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1 % YOUTUBE-DL(1)
2
3 # NAME
4 youtube-dl - download videos from youtube.com or other video platforms
5
6 # SYNOPSIS
7 **youtube-dl** [OPTIONS] URL [URL...]
8
9 # DESCRIPTION
10 **youtube-dl** is a small command-line program to download videos from
11 YouTube.com and a few more sites. It requires the Python interpreter, version
12 2.6, 2.7, or 3.3+, and it is not platform specific. It should work on
13 your Unix box, on Windows or on Mac OS X. It is released to the public domain,
14 which means you can modify it, redistribute it or use it however you like.
15
16 # OPTIONS
17 -h, --help print this help text and exit
18 --version print program version and exit
19 -U, --update update this program to latest version. Make sure
20 that you have sufficient permissions (run with
21 sudo if needed)
22 -i, --ignore-errors continue on download errors, for example to to
23 skip unavailable videos in a playlist
24 --abort-on-error Abort downloading of further videos (in the
25 playlist or the command line) if an error occurs
26 --dump-user-agent display the current browser identification
27 --user-agent UA specify a custom user agent
28 --referer REF specify a custom referer, use if the video access
29 is restricted to one domain
30 --list-extractors List all supported extractors and the URLs they
31 would handle
32 --extractor-descriptions Output descriptions of all supported extractors
33 --proxy URL Use the specified HTTP/HTTPS proxy. Pass in an
34 empty string (--proxy "") for direct connection
35 --no-check-certificate Suppress HTTPS certificate validation.
36 --cache-dir DIR Location in the filesystem where youtube-dl can
37 store downloaded information permanently. By
38 default $XDG_CACHE_HOME/youtube-dl or ~/.cache
39 /youtube-dl .
40 --no-cache-dir Disable filesystem caching
41 --bidi-workaround Work around terminals that lack bidirectional
42 text support. Requires fribidi executable in PATH
43
44 ## Video Selection:
45 --playlist-start NUMBER playlist video to start at (default is 1)
46 --playlist-end NUMBER playlist video to end at (default is last)
47 --match-title REGEX download only matching titles (regex or caseless
48 sub-string)
49 --reject-title REGEX skip download for matching titles (regex or
50 caseless sub-string)
51 --max-downloads NUMBER Abort after downloading NUMBER files
52 --min-filesize SIZE Do not download any videos smaller than SIZE
53 (e.g. 50k or 44.6m)
54 --max-filesize SIZE Do not download any videos larger than SIZE (e.g.
55 50k or 44.6m)
56 --date DATE download only videos uploaded in this date
57 --datebefore DATE download only videos uploaded before this date
58 --dateafter DATE download only videos uploaded after this date
59 --min-views COUNT Do not download any videos with less than COUNT
60 views
61 --max-views COUNT Do not download any videos with more than COUNT
62 views
63 --no-playlist download only the currently playing video
64 --age-limit YEARS download only videos suitable for the given age
65 --download-archive FILE Download only videos not listed in the archive
66 file. Record the IDs of all downloaded videos in
67 it.
68
69 ## Download Options:
70 -r, --rate-limit LIMIT maximum download rate in bytes per second (e.g.
71 50K or 4.2M)
72 -R, --retries RETRIES number of retries (default is 10)
73 --buffer-size SIZE size of download buffer (e.g. 1024 or 16K)
74 (default is 1024)
75 --no-resize-buffer do not automatically adjust the buffer size. By
76 default, the buffer size is automatically resized
77 from an initial value of SIZE.
78
79 ## Filesystem Options:
80 -t, --title use title in file name (default)
81 --id use only video ID in file name
82 -l, --literal [deprecated] alias of --title
83 -A, --auto-number number downloaded files starting from 00000
84 -o, --output TEMPLATE output filename template. Use %(title)s to get
85 the title, %(uploader)s for the uploader name,
86 %(uploader_id)s for the uploader nickname if
87 different, %(autonumber)s to get an automatically
88 incremented number, %(ext)s for the filename
89 extension, %(format)s for the format description
90 (like "22 - 1280x720" or "HD"),%(format_id)s for
91 the unique id of the format (like Youtube's
92 itags: "137"),%(upload_date)s for the upload date
93 (YYYYMMDD), %(extractor)s for the provider
94 (youtube, metacafe, etc), %(id)s for the video id
95 , %(playlist)s for the playlist the video is in,
96 %(playlist_index)s for the position in the
97 playlist and %% for a literal percent. Use - to
98 output to stdout. Can also be used to download to
99 a different directory, for example with -o '/my/d
100 ownloads/%(uploader)s/%(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s' .
