yt-dlp guides & how-tos

How to download yt-dlp on Windows, macOS and Linux — the official binary, pip, Homebrew, winget, scoop and more, with ffmpeg setup so downloads merge and convert correctly.

Install yt-dlp on Windows 10 or 11 in minutes — using winget, Scoop, Chocolatey, or the standalone yt-dlp.exe — plus how to add it to PATH and install ffmpeg.

How to update yt-dlp to the latest version — yt-dlp -U for the binary, pip upgrade, package managers, and nightly builds when a site breaks.

How to run yt-dlp from the terminal: open a shell, run your first download, point it at the right folder, and the handful of options you'll actually use.

Learn how to use yt-dlp: download videos, pick formats and quality, extract MP3 audio, grab playlists and channels, set output filenames, and use a config file.

Use yt-dlp on Windows 10/11 from CMD or PowerShell: run your first download, fix quoting issues, set the Downloads folder, extract MP3, and avoid common Windows gotchas.

Download any video as an MP3 with yt-dlp: the exact command, how to set the bitrate/quality, embed cover art and tags, and the ffmpeg requirement explained.

Download just the audio track with yt-dlp — keep the original best-quality stream with -f bestaudio, or convert to MP3/M4A/Opus/FLAC with -x.

Always get the highest quality with yt-dlp: how default selection works, forcing 4K/8K and HDR, choosing codecs with -S, and merging video+audio with ffmpeg.

Download an entire channel with yt-dlp, organise videos into folders, skip ones you already have with a download archive, and grab only the latest uploads.

The quick yt-dlp command to download MP3 audio from any video, with a one-line config tweak to make MP3 your default and the ffmpeg requirement covered.

Force yt-dlp to output a universally compatible MP4: merge into MP4, prefer H.264/AAC for maximum device support, or remux/recode existing downloads.

Download an entire playlist with yt-dlp, select a range of items, number files by playlist position, skip already-downloaded videos, and grab playlist audio as MP3.

The fundamentals of downloading a single video with yt-dlp: the basic command, choosing quality and format, naming the file, subtitles, and thumbnails.

yt-dlp downloads to your current working directory by default. Here's how to find exactly where your files went and how to change the destination.

A practical yt-dlp commands cheat sheet: list formats, choose quality, extract MP3, download playlists and channels, write subtitles, use cookies, and more.

Stop retyping options. Learn where the yt-dlp config file lives on Windows, macOS and Linux, the exact syntax, and a sensible starter configuration.

What the yt-dlp default download location is, the default filename template, and how to permanently change where files are saved using -P and a config file.

A guided map of the yt-dlp documentation: the official README, --help, output templates, format selection, the config file, and the fastest way to find an option.

Control exactly where yt-dlp saves files: set a folder with -P, build filenames and subfolders with -o output templates, and make it permanent in your config.

A collection of practical yt-dlp examples you can copy and paste: video, MP3, MP4, playlists, channels, subtitles, cookies, archives, time ranges and more.