Media Downloader

Download video/audio from 1500+ websites using yt-dlp. Supports format selection, subtitles, playlists, and custom output naming.

Quick Start

# Basic download (best quality)
yt-dlp "URL"

# Specific resolution
yt-dlp -f "bestvideo[height<=1080]+bestaudio/best[height<=1080]" "URL"

# With subtitles
yt-dlp --write-subs --sub-langs "en,zh" "URL"

# Audio only
yt-dlp -f "bestaudio" "URL"

Format Selection

Resolution Presets

Request	Command
Best quality	-f "bestvideo+bestaudio/best"
4K	-f "bestvideo[height<=2160]+bestaudio/best"
1080p	-f "bestvideo[height<=1080]+bestaudio/best"
720p	-f "bestvideo[height<=720]+bestaudio/best"
480p	-f "bestvideo[height<=480]+bestaudio/best"

List Available Formats

yt-dlp -F "URL"  # Show all formats with codes

Advanced Format Selection

# Prefer MP4 container
yt-dlp -f "bestvideo[ext=mp4]+bestaudio[ext=m4a]/best[ext=mp4]/best" "URL"

# Specific format code (from -F output)
yt-dlp -f 137+140 "URL"

# Merge to specific container
yt-dlp --merge-output-format mkv "URL"

Subtitles

Download Subtitles

# Manual subtitles (human-created)
yt-dlp --write-subs --sub-langs "en,zh,ja" "URL"

# Auto-generated subtitles
yt-dlp --write-auto-subs --sub-langs "en" "URL"

# Both manual and auto
yt-dlp --write-subs --write-auto-subs --sub-langs "en,zh" "URL"

# Embed subtitles in video (MP4/MKV/WebM)
yt-dlp --write-subs --embed-subs "URL"

List Available Subtitles

yt-dlp --list-subs "URL"

Subtitle Format

# Convert to SRT
yt-dlp --write-subs --sub-format srt "URL"

# Available: srt, ass, vtt, lrc

Output Naming

Template Variables

Variable	Description	Example
%(title)s	Video title	My Video
%(id)s	Video ID	dQw4w9WgXcQ
%(ext)s	File extension	mp4
%(upload_date)s	Upload date	20231215
%(uploader)s	Channel name	Rick Astley
%(playlist)s	Playlist name	Best Songs
%(playlist_index)s	Position in playlist	01
%(resolution)s	Video resolution	1920x1080

Common Patterns

# Default: title + extension
yt-dlp -o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" "URL"

# Date prefix
yt-dlp -o "%(upload_date)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s" "URL"

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

# Playlist with numbering
yt-dlp -o "%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)02d - %(title)s.%(ext)s" "URL"

# Sanitize title (remove special chars)
yt-dlp -o "%(title).100B.%(ext)s" "URL"  # Limit to 100 bytes

Playlist Handling

# Download entire playlist
yt-dlp "PLAYLIST_URL"

# Only video (not playlist)
yt-dlp --no-playlist "URL"

# Specific items (1-indexed)
yt-dlp -I 1:5 "PLAYLIST_URL"        # First 5
yt-dlp -I 1,3,5 "PLAYLIST_URL"      # Items 1, 3, 5
yt-dlp -I -3: "PLAYLIST_URL"        # Last 3

# Skip already downloaded
yt-dlp --download-archive downloaded.txt "PLAYLIST_URL"

Platform-Specific Notes

YouTube

• Supports: videos, playlists, channels, shorts, live streams
• Cookies may be needed for age-restricted/member content

Bilibili

• Use --cookies-from-browser for premium content
• Subtitles: --write-subs --sub-langs "zh-Hans"

TikTok / Douyin

• Direct URL download works
• Watermark may be present in some cases

Twitter/X

• Supports video tweets and spaces
• Use --cookies-from-browser for private content

Instagram

• Stories require login
• Use --cookies-from-browser firefox or --cookies cookies.txt

Authentication

# Browser cookies (recommended)
yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser firefox "URL"
yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser chrome "URL"

# Cookie file
yt-dlp --cookies cookies.txt "URL"

# Username/password (limited support)
yt-dlp -u USERNAME -p PASSWORD "URL"

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue	Solution
"Video unavailable"	Try --cookies-from-browser
Slow download	Add --concurrent-fragments 4
Format merge fails	Install ffmpeg
Geo-blocked	Use --geo-bypass or proxy

Update yt-dlp

yt-dlp -U  # Update to latest stable

Complete Examples

Download YouTube video in 1080p with Chinese subtitles:

yt-dlp -f "bestvideo[height<=1080]+bestaudio/best" \
       --write-subs --sub-langs "zh" \
       -o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" \
       "https://youtube.com/watch?v=..."

Download TikTok video:

yt-dlp -o "%(uploader)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s" \
       "https://tiktok.com/@user/video/..."

Download Bilibili playlist:

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser chrome \
       -o "%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)02d - %(title)s.%(ext)s" \
       "https://bilibili.com/video/BV..."

Download Twitter video:

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser firefox \
       "https://twitter.com/user/status/..."