Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

This comprehensive FAQ addresses the most commonly asked questions about yt-dlp, covering everything from basic usage to advanced features. Find quick answers to help you get the most out of yt-dlp.

General Questions

Q1: What is yt-dlp and how is it different from youtube-dl?

A: yt-dlp is a feature-rich fork of youtube-dl with significant improvements:

• Faster downloads and better performance
• More frequent updates (weekly/bi-weekly vs irregular)
• Advanced format selection with sorting capabilities
• SponsorBlock integration for automatic ad-skipping
• Better platform support with 1,000+ supported sites
• Enhanced browser integration for cookie extraction
• Plugin system for extensibility
• Live stream support and improved error handling

Q2: Is yt-dlp legal to use?

A: yt-dlp itself is legal software. However, how you use it depends on:

• Copyright laws in your jurisdiction
• Terms of service of websites you download from
• Fair use provisions for personal/educational use
• Content licensing and distribution rights

Best practices:

• Only download content you have rights to
• Respect creators' intellectual property
• Use for personal, educational, or research purposes
• Check local laws and platform terms of service

Q3: What platforms and operating systems does yt-dlp support?

A: yt-dlp is cross-platform and supports:

Operating Systems:

• Windows 7+ (x86, x64, ARM64)
• macOS 10.15+ (Intel and Apple Silicon)
• Linux (all major distributions)
• Android (via Termux)
• iOS (via iSH)

Supported Sites: 1,000+ including:

• Video platforms: YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Twitch
• Social media: TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook
• News sites: BBC, CNN, Reuters, many regional outlets
• Educational: Khan Academy, Coursera, edX
• Live streaming: Twitch, YouTube Live, Facebook Live

Q4: What are the system requirements?

A: Minimum requirements:

• Python: 3.9+ (CPython) or 3.10+ (PyPy)
• Memory: 512MB RAM (more for large playlists)
• Storage: 50MB for installation + download space
• Network: Internet connection
• Optional: FFmpeg for advanced post-processing

Installation and Updates

Q5: What are the different ways to install yt-dlp?

A: yt-dlp offers multiple installation methods:

1. Standalone Binaries (Easiest)

Download from GitHub releases - no Python required

# Windows: yt-dlp.exe
# macOS/Linux: yt-dlp

2. Python pip (Recommended for Python users)

pip install yt-dlp

Install for user-only

pip install --user yt-dlp

3. Package Managers

macOS

brew install yt-dlp

Windows

choco install yt-dlp

winget install yt-dlp

Linux (varies by distribution)

sudo apt install yt-dlp

sudo dnf install yt-dlp

sudo pacman -S yt-dlp

Q6: How do I update yt-dlp?

A: Update methods depend on installation:

Self-updater (for binaries)

yt-dlp -U

pip installation

pip install -U yt-dlp

Package managers

brew upgrade yt-dlp

choco upgrade yt-dlp

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade yt-dlp

Q7: Why am I getting "command not found" or "yt-dlp not recognized" errors?

A: Common solutions:

1. PATH Issues

• Ensure installation directory is in your system PATH
• For pip user installs, add ~/.local/bin to PATH (Linux/macOS)
• On Windows, add Python Scripts directory to PATH

2. Installation Verification

Check if installed

which yt-dlp

where yt-dlp

Check version

yt-dlp --version

3. Alternative Execution

If installed via pip but not in PATH

python -m yt_dlp "URL"

Direct execution (if binary downloaded)

./yt-dlp "URL"

yt-dlp.exe "URL"

Basic Usage

Q8: How do I download a video?

A: Basic download syntax:

Simple download (best quality)

yt-dlp "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"

Multiple videos

yt-dlp "URL1" "URL2" "URL3"

From file containing URLs

yt-dlp -a urls.txt

Q9: How do I download only audio?

A: Audio extraction options:

Extract audio (default format)

yt-dlp -x "URL"

Specific audio format and quality

yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 192K "URL"

Best audio quality

yt-dlp -x --audio-quality best "URL"

Keep video file after extraction

yt-dlp -x --keep-video "URL"

Q10: How do I select video quality?

A: Quality selection options:

List available formats first

yt-dlp -F "URL"

Specific quality

yt-dlp -f "best[height<=1080]" "URL"

yt-dlp -f "worst[height>=720]" "URL"

yt-dlp -f "best[height=720]" "URL"

Format preferences

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

Avoid certain formats

yt-dlp -f "best[ext!=flv]" "URL"

Q11: Can I download entire playlists or channels?

