yt-dlp - A Powerful Command-Line Audio/Video Downloader

Overview

yt-dlp is a feature-rich command-line audio/video downloader supporting thousands of websites. This project is a fork of the now-inactive youtube-dlc, originally derived from the well-known youtube-dl. It is specifically designed for users who need efficient and flexible downloading of online media content on macOS (and other operating systems).

Official Websites

• GitHub Repository: https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp
• Community Discord: discord.gg/H5MNcFW63r

Core Features

1. Extensive Website Support

• Supports downloading videos and audio from thousands of websites, including major and regional platforms like YouTube, Bilibili, Netflix, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, etc.
• Highly extensible extractor architecture for rapid adaptation to new websites or site updates.

2. Powerful Format Selection & Processing

• Smart Format Selection: Automatically selects optimal video/audio combinations (e.g., highest quality, best encoding), or allows custom selection rules.
• Format Filtering & Sorting: Supports filtering and sorting available formats by resolution, encoder, framerate, file size, etc.
• Merging & Transcoding: Automatically downloads and merges separate video and audio streams (e.g., m4a + webm), with optional ffmpeg post-processing for transcoding.

3. Comprehensive Download Control Options

• Resume Support: Supports resuming interrupted downloads.
• Rate Limiting: Allows setting maximum download speed to avoid consuming all bandwidth.
• Playlist & Archive Support: Supports downloading from playlists, channels, or user pages, with archive files to avoid duplicates.
• Range Downloading: Supports downloading specific time segments of a video.

4. Rich Metadata & Subtitle Handling

• Embedded Metadata: Can embed title, description, uploader, upload date, thumbnail, etc., into downloaded files (e.g., MP4 moov atom, MKV metadata).
• Subtitle Downloading: Supports downloading and embedding subtitles in multiple formats (SRT, ASS, VTT, etc.), including auto-generated ones.
• Thumbnail Handling: Can download thumbnails and embed them as cover art or save as standalone files.

5. Flexible Output Control

• Custom Output Templates: Use a powerful templating system to customize filename and path structure, including variables like title, ID, uploader, resolution, etc.
• Post-processing Hooks: Supports executing custom commands or scripts after download (e.g., triggering other tools for further processing).

6. Advanced Features

• SponsorBlock Integration: Integrates SponsorBlock API to automatically skip sponsored segments, interactive prompts, etc. (user-selectable categories).
• Cookies & Authentication: Supports importing browser cookie files to access content requiring login or age verification.
• Plugin System: Supports developing and using plugins to extend functionality, such as adding support for new websites or custom post-processing logic.

Advantages on macOS

1. Native Compatibility & High Performance

   • Provides a universal yt-dlp_macos executable for macOS 10.15+, running without installing Python—ready to use out-of-the-box.
   • As a command-line tool, it consumes minimal system resources, eliminating GUI overhead—ideal for servers or automated scripts.

2. Deep System Integration

   • Easily integrates with macOS default shells like zsh, bash, and can be simplified via aliases (alias).
   • Can be combined with cron or launchd for scheduled automatic downloads.
   • Seamlessly connects with macOS’s powerful multimedia ecosystem, such as working perfectly with ffmpeg (installable via brew) for format conversion and merging.

3. Strong Automation Capabilities

   • Enables complex media scraping workflows via Shell scripts or Automator.
   • Configuration files (yt-dlp.conf) allow centralized management of frequently used options, avoiding repetitive long commands.

4. Active Community & Continuous Updates

   • As an active fork of youtube-dl, it receives frequent updates to quickly adapt to changes on major video platforms.
   • Backed by a large user and developer community, ensuring fast responses to issues and feature requests.

Installation Methods (Recommended for macOS)

1. Download Standalone Executable (Recommended):

   • Visit the GitHub Releases page and download yt-dlp_macos.
   • In Terminal, move it to a system path and grant execute permissions:

     sudo mv ~/Downloads/yt-dlp_macos /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
     sudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
     

2. Install via Homebrew:

   brew install yt-dlp
   

3. Install via pip (Requires Python):

   python3 -m pip install -U yt-dlp
   

Basic Usage Examples

# Download a video (best available quality)
yt-dlp https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID

# Download in best MP4 format (if available)
yt-dlp -f "bestvideo[ext=mp4]+bestaudio[ext=m4a]/best[ext=mp4]/best" https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID

# Download audio only and convert to MP3
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID

# Download entire playlist
yt-dlp --yes-playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAYLIST_ID

# Download with custom filename template
yt-dlp -o '%(uploader)s/%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s' https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID

Conclusion

yt-dlp is the preferred downloader for macOS command-line users and advanced media managers. It combines powerful flexibility, support for countless websites, and high performance. For users comfortable with the terminal, seeking automation, and needing to retrieve media content from the internet, yt-dlp is an indispensable Swiss Army knife tool. Its detailed configuration options and active community support make it capable of handling virtually any online video download challenge.