YouTube operations

This skill provides comprehensive YouTube operations using yt-dlp, always using the latest version via uvx.

Requirements

uv - The Python package runner (provides uvx command)

No pre-installation of yt-dlp is needed. The uvx command automatically fetches and runs the latest version.

Video downloads

Download best quality (default):

uvx yt-dlp -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Download to custom location:

uvx yt-dlp -o "/path/to/folder/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Download specific quality (e.g., 720p):

uvx yt-dlp -f "bestvideo[height<=720]+bestaudio/best[height<=720]" -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

List available formats before downloading:

uvx yt-dlp -F "VIDEO_URL"

Audio downloads

Download audio only (mp3) - downloads to Synology music folder:

uvx yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 -o "~/Library/CloudStorage/SynologyDrive-sync/music/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Download audio in other formats:

# AAC format
uvx yt-dlp -x --audio-format aac -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

# Opus format
uvx yt-dlp -x --audio-format opus -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

# Best quality audio (no conversion)
uvx yt-dlp -f bestaudio -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Transcript and subtitle extraction

Download subtitles only (no video):

# Auto-generated or manual subtitles in English
uvx yt-dlp --skip-download --write-auto-subs --sub-lang en --sub-format vtt -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s" "VIDEO_URL"

# Manual subtitles only (not auto-generated)
uvx yt-dlp --skip-download --write-subs --sub-lang en --sub-format vtt -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Download subtitles in multiple languages:

uvx yt-dlp --skip-download --write-subs --sub-lang en,es,fr --sub-format vtt -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s" "VIDEO_URL"

List available subtitles:

uvx yt-dlp --list-subs "VIDEO_URL"

Convert subtitles to plain text (remove timestamps):

# Download as SRT first, then process
uvx yt-dlp --skip-download --write-auto-subs --sub-lang en --sub-format srt -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s" "VIDEO_URL"

# Then use sed or awk to extract just the text
sed '/^[0-9]*$/d; /^[0-9][0-9]:/d; /^$/d' ~/Downloads/video-title.en.srt > ~/Downloads/transcript.txt

Download video with embedded subtitles:

uvx yt-dlp --write-subs --embed-subs --sub-lang en -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Metadata extraction

Get video information without downloading:

# Basic info as JSON
uvx yt-dlp --dump-json "VIDEO_URL"

# Just the title
uvx yt-dlp --get-title "VIDEO_URL"

# Just the description
uvx yt-dlp --get-description "VIDEO_URL"

# Duration
uvx yt-dlp --get-duration "VIDEO_URL"

# Upload date
uvx yt-dlp --get-filename -o "%(upload_date)s" "VIDEO_URL"

# Channel/uploader
uvx yt-dlp --get-filename -o "%(uploader)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Extract all metadata to JSON file:

uvx yt-dlp --dump-json --skip-download "VIDEO_URL" > video-metadata.json

Get video chapters/timestamps:

# Chapters are included in --dump-json output
uvx yt-dlp --dump-json "VIDEO_URL" | jq '.chapters'

Playlist operations

Download entire playlist:

uvx yt-dlp -o "~/Downloads/%(playlist)s/%(playlist_index)s-%(title)s.%(ext)s" "PLAYLIST_URL"

Download playlist as audio only:

uvx yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 -o "~/Library/CloudStorage/SynologyDrive-sync/music/%(playlist)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "PLAYLIST_URL"

Download specific videos from playlist:

# Videos 1-5
uvx yt-dlp --playlist-items 1-5 -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "PLAYLIST_URL"

# Specific videos (1, 3, 5)
uvx yt-dlp --playlist-items 1,3,5 -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "PLAYLIST_URL"

Get playlist information without downloading:

# Full playlist metadata
uvx yt-dlp --dump-json --flat-playlist "PLAYLIST_URL"

# Just list video titles
uvx yt-dlp --get-filename -o "%(title)s" --flat-playlist "PLAYLIST_URL"

Download only new videos from playlist (useful for subscriptions):

# Creates archive file to track downloaded videos
uvx yt-dlp --download-archive archive.txt -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "PLAYLIST_URL"

Thumbnail downloads

Download thumbnail only:

uvx yt-dlp --skip-download --write-thumbnail --convert-thumbnails png -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Download video with embedded thumbnail:

uvx yt-dlp --embed-thumbnail -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Get all available thumbnails:

uvx yt-dlp --list-thumbnails "VIDEO_URL"

Advanced options

Download with speed limit:

uvx yt-dlp --limit-rate 1M -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Download age-restricted content (requires cookies):

# Export cookies from browser first, then:
uvx yt-dlp --cookies cookies.txt -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Download with custom filename:

uvx yt-dlp -o "~/Downloads/my-custom-name.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Resume interrupted download:

# yt-dlp resumes automatically if you run the same command
uvx yt-dlp -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Download with date range filter:

# Only videos uploaded after date
uvx yt-dlp --dateafter 20240101 "CHANNEL_URL"

# Only videos uploaded before date
uvx yt-dlp --datebefore 20241231 "CHANNEL_URL"

Output filename templates

The -o flag uses templates for output filenames. Common variables:

%(title)s - Video title
%(id)s - Video ID
%(ext)s - File extension
%(uploader)s - Channel name
%(upload_date)s - Upload date (YYYYMMDD)
%(playlist)s - Playlist name
%(playlist_index)s - Video position in playlist
%(duration)s - Video duration in seconds
%(resolution)s - Video resolution

Example with multiple variables:

uvx yt-dlp -o "~/Downloads/%(uploader)s/%(upload_date)s-%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Common workflows

Create audio podcast archive from YouTube channel:

uvx yt-dlp --download-archive podcast-archive.txt -x --audio-format mp3 -o "~/Music/Podcasts/%(uploader)s/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "CHANNEL_URL"

Extract transcripts for research:

# Download all video transcripts from a playlist
uvx yt-dlp --skip-download --write-auto-subs --sub-lang en --sub-format srt -o "~/Documents/transcripts/%(title)s" "PLAYLIST_URL"

Download video with all extras:

# Video + subtitles + thumbnail + metadata
uvx yt-dlp --write-subs --embed-subs --write-thumbnail --embed-thumbnail --write-info-json -o "~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Monitor and archive a channel:

# Run periodically to get only new uploads
uvx yt-dlp --download-archive channel-archive.txt -o "~/Videos/%(uploader)s/%(upload_date)s-%(title)s.%(ext)s" "CHANNEL_URL/videos"

Notes

The default video format is webm (YouTube's native best quality)
The default download location is ~/Downloads but can be changed
MP3 audio downloads go to ~/Library/CloudStorage/SynologyDrive-sync/music/ (Synology NAS)
uvx ensures you always have the latest yt-dlp version without manual updates
YouTube URLs should be quoted to handle special characters
Subtitle formats: vtt (WebVTT), srt (SubRip), json3 (timestamped JSON)
Auto-generated subtitles are often available even when manual ones aren't
Use --dump-json to explore all available metadata fields

youtube