Usage

How to Use yt-dlp: A Practical Guide

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.

Updated 2026-06-13

yt-dlp is the most capable downloader available, but you only need a handful of patterns for 95% of tasks. This guide walks through them in order.

Download a video

yt-dlp "<URL>"

yt-dlp picks the best video+audio and merges them. See yt-dlp download video.

See what formats are available

yt-dlp -F "<URL>"

This lists every format with an ID, resolution, codec and size. Pick one with -f:

yt-dlp -f 137+140 "<URL>"   # 1080p video + m4a audio

Control quality

Use format sorting instead of memorizing IDs — see yt-dlp download best quality:

yt-dlp -S "res:1080,fps,vcodec:av01" "<URL>"

Extract audio (MP3)

yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 "<URL>"

Full guide: yt-dlp download as MP3 and audio only.

Playlists and channels

yt-dlp "<playlist URL>"
yt-dlp -I 1:10 "<playlist URL>"   # only items 1–10

See download a playlist and download a channel.

Name and place your files

yt-dlp -o "%(uploader)s/%(title)s [%(id)s].%(ext)s" "<URL>"

The fields in %(...)s are output template variables. See download location.

Stop retyping options: use a config file

Put your defaults in a config file and yt-dlp applies them every run.

Frequently asked questions

What's the single most useful yt-dlp command?+

yt-dlp -F <URL> to inspect formats, then yt-dlp -f <id> <URL> to grab exactly what you want. For most people, plain yt-dlp <URL> is enough.

Do I need ffmpeg to use yt-dlp?+

For basic downloads, no. For merging high-res video+audio and for MP3/MP4 conversion, yes — install ffmpeg.

Can yt-dlp download subtitles?+

Yes: add --write-subs --sub-langs en (or --write-auto-subs for auto-generated captions).