A very useful guide on how to use yt-dlp

I've been using yt-dlp for a long time and it has been very useful for me in the daily basis. When I want to download a video or a song from youtube, it really comes in handy to have a tool that is not bloated with ads and fake download buttons like those youtube downloader clients we see over the internet.

yt-dlp is a powerful tool packed with features, but that’s also what makes it challenging to learn. It offers a wide range of functionalities, many of which go unused by the average user. Most people simply want to download videos as MP4 or songs as MP3, without having to navigate its extensive options.

My goal is to summarize some commands that I think are the most useful for the daily basis.

Installation

You can visit the official github repository to find the steps on how to install it.

Important

Make sure to install ffmpeg before running the commands provided!

To install ffmpeg on Windows run the following command on the Windows Terminal:

winget install -e --id Gyan.FFmpeg

To install ffmpeg on Ubuntu or derivatives run the following command on terminal:

sudo apt install ffmpeg

Download in MP3

If you want to download a video or a playlist from YouTube and automatically convert it to mp3, run the following command:

yt-dlp <link for video or playlist> -x --audio-format mp3

Downloading playlist with numbered files

If you want to download a playlist with numbered files like...

01 - File 1.mp3
02 - File 2.mp3
03 - File 3.mp3
...

...you can run the following command:

yt-dlp -o "%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s" <link> -x --audio-format mp3

Download MP4 video

If you want to download a video from YouTube in the MP4 format, run the following command:

yt-dlp <link> -S ext

Compatibility with video editors (like Davinci Resolve)

If you wish to download videos using yt-dlp and use them in Davinci Resolve, you'll need to recode the video to the MOV format. Thankfully, yt-dlp provides a feature to do so. Just run the following command:

yt-dlp <link> --recode-video mov

Conclusion

In my opinion, these were the most useful commands I could provide