VIDEO_URL"

Secure config file with permissions:

printf "--username your_user\n--password your_pass\n" > \
  ~/.config/yt-dlp/auth.conf
chmod 600 ~/.config/yt-dlp/auth.conf
yt-dlp --config-location ~/.config/yt-dlp/auth.conf "VIDEO_URL"

Troubleshooting Authentication​

Common Issues​

Verbose auth debug:

yt-dlp --verbose --cookies-from-browser chrome "VIDEO_URL"

Check available formats:

yt-dlp --cookies cookies.txt --list-formats "VIDEO_URL"

Force auth refresh:

yt-dlp --rm-cache-dir --cookies-from-browser chrome "VIDEO_URL"

Check file type:

file cookies.txt

Filter cookie errors:

yt-dlp --cookies cookies.txt --verbose "VIDEO_URL" 2>&1 | grep -i cookie

Browser debug mode:

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser chrome --verbose --debug "VIDEO_URL"

Login Failures​

Interactive login with debug:

yt-dlp --username "user" --password "" --verbose "VIDEO_URL"

Test network or proxy:

yt-dlp --verbose --proxy "" "VIDEO_URL"

Bypass geo-restrictions:

yt-dlp --proxy "socks5://proxy:1080" --cookies-from-browser chrome "VIDEO_URL"

Automation and Scripting​

Automated Authentication Script​

Template script:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
SITE="$1"
URL="$2"
if [[ "$SITE" == "youtube" ]]; then
  yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser chrome "$URL"
elif [[ "$SITE" == "twitch" ]]; then
  yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser firefox "$URL"
else
  yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser chrome "$URL"
fi

Batch Authentication​

Batch for YouTube:

yt-dlp --cookies youtube_cookies.txt --batch-file youtube_urls.txt

Batch for Twitch:

yt-dlp --cookies twitch_cookies.txt --batch-file twitch_urls.txt

Credentials batch:

yt-dlp --username user --password pass --batch-file login_urls.txt

Scheduled Downloads (Cron)​

Daily downloads at 2am:

0 2 * * * yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser chrome --batch-file daily_downloads.txt

Best Practices​

  1. Use Browser Cookies: Most reliable for modern sites
  2. Secure Storage: Protect cookie & credential files
  3. Refresh Regularly: Update cookies periodically
  4. Separate Accounts: Different creds for different uses
  5. Test Before Batches: Verify auth works
  6. Respect ToS: Follow platform rules
  7. Monitor Changes: Adapt to auth method updates
  8. Backup Data: Securely backup cookies & configs