A: Yes, with various options:

Entire playlist

yt-dlp "PLAYLIST_URL"

Specific items from playlist

yt-dlp --playlist-items 1,3,5-10 "PLAYLIST_URL"

Reverse order

yt-dlp --playlist-reverse "PLAYLIST_URL"

YouTube channel (all uploads)

yt-dlp "https://www.youtube.com/@channel_name"

Channel playlists, shorts, live streams

yt-dlp "https://www.youtube.com/@channel_name/playlists"

yt-dlp "https://www.youtube.com/@channel_name/shorts"

yt-dlp "https://www.youtube.com/@channel_name/streams"

Advanced Features

Q12: How do I customize output filenames and locations?

A: Use output templates:

Custom filename template

yt-dlp -o "%(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s" "URL"

Organize by uploader

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

Date-based organization

yt-dlp -o "%(upload_date)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "URL"

Separate paths for different content types

yt-dlp -P "video:/Videos" -P "audio:/Music" "URL"

Windows-safe filenames

yt-dlp --windows-filenames -o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" "URL"

Q13: How do I handle subtitles and captions?

A: Subtitle options:

List available subtitles

yt-dlp --list-subs "URL"

Download specific language subtitles

yt-dlp --sub-langs en --write-subs "URL"

Download all available subtitles

yt-dlp --sub-langs all --write-subs "URL"

Auto-generated subtitles

yt-dlp --write-auto-subs --sub-langs en "URL"

Embed subtitles in video

yt-dlp --embed-subs --sub-langs en "URL"

Convert subtitle format

yt-dlp --convert-subs srt --write-subs "URL"

Q14: Can I use yt-dlp in my Python scripts?

A: Yes, yt-dlp provides a Python API:

import yt_dlp

# Basic usage
ydl_opts = {}
with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
    ydl.download(['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID'])

# With options
ydl_opts = {
    'format': 'bestaudio/best',
    'outtmpl': '%(title)s.%(ext)s',
}
with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
    ydl.download(['URL'])

Q15: How do I download live streams?

A: Live stream options:

Download live stream (will stop when stream ends)

yt-dlp "LIVE_STREAM_URL"

Download from start (experimental)

yt-dlp --live-from-start "LIVE_STREAM_URL"

Wait for live stream to start

yt-dlp --wait-for-video 60 "LIVE_STREAM_URL"

Record for specific duration

yt-dlp --download-sections "*0-3600" "LIVE_STREAM_URL"

Troubleshooting

Q16: Why are my downloads slow?

A: Speed optimization strategies:

Use external downloader (fastest)

yt-dlp --external-downloader aria2c --external-downloader-args "-x 16 -s 16" "URL"

Limit rate to avoid throttling

yt-dlp --limit-rate 2M "URL"

Concurrent fragment downloads

yt-dlp --concurrent-fragments 4 "URL"

Different user agent

yt-dlp --user-agent "Mozilla/5.0..." "URL"

Q17: How do I bypass geo-restrictions?

A: Geo-restriction bypass methods:

Built-in geo-bypass

yt-dlp --geo-bypass "URL"

yt-dlp --geo-bypass-country US "URL"

Use proxy

yt-dlp --proxy socks5://127.0.0.1:9150 "URL"

yt-dlp --proxy http://proxy.example.com:8080 "URL"

VPN (external solution)

# Connect to VPN first, then run yt-dlp normally

Q18: How do I download age-restricted or private content?

A: Authentication methods:

Use browser cookies (recommended)

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

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

Specific browser profile

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser "firefox:Profile Name" "URL"

Manual login (less secure)

yt-dlp --username YOUR_USERNAME --password YOUR_PASSWORD "URL"

Cookies file

yt-dlp --cookies cookies.txt "URL"

Q19: What do I do when yt-dlp says "video unavailable"?

A: Troubleshooting steps:

1. Update yt-dlp: yt-dlp -U
2. Check with verbose output: yt-dlp -v "URL"
3. Try geo-bypass: yt-dlp --geo-bypass "URL"
4. Use browser cookies: yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser chrome "URL"
5. Check if video actually exists (visit URL in browser)
6. Try different user agent: yt-dlp --user-agent "Mozilla/5.0..." "URL"

Q20: How do I fix FFmpeg-related errors?

A: FFmpeg troubleshooting:

Check if FFmpeg is available

yt-dlp --check-formats "URL"

Specify FFmpeg location

yt-dlp --ffmpeg-location /path/to/ffmpeg "URL"

Skip post-processing if FFmpeg issues

yt-dlp --no-post-overwrites "URL"

Install FFmpeg

# Windows: Download from ffmpeg.org
# macOS: brew install ffmpeg
# Linux: sudo apt install ffmpeg

Configuration and Automation

Q21: How do I create configuration files?

A: Configuration file locations and syntax:

Linux/macOS:

• ~/.config/yt-dlp/config
• ~/.yt-dlp.conf

Windows:

• %APPDATA%\yt-dlp\config.txt
• %APPDATA%\yt-dlp.conf

Example config file:

# Default format selection
-f bestvideo[height<=1080]+bestaudio/best

# Output template
-o %(uploader)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s

# Always extract metadata
--embed-metadata
--embed-thumbnail

# Subtitle preferences
--sub-langs en,es
--write-subs

Q22: How do I avoid re-downloading videos?

