Introduction
youtube-dl is a free and open source command-line program that can download videos from YouTube and over 1,000 other video hosting websites. It is released under the Unlicense software license, which means you can modify it, redistribute it or use it however you like. As of September 2021, youtube-dl is one of the most starred projects on GitHub, with over 100,000 stars.
youtube-dl has many features and options that make it a powerful and versatile tool for downloading videos. You can choose the quality and format of the videos, download multiple videos or playlists in one go, download subtitles and metadata, extract audio from videos, avoid re-downloading existing files, and much more. You can also use youtube-dl with other tools such as ffmpeg and AtomicParsley to enhance its functionality.
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However, youtube-dl is not very user-friendly for beginners or people who prefer a graphical interface. It requires the Python interpreter and some knowledge of command-line syntax. It also does not have a built-in video player or converter. Fortunately, there are some alternatives and GUIs that can make youtube-dl easier and more convenient to use.
In this article, I will show you how to install and use youtube-dl on different platforms, how to download an entire YouTube channel using reddit as a source of information, how to use some of the most popular youtube-dl GUIs and alternatives, and answer some frequently asked questions.
How to install youtube-dl
There are different ways to install youtube-dl depending on your operating system. Here are some of the most common methods:
Windows
If you are on Windows, you can download an .exe file from the and place it in any location on your PATH except for %SYSTEMROOT%\\System32 (e.g. do not put in C:\\Windows\\System32). You can also use pip to install youtube-dl by running the following command in a terminal:
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pip install --upgrade youtube-dl
This command will also update youtube-dl if you have already installed it.
Mac
If you are on Mac, you can install youtube-dl with Homebrew by running the following command in a terminal:
brew install youtube-dl
Or with MacPorts by running:
sudo port install youtube-dl
You can also download the .exe file from the and place it in /usr/local/bin.
Linux
If you are on Linux, you can install youtube-dl with your package manager of choice. For example, on Ubuntu or Debian, you can run:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install youtube-dl
Or on Fedora or CentOS, you can run:
sudo yum install youtube-dl
You can also use pip or curl to install youtube-dl as described above for Windows.
How to use youtube-dl
To use youtube-dl, you need to open a terminal or command prompt and type in the following syntax:
youtube-dl [OPTIONS] URL [URL...]
The URL is the web address of the video or playlist you want to download. You can also use a text file with multiple URLs separated by newlines as an input by using the -a option -a download.txt
This option will read the URLs from the text file and download them one by one.
Basic commands, options, examples
Here are some of the basic commands and options that you can use with youtube-dl:
- To download a single video, just type the URL after youtube-dl, for example: youtube-dl
- To download the best quality available, use the -f best option, for example: youtube-dl -f best
- To download a specific format, use the -f format code option, where format code is a number that corresponds to a video or audio format. You can see the available formats by using the -F option, for example: youtube-dl -F
[youtube] dQw4w9WgXcQ: Downloading webpage [youtube] dQw4w9WgXcQ: Downloading MPD manifest [info] Available formats for dQw4w9WgXcQ: 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 143k , opus @160k (48000Hz), 4.20MiB 160 mp4 256x144 144p 64k , avc1.4d400c, 30fps, video only, 1.88MiB 278 webm 256x144 144p 95k , webm container, vp9, 30fps, video only, 2.79MiB 133 mp4 426x240 240p 99k , avc1.4d4015, 30fps, video only, 2.91MiB 242 webm 426x240 240p 150k , vp9, 30fps, video only, 4.39MiB 243 webm 640x360 360p 273k , vp9, 30fps, video only, 7.99MiB 134 mp4 640x360 360p 276k , avc1.4d401e, 30fps, video only, 8.12MiB 244 webm 854x480 480p 504k , vp9, 30fps, video only, 14.74MiB 135 mp4 854x480 480p 1027k , avc1.4d401f, 30fps, video only, 18 mp4 ...
