How to Download Quality Videos with youtube-dl
Do you want to download videos from YouTube and other sites in high quality and various formats? Do you want to have more control over the video and audio options? Do you want to download multiple videos or playlists at once? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you should try youtube-dl, a powerful command-line tool that can do all these things and more.
What is youtube-dl and why use it?
youtube-dl is a command-line tool for downloading videos from YouTube and other sites
youtube-dl is a free and open source program that can download videos from YouTube.com and over 1,000 other video hosting websites. It requires the Python interpreter, version 2.6, 2.7, or 3.2+, and it is not platform specific. It should work on your Unix box, on Windows or on macOS. It is released to the public domain, which means you can modify it, redistribute it or use it however you like.
download quality youtube-dl
youtube-dl allows you to choose the video quality, format, and audio track
One of the main advantages of youtube-dl is that it lets you choose the video quality, format, and audio track that you want to download. You can list the available formats and quality levels for any video with the -F option, and then select the one you prefer with the -f option. You can also use the best or bestvideo+bestaudio options to automatically download the highest quality video and audio tracks that are available as a single file. You can also specify the output file name and location with the -o option.
How to install youtube-dl on your system?
For Linux and macOS users, use curl, wget, pip, Homebrew, or MacPorts
To install youtube-dl on your Linux or macOS system, you can use one of the following methods:
Use curl or wget to download the latest version of youtube-dl and place it in a directory on your PATH (such as /usr/local/bin):sudo curl -L [7]( -o /usr/local/bin/youtube-dlsudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/youtube-dlorsudo wget [7]( -O /usr/local/bin/youtube-dlsudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/youtube-dl
Use pip to install or update youtube-dl:sudo -H pip install --upgrade youtube-dl
Use Homebrew (for macOS) or MacPorts (for macOS and Linux) to install youtube-dl:brew install youtube-dlorsudo port install youtube-dl
For Windows users, download the .exe file and place it on your PATH
To install youtube-dl on your Windows system, you can download the latest version of youtube-dl.exe from [6]( and place it in a directory on your PATH (such as C:\Windows). You can also use the Windows installer from [5]( to install youtube-dl and its dependencies.
How to use youtube-dl to download videos?
Use the -F option to list the available formats and quality levels
To download videos with youtube-dl, you need to provide the URL of the video or playlist that you want to download. You can also use the -F option to list the available formats and quality levels for the video. For example, if you want to download this video: [4]( you can run this command:youtube-dl -F [4]( will show you something like this:
[youtube] QH2-TGUlwu4: Downloading webpage [info] Available formats for QH2-TGUlwu4: format code extension resolution note 249 webm audio only tiny 57k , opus @ 50k (48000Hz), 1.69MiB 250 webm audio only tiny 76k , opus @ 70k (48000Hz), 2.24MiB 140 m4a audio only tiny 130k , m4a_dash container, mp4a.40.2@128k (44100Hz), 3.83MiB 251 webm audio only tiny 150k , opus @160k (48000Hz), 4.38MiB 394 mp4 256x144 144p 83k , av01.0.05M.08, 25fps, video only, 2.40MiB 278 webm 256x144 144p 95k , webm container, vp9, 25fps, video only, 2.77MiB 160 mp4 256x144 144p 99k , avc1.4d400c, 25fps, video only, 2.90MiB 395 mp4 426x240 240p 184k , av01.0.05M.08, 25fps, video only, 5.32MiB 242 webm 426x240 240p 220k , vp9, 25fps, video only, 6.42MiB 133 mp4 426x240 240p 242k , avc1.4d4015, 25fps, video only, 7.06MiB 396 mp4 640x360 medium?360p?302k , av01.0.05M.08,?25fps?, video only?,?8.?75MiB? 243 webm ?640x360? ?medium?360p?402k , vp9?,?25fps?, video only?,?11.?67MiB? 134 mp4 ?640x360? ?medium?360p?432k , avc1.?4d401e?,?25fps?, video only?,?12.?55MiB? 397 mp4 ?854x480? ?medium?480p?546k , av01.?0.?05M.?08?,?25fps?, video only?,?15.?82MiB? 244 webm ?854x480? ?medium?480p?750k , vp9?,?25fps?, video only?,?21.?74MiB? 135 mp4 ?854x480? ?medium?480p?761k , avc1.?4d401f?,?25fps?, video only?,?22.?13MiB? 398 mp4 ?1280x720 ?hd720720p1007k , av01.?0.?05M.?08?,?25fps?, video only?,?29.?16MiB? 247 webm ?1280x720 ?hd720720p1508k , vp9?,?25fps?, video only?,?43.?74MiB? 136 mp4 ?1280x720 ?hd720720p1541k , avc1.?4d 4019?,?25fps?, video only?,?44.?72MiB? 399 mp4 ?1920x1080 ?hd10801080p1803k , av01.?0.?05M.?08?,?25fps?, video only?,?52.?22MiB? 248 webm ?1920x1080 ?hd10801080p2643k , vp9?,?25fps?, video only?,?76.?63MiB? 137 mp4 ?1920x1080 ?hd10801080p2716k , avc1.?640028?,?25fps?, video only?,?78.?86MiB? 18 mp4 ?640x360 ?medium?360p 696k , avc1.?42001E, mp4a.?40.2@ 96k (44100Hz),?25.?41MiB? 22 mp4 ?1280x720 ?hd720720p 1136k , avc1.?64001F, mp4a.?40.2@192k (44100Hz) (best)
As you can see, each format has a code, an extension, a resolution, a quality note, and a file size. You can also see that some formats are video only or audio only, which means they do not contain both video and audio tracks. You can also see that the best option is the format code 22, which has the highest quality and resolution as a single file.