A: Use download archives:

Create and use download archive

yt-dlp --download-archive archive.txt "PLAYLIST_URL"

Archive will track downloaded videos

# Subsequent runs will skip already downloaded content

Q23: How do I handle large playlists efficiently?

A: Large playlist strategies:

Limit concurrent downloads

yt-dlp --max-downloads 50 "PLAYLIST_URL"

Add delays between downloads

yt-dlp --sleep-interval 5 --max-sleep-interval 15 "PLAYLIST_URL"

Continue on errors

yt-dlp --ignore-errors "PLAYLIST_URL"

Download specific date ranges

yt-dlp --dateafter 20230101 --datebefore 20231231 "PLAYLIST_URL"

Privacy and Security

Q24: Is yt-dlp safe to use? Does it collect data?

A: yt-dlp privacy and security:

Safety:

• Open source - code is publicly auditable
• No data collection - yt-dlp doesn't collect personal information
• Local operation - runs entirely on your machine
• No telemetry - doesn't send usage data anywhere

Security best practices:

• Download from official sources only
• Keep yt-dlp updated
• Be cautious with cookies and credentials
• Use secure networks for downloads
• Verify downloaded content

Q25: Is it safe to use cookies and login credentials?

A: Cookie and credential safety:

Browser cookie extraction (safest):

• Cookies extracted locally from your browser
• No credentials transmitted over network
• Automatically includes 2FA tokens

Manual credentials (less secure):

• Only use on trusted networks
• Avoid storing passwords in scripts
• Use app-specific passwords when available
• Consider using netrc files for credential storage

Cookie file security:

• Don't share cookie files
• Store in secure locations
• Delete old/expired cookie files
• Use browser extraction instead when possible

Platform-Specific Questions

Q26: Are there any YouTube-specific features?

A: YouTube-specific capabilities:

YouTube search

yt-dlp "ytsearch10:cats"

YouTube Music

yt-dlp "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"

YouTube Shorts

yt-dlp "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/SHORT_ID"

YouTube Stories (if available)

yt-dlp "ytstories:CHANNEL_ID"

Skip sponsored segments (SponsorBlock)

yt-dlp --sponsorblock-mark all "URL"

yt-dlp --sponsorblock-remove sponsor "URL"

Different player clients (if needed)

yt-dlp --extractor-args "youtube:player_client=web" "URL"

Q27: How do I download from social media platforms?

A: Social media specific tips:

Instagram:

Requires authentication for most content

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

TikTok:

Avoid watermarks

yt-dlp --extractor-args "tiktok:api_hostname=api16-normal-c-useast1a.tiktokv.com" "URL"

Twitter:

May require authentication

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

Development and Contributing

Q28: How can I contribute to yt-dlp?

A: Ways to contribute:

Bug Reports:

• Use GitHub issues with detailed information
• Include yt-dlp version, command used, error message
• Test with latest version first

Feature Requests:

• Check existing issues first
• Provide clear use cases and examples
• Be patient - development is volunteer-driven

Code Contributions:

• Fork the repository on GitHub
• Follow coding standards and guidelines
• Submit pull requests with clear descriptions
• Add tests for new features

Documentation:

• Improve existing documentation
• Add examples and use cases
• Translate to other languages

Q29: How do I report bugs effectively?

A: Effective bug reporting:

Include this information:

yt-dlp version

yt-dlp --version

Full command used

yt-dlp -v "URL"

Operating system and Python version

python --version

Steps for good bug reports:

1. Search existing issues first
2. Test with latest version: yt-dlp -U
3. Use verbose output: Add -v flag
4. Provide minimal example that reproduces the issue
5. Include complete error message
6. Mention if URL is private (don't share private URLs)

Getting Help

Q30: Where can I get additional help and support?

A: Support resources:

Official Channels:

• GitHub Issues: yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues
• GitHub Discussions: For questions and community support
• Documentation: Comprehensive guides and examples

Community Resources:

• Reddit: r/youtubedl community
• Discord: yt-dlp community servers
• Stack Overflow: Programming-related questions

Professional Support:

• Custom extractor development
• Enterprise integration consulting
• Compliance and legal guidance
• Performance optimization services

Self-Help Resources:

Built-in help

yt-dlp --help

Verbose output for debugging

yt-dlp -v

Check supported sites

yt-dlp --list-extractors

Format information

yt-dlp -F "URL"

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Remember: This FAQ covers common questions, but yt-dlp is a powerful tool with many advanced features. For detailed information on specific topics, refer to the comprehensive documentation sections covering installation, basic usage, advanced features, and platform-specific guides.