In this case, if you want to download the format with code 135, which is a mp4 file with 854x480 resolution and 1027k bitrate, you can type:
youtube-dl -f 135
- To download the best video and audio separately and merge them into one file, use the -f bestvideo+bestaudio option, for example: youtube-dl -f bestvideo+bestaudio
This option requires ffmpeg to be installed on your system.
- To download a playlist or a channel, use the same syntax as for a single video, but provide the URL of the playlist or the channel instead of the video. For example: youtube-dl
youtube-dl H4wDQ
- To download only a subset of a playlist or a channel, use the --playlist-start and --playlist-end options, or the --playlist-items option to specify the indices of the videos you want to download. For example: youtube-dl --playlist-start 1 --playlist-end 10
youtube-dl --playlist-items 2,5,7,9
- To download subtitles or captions, use the --write-sub option, and optionally the --sub-lang option to specify the language code. For example: youtube-dl --write-sub --sub-lang en
This will download the English subtitles as a .vtt file.
- To extract audio from a video, use the -x option, and optionally the --audio-format option to specify the format. For example: youtube-dl -x --audio-format mp3
This will download the audio as a .mp3 file.
- To avoid re-downloading existing files, use the -c option, which will resume incomplete downloads and skip completed ones. For example: youtube-dl -c
This will download only the videos that are not already in your current directory.
- To see more options and help, use the -h option or visit the .
How to download an entire YouTube channel
One of the most common use cases for youtube-dl is to download an entire YouTube channel for offline viewing or backup. However, finding the right URL to use can be tricky, especially if the channel has a lot of videos or playlists. Fortunately, you can use reddit as a source of information and tips on how to do this. Here are some of the methods that reddit users have suggested:
Using channel URL
The simplest way to download an entire YouTube channel is to use the channel URL as an input for youtube-dl. For example, if you want to download all the videos from , a popular math channel, you can type:
youtube-dl
This will download all the videos from the channel in the default format and quality. However, this method may not work for some channels that have a lot of videos or playlists, as youtube-dl may not be able to fetch all the URLs at once. In that case, you can try using the playlist URL instead.
Using playlist URL
Another way to download an entire YouTube channel is to use the playlist URL that contains all the videos from the channel. You can find this URL by going to the channel page and clicking on "Play all" next to "Uploads". For example, for . The URL should look something like this:
You can then use this URL as an input for youtube-dl, for example:
youtube-dl
This will download all the videos from the playlist, which should be equivalent to all the videos from the channel. However, this method may not work for some channels that have multiple playlists or hidden videos. In that case, you can try using a batch file instead.
Using batch file
A third way to download an entire YouTube channel is to use a batch file that contains all the URLs of the videos from the channel. You can create this file manually by copying and pasting the URLs from each video page, or you can use a script or a tool that can scrape them automatically. For example, you can use , you can run the following command:
python3 scrape-youtube-channel-videos-url.py
This will create a file called youtube_videos_url.txt in your current directory, which will contain all the video links from the channel. You can then use this file as an input for youtube-dl with the -a option, for example:
youtube-dl -a youtube_videos_url.txt
This will download all the videos from the file, which should be equivalent to all the videos from the channel. However, this method may not work for some channels that have private or unlisted videos. In that case, you can try using a tool that can access those videos.
How to use youtube-dl GUIs
If you find youtube-dl too complicated or tedious to use, you can try using one of its graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that can provide a more user-friendly and intuitive way to download videos. Here are some of the most popular youtube-dl GUIs:
Youtube-DLG
is a cross-platform GUI for youtube-dl that supports Windows, Mac and Linux. It has a simple and clean interface that allows you to add URLs, choose formats and quality, set options, view progress and logs, and more. It also has a built-in updater that can keep youtube-dl up to date.
Open Video Downloader
is another cross-platform GUI for youtube-dl that supports Windows, Mac and Linux. It has a similar interface to Youtube-DLG, but with some additional features such as video preview, playlist selection, download queue, proxy settings, and more. It also has a built-in updater that can keep youtube-dl up to date.