101 --autonumber-size NUMBER Specifies the number of digits in %(autonumber)s
102 when it is present in output filename template or
103 --auto-number option is given
104 --restrict-filenames Restrict filenames to only ASCII characters, and
105 avoid "&" and spaces in filenames
106 -a, --batch-file FILE file containing URLs to download ('-' for stdin)
107 --load-info FILE json file containing the video information
108 (created with the "--write-json" option
109 -w, --no-overwrites do not overwrite files
110 -c, --continue force resume of partially downloaded files. By
111 default, youtube-dl will resume downloads if
112 possible.
113 --no-continue do not resume partially downloaded files (restart
114 from beginning)
115 --cookies FILE file to read cookies from and dump cookie jar in
116 --no-part do not use .part files
117 --no-mtime do not use the Last-modified header to set the
118 file modification time
119 --write-description write video description to a .description file
120 --write-info-json write video metadata to a .info.json file
121 --write-annotations write video annotations to a .annotation file
122 --write-thumbnail write thumbnail image to disk
123
124 ## Verbosity / Simulation Options:
125 -q, --quiet activates quiet mode
126 -s, --simulate do not download the video and do not write
127 anything to disk
128 --skip-download do not download the video
129 -g, --get-url simulate, quiet but print URL
130 -e, --get-title simulate, quiet but print title
131 --get-id simulate, quiet but print id
132 --get-thumbnail simulate, quiet but print thumbnail URL
133 --get-description simulate, quiet but print video description
134 --get-duration simulate, quiet but print video length
135 --get-filename simulate, quiet but print output filename
136 --get-format simulate, quiet but print output format
137 -j, --dump-json simulate, quiet but print JSON information
138 --newline output progress bar as new lines
139 --no-progress do not print progress bar
140 --console-title display progress in console titlebar
141 -v, --verbose print various debugging information
142 --dump-intermediate-pages print downloaded pages to debug problems(very
143 verbose)
144 --write-pages Write downloaded intermediary pages to files in
145 the current directory to debug problems
146
147 ## Video Format Options:
148 -f, --format FORMAT video format code, specify the order of
149 preference using slashes: "-f 22/17/18". "-f mp4"
150 and "-f flv" are also supported
151 --all-formats download all available video formats
152 --prefer-free-formats prefer free video formats unless a specific one
153 is requested
154 --max-quality FORMAT highest quality format to download
155 -F, --list-formats list all available formats (currently youtube
156 only)
157
158 ## Subtitle Options:
159 --write-sub write subtitle file
160 --write-auto-sub write automatic subtitle file (youtube only)
161 --all-subs downloads all the available subtitles of the
162 video
163 --list-subs lists all available subtitles for the video
164 --sub-format FORMAT subtitle format (default=srt) ([sbv/vtt] youtube
165 only)
166 --sub-lang LANGS languages of the subtitles to download (optional)
167 separated by commas, use IETF language tags like
168 'en,pt'
169
170 ## Authentication Options:
171 -u, --username USERNAME account username
172 -p, --password PASSWORD account password
173 -n, --netrc use .netrc authentication data
174 --video-password PASSWORD video password (vimeo only)
175
176 ## Post-processing Options:
177 -x, --extract-audio convert video files to audio-only files (requires
178 ffmpeg or avconv and ffprobe or avprobe)
179 --audio-format FORMAT "best", "aac", "vorbis", "mp3", "m4a", "opus", or
180 "wav"; best by default
181 --audio-quality QUALITY ffmpeg/avconv audio quality specification, insert
182 a value between 0 (better) and 9 (worse) for VBR
183 or a specific bitrate like 128K (default 5)
184 --recode-video FORMAT Encode the video to another format if necessary
185 (currently supported: mp4|flv|ogg|webm)
186 -k, --keep-video keeps the video file on disk after the post-
187 processing; the video is erased by default
188 --no-post-overwrites do not overwrite post-processed files; the post-
189 processed files are overwritten by default
190 --embed-subs embed subtitles in the video (only for mp4
191 videos)
192 --add-metadata add metadata to the files
193
194 # CONFIGURATION
195
196 You can configure youtube-dl by placing default arguments (such as `--extract-audio --no-mtime` to always extract the audio and not copy the mtime) into `/etc/youtube-dl.conf` and/or `~/.config/youtube-dl.conf`. On Windows, the configuration file locations are `%APPDATA%\youtube-dl\config.txt` and `C:\Users\<Yourname>\youtube-dl.conf`.
197
198 # OUTPUT TEMPLATE
199
200 The `-o` option allows users to indicate a template for the output file names. The basic usage is not to set any template arguments when downloading a single file, like in `youtube-dl -o funny_video.flv "http://some/video"`. However, it may contain special sequences that will be replaced when downloading each video. The special sequences have the format `%(NAME)s`. To clarify, that is a percent symbol followed by a name in parenthesis, followed by a lowercase S. Allowed names are:
201
202 - `id`: The sequence will be replaced by the video identifier.