Use the -f option to select the desired format and quality level
To download the video in the format and quality level that you want, you can use the -f option followed by the format code. For example, if you want to download the video in format code 22, which is the best option, you can run this command:youtube-dl -f 22 [4]( will download the video in MP4 format with 1280x720 resolution and 1136k quality. You can also use a combination of format codes to download separate video and audio tracks and merge them into a single file. For example, if you want to download the best video track (format code 137) and the best audio track (format code 251) and merge them into a single MKV file, you can run this command:youtube-dl -f 137+251 [4]( will download the video in MP4 format with 1920x1080 resolution and 2716k quality, and the audio in WEBM format with 160k quality, and then merge them into a single MKV file using FFmpeg.
Use the best or bestvideo+bestaudio options for the highest quality
If you do not want to bother with listing and selecting the formats and quality levels manually, you can use the best or bestvideo+bestaudio options to automatically download the highest quality video and audio tracks that are available as a single file. For example, if you want to download the best quality video and audio as a single file, you can run this command:youtube-dl -f best [4]( will download the video in MP4 format with 1280x720 resolution and 1136k quality, which is the same as format code 22. Alternatively, if you want to download the best quality video and audio as separate tracks and merge them into a single file, you can run this command:youtube-dl -f bestvideo+bestaudio [4]( will download the video in MP4 format with 1920x1080 resolution and 2716k quality, and the audio in WEBM format with 160k quality, and then merge them into a single MKV file using FFmpeg.
How to download high quality videos with youtube-dl
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How to backup and restore your youtube-dl settings and history
How to schedule and automate your youtube-dl downloads
How to use youtube-dl with command line and GUI
How to use youtube-dl with Python and other programming languages
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How to use youtube-dl with cloud storage and streaming platforms
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How to use youtube-dl with social media and messaging apps
How to download multiple videos or playlists with youtube-dl?
Use the -a option to read URLs from a file
If you want to download multiple videos or playlists with youtube-dl, you can use the -a option to read URLs from a file. For example, if you have a file named videos.txt that contains URLs of videos or playlists that you want to download, one per line, like this:
[3]( [2]( [1](
You can run this command to download all the videos or playlists in the file:youtube-dl -a videos.txtThis will download each video or playlist in the file with the default format and quality. You can also use the -f option to specify the format and quality that you want for all the videos or playlists in the file.
Use the --playlist-start and --playlist-end options to limit the range of videos
If you want to download only a subset of videos from a playlist, you can use the --playlist-start and --playlist-end options to limit the range of videos that you want to download. For example, if you want to download only the first 10 videos from this playlist: [1]( you can run this command:youtube-dl --playlist-start 1 --playlist-end 10 [1]( will download only the first 10 videos from the playlist with the default format and quality. You can also use the -f option to specify the format and quality that you want for the videos in the playlist.
Use the --download-archive option to avoid downloading duplicates
If you want to avoid downloading videos that you have already downloaded before, you can use the --download-archive option to keep track of the videos that you have downloaded. For example, if you have a file named archive.txt that contains the IDs of the videos that you have downloaded, you can run this command to download only new videos from a playlist:youtube-dl --download-archive archive.txt [1]( will download only the videos from the playlist that are not in the archive.txt file with the default format and quality. You can also use the -f option to specify the format and quality that you want for the new videos. The archive.txt file will be updated with the IDs of the new videos that are downloaded.
Conclusion
In this article, we have learned how to download quality videos with youtube-dl, a powerful command-line tool that can download videos from YouTube and other sites in various formats and quality levels. We have also learned how to install youtube-dl on our system, how to use youtube-dl to download single or multiple videos or playlists, and how to avoid downloading duplicates. With youtube-dl, we can enjoy watching our favorite videos offline or on any device that we want.
FAQs
Q: How can I update youtube-dl to the latest version?
A: You can update youtube-dl to the latest version by running this command:youtube-dl -UThis will check for updates and install them if available.
Q: How can I download subtitles or captions with youtube-dl?
A: You can download subtitles or captions with youtube-dl by using the --write-sub or --write-auto-sub options. For example, if you want to download English subtitles for this video: [4]( you can run this command:youtube-dl --write-sub --sub-lang en [4]( will download English subtitles for the video in SRT format. You can also use the --embed-subs option to embed the subtitles into the video file with the --merge-output-format option. For example, if you want to download English subtitles and embed them into the video file in MKV format, you can run this command:youtube-dl --write-sub --sub-lang en --embed-subs --merge-output-format mkv [4]( will download English subtitles and embed them into the video file in MKV format.
Q: How can I download videos that require authentication with youtube-dl?
A: You can download videos that require authentication with youtube-dl by using the -u and -p options to provide your username and password. For example, if you want to download a video that requires a YouTube account, you can run this command:youtube-dl -u your_username -p your_password [8]( will download the video with your YouTube credentials. You can also use the --netrc option to read your credentials from a .netrc file.
Q: How can I download videos that are geo-restricted or age-restricted with youtube-dl?
A: You can download videos that are geo-restricted or age-restricted with youtube-dl by using the --geo-bypass or --age-limit options. For example, if you want to download a video that is geo-restricted to the US, you can run this command:youtube-dl --geo-bypass-country US [9]( will bypass the geo-restriction and download the video. Alternatively, if you want to download a video that is age-restricted to 18+, you can run this command:youtube-dl --age-limit 18 [9]( will bypass the age-restriction and download the video.
Q: How can I download videos that are not available on YouTube with youtube-dl?
A: You can download videos that are not available on YouTube with youtube-dl by using the -g option to get the direct URL of the video. For example, if you want to download a video from Vimeo, you can run this command:youtube-dl -g [10]( will show you the direct URL of the video, which you can then use to download it with any downloader of your choice. 44f88ac181
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