youtube-dl
Some data may be outdated — see provenance labels.
Command-line program to download videos from YouTube.com and other video sites observed · 2026-10-04
Health v2 · maintenance only
50/100
- Activity 60
- Release rhythm 8
- Longevity 100
How is this computed?
round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10) — computed 2026-10-21. Adoption (stars, forks) is never an input.
- gap_med: n/a
- age_days: 5833
- days_rel: n/a
- days_push: 243
- n_releases_24m: 0
Adoption not part of the score
141432 stars · 10659 forks observed · 2026-10-04
What it is AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, 2026-09-21, confidence 0.99
youtube-dl is a command-line program written in Python that downloads videos from YouTube and many other video platforms. It works across Linux, macOS, and Windows and can be installed via curl, wget, pip, or package managers.
Use cases
- download a YouTube video for offline viewing
- batch download an entire playlist from a video site
- extract audio from a video and save it as MP3
- automate video archiving in a script
- download videos from multiple supported sites in one command
When to choose
- You need a lightweight, scriptable tool that works on any OS with Python installed.
- You want a mature, widely used downloader with extensive format selection options.
- You prefer a free, public‑domain solution that can be easily integrated into automation pipelines.
When to avoid
- You require a graphical user interface for video downloading.
- You need built‑in support for sites that are not yet listed in youtube‑dl’s extractor database.
- You prefer a library rather than a standalone command‑line executable.
Facets
cli-tool · maturity active
cli video-processing media windows python cli youtube downloader streaming open-source ffmpeg-integration file-download video linux macos
1 source
- readme: https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl · fetched 2026-10-04 · a567f88e9f66
Member repositories
| Repository | Role | Health v2 |
|---|---|---|
| ytdl-org/youtube-dl | main | 50 |
| ytdl-org/ytdl-nightly | infra | 56 |
For agents
markdown · JSON · MCP: product_card(name="ytdl-org/youtube-dl")
Data as of 2026-10-19T08:05:51.212177+00:00 · Report a problem