Installing yt-dlp via Third-party Package Managers

Third-party package managers provide a convenient way to install, update, and manage yt-dlp alongside other system software. This comprehensive guide covers all major package managers across different operating systems, their specific installation procedures, and best practices.

Advantages of Package Managers

Benefits

• Automated dependency management - Handles all required dependencies automatically
• System integration - Integrates with OS update mechanisms
• Easy updates - Simple commands to update to latest versions
• Removal and cleanup - Clean uninstallation with dependency cleanup
• Security - Packages are often signed and verified
• Consistency - Standardized installation across systems

Considerations

• Update delays - May not have the latest yt-dlp version immediately
• Limited customization - Fewer installation options compared to pip
• Distribution policies - Subject to package maintainer decisions
• System permissions - May require administrator/root access

Windows Package Managers

Chocolatey

Chocolatey is a popular Windows package manager that simplifies software installation.

Prerequisites

• Windows 7+ / Windows Server 2003+
• PowerShell v2+ (v3+ recommended)
• .NET Framework 4+ (installed if missing)

Installation of Chocolatey

Run as Administrator in PowerShell

Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force

[System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol -bor 3072

iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://community.chocolatey.org/install.ps1'))

Installing yt-dlp

Basic installation

choco install yt-dlp

Install with confirmation prompts disabled

choco install yt-dlp -y

Install specific version

choco install yt-dlp --version 2023.12.30

Managing yt-dlp

Update to latest version

choco upgrade yt-dlp

Update all packages

choco upgrade all

Check for available updates

choco outdated

Uninstall

choco uninstall yt-dlp

Get package information

choco info yt-dlp

List installed packages

choco list --local-only

Configuration

Set default installation directory

choco config set cacheLocation C:\temp\choco

Enable global confirmation

choco feature enable -n allowGlobalConfirmation

Scoop

Scoop is a command-line installer for Windows that installs programs to your user directory.

Prerequisites

• Windows 7+ with PowerShell 5.1+
• .NET Framework 4.5+

Installation of Scoop

Set execution policy for current user

Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

Install Scoop

irm get.scoop.sh | iex

Installing yt-dlp

Basic installation

scoop install yt-dlp

Install from specific bucket

scoop bucket add extras

scoop install extras/yt-dlp

Install specific version

scoop install yt-dlp@2023.12.30

Managing yt-dlp

Update yt-dlp

scoop update yt-dlp

Update all packages

scoop update *

Check for updates

scoop status

Uninstall

scoop uninstall yt-dlp

Get package information

scoop info yt-dlp

List installed packages

scoop list

Advanced Scoop Usage

Add additional buckets

scoop bucket add main

scoop bucket add extras

scoop bucket add versions

Install with specific architecture

scoop install yt-dlp --arch 64bit

Hold a specific version

scoop hold yt-dlp

Cleanup old versions

scoop cleanup yt-dlp

winget (Windows Package Manager)

Microsoft's official package manager for Windows 10 1709+ and Windows 11.

Prerequisites

• Windows 10 1709 (build 16299) or later
• Windows 11 (any version)
• App Installer from Microsoft Store

Installing yt-dlp

Basic installation

winget install yt-dlp.yt-dlp

Install with specific ID

winget install --id yt-dlp.yt-dlp

Install interactively

winget install yt-dlp.yt-dlp --interactive

Install to specific location

winget install yt-dlp.yt-dlp --location "C:\Tools"

Managing yt-dlp

Update yt-dlp

winget upgrade yt-dlp.yt-dlp

Update all packages

winget upgrade --all

Check for available updates

winget upgrade

Uninstall

winget uninstall yt-dlp.yt-dlp

Get package information

winget show yt-dlp.yt-dlp

List installed packages

winget list

Advanced winget Usage

Search for packages

winget search yt-dlp

Install specific version

winget install yt-dlp.yt-dlp --version 2023.12.30

Export installed packages

winget export --output packages.json

Import packages

winget import --import-file packages.json

macOS Package Managers

Homebrew

The most popular package manager for macOS and Linux.

