Downloading
How to Download Audio Only with yt-dlp
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.
Updated 2026-06-13
There are two ways to grab audio only with yt-dlp: keep the original stream as-is (fastest, lossless to source), or extract and convert to a specific format like MP3.
Keep the original audio (no re-encode)
yt-dlp -f bestaudio "<URL>"This downloads the highest-quality audio stream the site offers (often m4a or webm/opus) without converting it — fast and lossless relative to the source.
Extract and convert
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 "<URL>" # or m4a, opus, flac, wav-x requires ffmpeg. For an MP3-specific walkthrough see download as MP3 and yt-dlp download mp3.
Pick the format that fits
| You want | Use |
|---|---|
| Smallest universal file | --audio-format mp3 |
| Best quality + compatibility | --audio-format m4a |
| Best quality, small size | --audio-format opus |
| Lossless archive | --audio-format flac |
| No conversion at all | -f bestaudio |
Audio-only playlists and podcasts
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --embed-metadata "<playlist URL>"Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between -f bestaudio and -x?+
-f bestaudio downloads the original audio stream untouched. -x extracts audio and (with --audio-format) converts it, which needs ffmpeg.
Which audio format is best?+
For compatibility, MP3 or M4A. For the best quality-to-size ratio, Opus. For lossless, FLAC. For zero re-encoding, keep the native stream with -f bestaudio.
Does audio-only download faster?+
Yes — it skips the (larger) video stream entirely, so it's quicker and smaller.