203 - `url`: The sequence will be replaced by the video URL.
204 - `uploader`: The sequence will be replaced by the nickname of the person who uploaded the video.
205 - `upload_date`: The sequence will be replaced by the upload date in YYYYMMDD format.
206 - `title`: The sequence will be replaced by the video title.
207 - `ext`: The sequence will be replaced by the appropriate extension (like flv or mp4).
208 - `epoch`: The sequence will be replaced by the Unix epoch when creating the file.
209 - `autonumber`: The sequence will be replaced by a five-digit number that will be increased with each download, starting at zero.
210 - `playlist`: The name or the id of the playlist that contains the video.
211 - `playlist_index`: The index of the video in the playlist, a five-digit number.
212
213 The current default template is `%(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s`.
214
215 In some cases, you don't want special characters such as 中, spaces, or &, such as when transferring the downloaded filename to a Windows system or the filename through an 8bit-unsafe channel. In these cases, add the `--restrict-filenames` flag to get a shorter title:
216
217 $ youtube-dl --get-filename -o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc
218 youtube-dl test video ''_ä↭𝕐.mp4 # All kinds of weird characters
219 $ youtube-dl --get-filename -o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" BaW_jenozKc --restrict-filenames
220 youtube-dl_test_video_.mp4 # A simple file name
221
222 # VIDEO SELECTION
223
224 Videos can be filtered by their upload date using the options `--date`, `--datebefore` or `--dateafter`, they accept dates in two formats:
225
226 - Absolute dates: Dates in the format `YYYYMMDD`.
227 - Relative dates: Dates in the format `(now|today)[+-][0-9](day|week|month|year)(s)?`
228
229 Examples:
230
231 $ youtube-dl --dateafter now-6months #will only download the videos uploaded in the last 6 months
232 $ youtube-dl --date 19700101 #will only download the videos uploaded in January 1, 1970
233 $ youtube-dl --dateafter 20000101 --datebefore 20100101 #will only download the videos uploaded between 2000 and 2010
234
235 # FAQ
236
237 ### Can you please put the -b option back?
238
239 Most people asking this question are not aware that youtube-dl now defaults to downloading the highest available quality as reported by YouTube, which will be 1080p or 720p in some cases, so you no longer need the `-b` option. For some specific videos, maybe YouTube does not report them to be available in a specific high quality format you're interested in. In that case, simply request it with the `-f` option and youtube-dl will try to download it.
240
241 ### I get HTTP error 402 when trying to download a video. What's this?
242
243 Apparently YouTube requires you to pass a CAPTCHA test if you download too much. We're [considering to provide a way to let you solve the CAPTCHA](https://github.com/rg3/youtube-dl/issues/154), but at the moment, your best course of action is pointing a webbrowser to the youtube URL, solving the CAPTCHA, and restart youtube-dl.
244
245 ### I have downloaded a video but how can I play it?
246
247 Once the video is fully downloaded, use any video player, such as [vlc](http://www.videolan.org) or [mplayer](http://www.mplayerhq.hu/).
248
249 ### The links provided by youtube-dl -g are not working anymore
250
251 The URLs youtube-dl outputs require the downloader to have the correct cookies. Use the `--cookies` option to write the required cookies into a file, and advise your downloader to read cookies from that file. Some sites also require a common user agent to be used, use `--dump-user-agent` to see the one in use by youtube-dl.
252
253 ### ERROR: no fmt_url_map or conn information found in video info
254
255 youtube has switched to a new video info format in July 2011 which is not supported by old versions of youtube-dl. You can update youtube-dl with `sudo youtube-dl --update`.
256
257 ### ERROR: unable to download video ###
258
259 youtube requires an additional signature since September 2012 which is not supported by old versions of youtube-dl. You can update youtube-dl with `sudo youtube-dl --update`.
260
261 ### SyntaxError: Non-ASCII character ###
262
263 The error
264
265 File "youtube-dl", line 2
266 SyntaxError: Non-ASCII character '\x93' ...
267
268 means you're using an outdated version of Python. Please update to Python 2.6 or 2.7.
269
270 ### What is this binary file? Where has the code gone?
271
272 Since June 2012 (#342) youtube-dl is packed as an executable zipfile, simply unzip it (might need renaming to `youtube-dl.zip` first on some systems) or clone the git repository, as laid out above. If you modify the code, you can run it by executing the `__main__.py` file. To recompile the executable, run `make youtube-dl`.
273
274 ### The exe throws a *Runtime error from Visual C++*
275
276 To run the exe you need to install first the [Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package](http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29).