Prerequisites

• macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or higher
• Command Line Tools for Xcode

Installation of Homebrew

Install Homebrew

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Add to PATH (for Apple Silicon Macs)

echo 'eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' >> ~/.zprofile

eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"

Installing yt-dlp

Basic installation

brew install yt-dlp

Install from cask (if available)

brew install --cask yt-dlp

Install specific version (if available)

brew install yt-dlp@2023.12.30

Managing yt-dlp

Update yt-dlp

brew upgrade yt-dlp

Update all packages

brew upgrade

Check for available updates

brew outdated

Uninstall

brew uninstall yt-dlp

Get package information

brew info yt-dlp

List installed packages

brew list

Search for packages

brew search yt-dlp

Advanced Homebrew Usage

Pin a specific version

brew pin yt-dlp

Unpin to allow updates

brew unpin yt-dlp

Install development version

brew install --HEAD yt-dlp

Cleanup old versions

brew cleanup

Check system for potential issues

brew doctor

Create a Brewfile for reproducible setups

brew bundle dump

MacPorts

An alternative package manager for macOS focusing on source-based installations.

Prerequisites

• macOS 10.12 (Sierra) or later
• Xcode Command Line Tools
• MacPorts installer

Installation of MacPorts

1. Download installer from macports.org
2. Run the installer package
3. Update MacPorts:

sudo port selfupdate

Installing yt-dlp

Basic installation

sudo port install yt-dlp

Install with specific variants

sudo port install yt-dlp +universal

Install and activate

sudo port install yt-dlp +python311

Managing yt-dlp

Update MacPorts and packages

sudo port selfupdate

sudo port upgrade yt-dlp

Update all outdated packages

sudo port upgrade outdated

Uninstall

sudo port uninstall yt-dlp

Get package information

port info yt-dlp

List installed packages

port installed

Search for packages

port search yt-dlp

Advanced MacPorts Usage

Clean build files

sudo port clean yt-dlp

Show dependencies

port deps yt-dlp

Show dependents

port dependents yt-dlp

Install with build options

sudo port install yt-dlp +debug +universal

Linux Package Managers

Debian/Ubuntu (APT)

The Advanced Package Tool used by Debian and Ubuntu-based distributions.

Official PPA (Recommended)

Add official yt-dlp PPA

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yt-dlp/stable

Update package list

sudo apt update

Install yt-dlp

sudo apt install yt-dlp

Distribution Packages

Install from distribution repository (may be older)

sudo apt update

sudo apt install yt-dlp

Install specific version

sudo apt install yt-dlp=2023.12.30-1

Managing yt-dlp

Update yt-dlp

sudo apt upgrade yt-dlp

Update all packages

sudo apt upgrade

Check for available updates

apt list --upgradable

Uninstall

sudo apt remove yt-dlp

Complete removal with config files

sudo apt purge yt-dlp

Get package information

apt show yt-dlp

List installed packages

apt list --installed | grep yt-dlp

Advanced APT Usage

Hold package at current version

sudo apt-mark hold yt-dlp

Unhold package

sudo apt-mark unhold yt-dlp

Download package without installing

apt download yt-dlp

Show package dependencies

apt depends yt-dlp

Show reverse dependencies

apt rdepends yt-dlp

Clean package cache

sudo apt clean

sudo apt autoclean

Fedora/CentOS/RHEL (DNF/YUM)

Red Hat-based distributions using DNF (newer) or YUM (older).

Fedora

Install from official repositories

sudo dnf install yt-dlp

Install from RPM Fusion (if needed)

sudo dnf install \
  https://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm

sudo dnf install yt-dlp

CentOS/RHEL

Enable EPEL repository

sudo dnf install epel-release

Install yt-dlp

sudo dnf install yt-dlp

For older versions using YUM

sudo yum install epel-release

sudo yum install yt-dlp

Managing yt-dlp

Update yt-dlp

sudo dnf upgrade yt-dlp

Update all packages

sudo dnf upgrade

Check for available updates

dnf check-update

Uninstall

sudo dnf remove yt-dlp

Get package information

dnf info yt-dlp

List installed packages

dnf list installed | grep yt-dlp

Search for packages

dnf search yt-dlp

Arch Linux (pacman)

The package manager for Arch Linux and derivatives.

Official Repository

Install from official repository

sudo pacman -S yt-dlp

Install with confirmation

sudo pacman -S --noconfirm yt-dlp

AUR (Arch User Repository)

Using yay AUR helper

yay -S yt-dlp-git

Using paru AUR helper

paru -S yt-dlp-git

Manual AUR installation

git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yt-dlp-git.git

cd yt-dlp-git

makepkg -si

Managing yt-dlp

Update yt-dlp

sudo pacman -S yt-dlp

Update all packages

sudo pacman -Syu

Check for available updates

checkupdates

Uninstall

sudo pacman -R yt-dlp

Complete removal with dependencies

sudo pacman -Rs yt-dlp

Get package information

pacman -Si yt-dlp

List installed packages

pacman -Q | grep yt-dlp

Search for packages

pacman -Ss yt-dlp

openSUSE (zypper)

Package manager for openSUSE distributions.