Media Downloader
is yet another cross-platform GUI for youtube-dl that supports Windows, Mac and Linux. It has a more advanced interface that allows you to customize various options and settings, such as filters, output templates, post-processing commands, metadata editing, and more. It also has a built-in updater that can keep youtube-dl up to date.
How to use youtube-dl alternatives
If you are not satisfied with youtube-dl or its GUIs, you can also try using some of its alternatives that can offer similar or better functionality and performance. Here are some of the most popular youtube-dl alternatives:
yt-dlp
is a fork of youtube-dl that aims to provide faster downloads and more features. It supports all the websites and options that youtube-dl does, but also adds some improvements such as parallel downloads, better playlist handling, sponsorblock integration, archive support, and more. It also has a built-in updater that can keep yt-dlp up to date.
JDownloader
is a free and open source download manager that can download videos from YouTube and many other websites. It has a powerful and flexible interface that allows you to manage multiple downloads, set bandwidth limits, extract archives, convert files, and more. It also has a built-in updater that can keep JDownloader up to date.
Video DownloadHelper
is a browser extension that can download videos from YouTube and many other websites. It has a simple and convenient interface that allows you to detect and download videos from any webpage, choose formats and quality, convert files, and more. It also has a companion app that can enhance its functionality.
Conclusion
In this article, I have shown you how to download an entire YouTube channel using reddit as a source of information and tips. I have also introduced you to some of the best tools and methods that can help you download videos from YouTube and other websites with ease and convenience.
Downloading an entire YouTube channel can be useful for many purposes, such as offline viewing, backup, archiving, learning, editing, and more. However, you should always respect the rights and wishes of the content creators and follow the terms and conditions of the websites you are downloading from. You should also be aware of the legal and ethical implications of downloading and distributing videos without permission or attribution.
I hope you have found this article helpful and informative. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below. Thank you for reading and happy downloading!
FAQs
Here are some of the frequently asked questions about downloading an entire YouTube channel using reddit:
Q: How can I download an entire YouTube channel with subtitles?
A: You can use the --write-sub option with youtube-dl or its alternatives to download subtitles along with the videos. You can also use the --sub-lang option to specify the language code of the subtitles you want to download. For example:
youtube-dl --write-sub --sub-lang en
This will download all the videos from 3Blue1Brown with English subtitles.
Q: How can I download an entire YouTube channel in MP3 format?
A: You can use the -x option with youtube-dl or its alternatives to extract audio from the videos and convert them to MP3 format. You can also use the --audio-format option to specify the format. For example:
youtube-dl -x --audio-format mp3
This will download all the videos from 3Blue1Brown as MP3 files.
Q: How can I download an entire YouTube channel faster?
A: You can use the -j option with youtube-dl or its alternatives to output JSON metadata instead of downloading the videos. You can then use a tool such as to download the videos in parallel using multiple connections. For example:
youtube-dl -j aria2c -x 16 -s 16 -i -
This will download all the videos from 3Blue1Brown using 16 connections per video.
Q: How can I download an entire YouTube channel without ads?
A: You can use the --sponsorblock-mark option with yt-dlp to mark the segments that contain ads, intros, outros, or other unwanted parts. You can then use a tool such as to play the videos without those segments. For example:
yt-dlp --sponsorblock-mark all
mpv --script-opts=sponsorblock-action=skip
This will download all the videos from 3Blue1Brown with sponsorblock marks and play them without those segments.
Q: How can I download an entire YouTube channel with comments?
A: You can use the --write-comments option with youtube-dl or its alternatives to write comments to a .json file along with the videos. You can then use a tool such as to parse and display the comments. For example:
youtube-dl --write-comments
jq '.[0].comments[] .author + ": " + .text' *.info.json
This will download all the videos from 3Blue1Brown with comments and display them in a terminal. 44f88ac181
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