277
278 # COPYRIGHT
279
280 youtube-dl is released into the public domain by the copyright holders.
281
282 This README file was originally written by Daniel Bolton (<https://github.com/dbbolton>) and is likewise released into the public domain.
283
284 # BUGS
285
286 Bugs and suggestions should be reported at: <https://github.com/rg3/youtube-dl/issues> . Unless you were prompted so or there is another pertinent reason (e.g. GitHub fails to accept the bug report), please do not send bug reports via personal email.
287
288 Please include the full output of the command when run with `--verbose`. The output (including the first lines) contain important debugging information. Issues without the full output are often not reproducible and therefore do not get solved in short order, if ever.
289
290 For discussions, join us in the irc channel #youtube-dl on freenode.
291
292 When you submit a request, please re-read it once to avoid a couple of mistakes (you can and should use this as a checklist):
293
294 ### Is the description of the issue itself sufficient?
295
296 We often get issue reports that we cannot really decipher. While in most cases we eventually get the required information after asking back multiple times, this poses an unnecessary drain on our resources. Many contributors, including myself, are also not native speakers, so we may misread some parts.
297
298 So please elaborate on what feature you are requesting, or what bug you want to be fixed. Make sure that it's obvious
299
300 - What the problem is
301 - How it could be fixed
302 - How your proposed solution would look like
303
304 If your report is shorter than two lines, it is almost certainly missing some of these, which makes it hard for us to respond to it. We're often too polite to close the issue outright, but the missing info makes misinterpretation likely. As a commiter myself, I often get frustrated by these issues, since the only possible way for me to move forward on them is to ask for clarification over and over.
305
306 For bug reports, this means that your report should contain the *complete* output of youtube-dl when called with the -v flag. The error message you get for (most) bugs even says so, but you would not believe how many of our bug reports do not contain this information.
307
308 Site support requests must contain an example URL. An example URL is a URL you might want to download, like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc . There should be an obvious video present. Except under very special circumstances, the main page of a video service (e.g. http://www.youtube.com/ ) is *not* an example URL.
309
310 ### Are you using the latest version?
311
312 Before reporting any issue, type youtube-dl -U. This should report that you're up-to-date. Ábout 20% of the reports we receive are already fixed, but people are using outdated versions. This goes for feature requests as well.
313
314 ### Is the issue already documented?
315
316 Make sure that someone has not already opened the issue you're trying to open. Search at the top of the window or at https://github.com/rg3/youtube-dl/search?type=Issues . If there is an issue, feel free to write something along the lines of "This affects me as well, with version 2015.01.01. Here is some more information on the issue: ...". While some issues may be old, a new post into them often spurs rapid activity.
317
318 ### Why are existing options not enough?
319
320 Before requesting a new feature, please have a quick peek at [the list of supported options](https://github.com/rg3/youtube-dl/blob/master/README.md#synopsis). Many feature requests are for features that actually exist already! Please, absolutely do show off your work in the issue report and detail how the existing similar options do *not* solve your problem.
321
322 ### Is there enough context in your bug report?
323
324 People want to solve problems, and often think they do us a favor by breaking down their larger problems (e.g. wanting to skip already downloaded files) to a specific request (e.g. requesting us to look whether the file exists before downloading the info page). However, what often happens is that they break down the problem into two steps: One simple, and one impossible (or extremely complicated one).
325
326 We are then presented with a very complicated request when the original problem could be solved far easier, e.g. by recording the downloaded video IDs in a separate file. To avoid this, you must include the greater context where it is non-obvious. In particular, every feature request that does not consist of adding support for a new site should contain a use case scenario that explains in what situation the missing feature would be useful.
327
328 ### Does the issue involve one problem, and one problem only?
329
330 Some of our users seem to think there is a limit of issues they can or should open. There is no limit of issues they can or should open. While it may seem appealing to be able to dump all your issues into one ticket, that means that someone who solves one of your issues cannot mark the issue as closed. Typically, reporting a bunch of issues leads to the ticket lingering since nobody wants to attack that behemoth, until someone mercifully splits the issue into multiple ones.
331
332 In particular, every site support request issue should only pertain to services at one site (generally under a common domain, but always using the same backend technology). Do not request support for vimeo user videos, Whitehouse podcasts, and Google Plus pages in the same issue. Also, make sure that you don't post bug reports alongside feature requests. As a rule of thumb, a feature request does not include outputs of youtube-dl that are not immediately related to the feature at hand. Do not post reports of a network error alongside the request for a new video service.
333
334 ### Is anyone going to need the feature?
335
336 Only post features that you (or an incapicated friend you can personally talk to) require. Do not post features because they seem like a good idea. If they are really useful, they will be requested by someone who requires them.