Installation

Install from official repository

sudo zypper install yt-dlp

Install with automatic dependency resolution

sudo zypper install --auto-agree-with-licenses yt-dlp

Install from specific repository

sudo zypper addrepo https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/multimedia:/apps/openSUSE_Tumbleweed/ multimedia

sudo zypper refresh

sudo zypper install yt-dlp

Managing yt-dlp

Update yt-dlp

sudo zypper update yt-dlp

Update all packages

sudo zypper update

Check for available updates

zypper list-updates

Uninstall

sudo zypper remove yt-dlp

Get package information

zypper info yt-dlp

List installed packages

zypper search --installed-only yt-dlp

Search for packages

zypper search yt-dlp

Alpine Linux (apk)

Lightweight package manager for Alpine Linux.

Installation

Update package index

apk update

Install yt-dlp

apk add yt-dlp

Install from edge repository (latest versions)

echo "http://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community" >> /etc/apk/repositories

apk update

apk add yt-dlp

Managing yt-dlp

Update yt-dlp

apk upgrade yt-dlp

Update all packages

apk upgrade

Uninstall

apk del yt-dlp

Get package information

apk info yt-dlp

List installed packages

apk list -I | grep yt-dlp

Search for packages

apk search yt-dlp

Specialized Package Managers

Nix

Cross-platform package manager with reproducible builds.

Installation

Install yt-dlp

nix-env -iA nixpkgs.yt-dlp

Install imperatively

nix-env -i yt-dlp

Install in nix-shell

nix-shell -p yt-dlp

Managing with Nix

Update yt-dlp

nix-env -u yt-dlp

Update all packages

nix-env -u

Uninstall

nix-env -e yt-dlp

List installed packages

nix-env -q

Search for packages

nix-env -qaP | grep yt-dlp

Guix

GNU package manager focusing on reproducible builds.

Installation

Install yt-dlp

guix install yt-dlp

Install to specific profile

guix install yt-dlp -p ~/my-profile

Managing with Guix

Update yt-dlp

guix upgrade yt-dlp

Update all packages

guix upgrade

Uninstall

guix remove yt-dlp

List installed packages

guix package -I

Search for packages

guix search yt-dlp

Container-based Package Managers

Flatpak

Universal package manager for Linux applications.

Installation

Add Flathub repository

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Install yt-dlp (if available)

flatpak install flathub org.yt_dlp.yt_dlp

Snap

Universal package manager by Canonical.

Installation

Install yt-dlp snap (if available)

sudo snap install yt-dlp

Install from edge channel

sudo snap install yt-dlp --edge

Best Practices

Choosing the Right Package Manager

1. System Integration: Use your OS's native package manager when possible
2. Update Frequency: Consider how quickly packages are updated
3. Customization Needs: Use pip if you need specific versions or configurations
4. Security: Prefer official repositories over third-party sources

Security Considerations

Verify package signatures (where supported)

APT

apt-key list

RPM-based

rpm --checksig package.rpm

Arch Linux

pacman-key --list-keys

Automation and Scripting

Create installation scripts

#!/bin/bash
if command -v apt >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y yt-dlp
elif command -v dnf >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    sudo dnf install -y yt-dlp
elif command -v pacman >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    sudo pacman -S --noconfirm yt-dlp
elif command -v brew >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    brew install yt-dlp
else
    echo "No supported package manager found"
    exit 1
fi

Keeping Packages Updated

Set up automatic updates (Ubuntu/Debian)

sudo apt install unattended-upgrades

Configure automatic updates (Fedora)

sudo dnf install dnf-automatic

sudo systemctl enable --now dnf-automatic.timer

Troubleshooting Package Manager Issues

Common Problems

1. Repository not found: Add required repositories or PPAs
2. Permission denied: Use sudo/administrator privileges
3. Package conflicts: Resolve dependency conflicts
4. Outdated package lists: Update package databases

Platform-Specific Solutions

Ubuntu/Debian:

Fix broken packages

sudo apt --fix-broken install

Reconfigure packages

sudo dpkg-reconfigure yt-dlp

Fedora:

Clean package cache

sudo dnf clean all

Rebuild package database

sudo dnf makecache

Arch Linux:

Update package database

sudo pacman -Sy

Fix corrupted database

sudo pacman -Sc

Package managers provide a convenient and secure way to install yt-dlp while integrating with your system's software management infrastructure. Choose the method that best fits your operating system and workflow preferences.