yt-dlp.net

yt-dlp Guides: Formats, Cookies, Config Files and Automation

The options that decide what you actually end up with on disk, explained past the point where the README stops.

10 pages, each tested against yt-dlp 2026.07.28.

yt-dlp cheat sheet

One page, every yt-dlp command worth memorising: quality, audio, playlists, subtitles, cookies, archives and rate limits. Copy-ready, grouped by task, tested this month.
yt-dlp vs youtube-dl

youtube-dl still installs, still runs, and still fails on YouTube. A feature-by-feature comparison of yt-dlp and youtube-dl, plus how to migrate your commands and config without rewriting them.
yt-dlp Format Selection: -f, -S and Getting Exactly What You Want

Format selection is the one yt-dlp concept worth learning properly — it decides resolution, codec, file size and whether the download works at all. -F, -f, -S and the fallback chains that never error.
yt-dlp Cookies: --cookies-from-browser vs cookies.txt

Cookies are how yt-dlp proves it is you — for private videos, members-only content and bot checks. Both methods explained, when each breaks, and how to export cookies that keep working past the next browser update.
The yt-dlp Config File: Stop Retyping the Same Flags

Every flag you type twice belongs in yt-dlp.conf. Where the file goes on each OS, the load order that decides which setting wins, and a starter config worth copying.
yt-dlp Output Templates: Name and Sort Files Automatically

The -o template turns a folder of random filenames into a library. Every field worth using, the numeric and date formatting nobody documents, and templates for playlists, channels and music.
Download a Playlist or Whole Channel with yt-dlp

Playlists are where yt-dlp goes from a command to a workflow: archives so reruns skip what you have, ranges so you get videos 5-20, and rate limits so you finish instead of getting a 429.
Extract Audio with yt-dlp: MP3, M4A and Lossless Copies

Ripping to MP3 re-encodes audio that was already compressed once. When that is fine, when to keep the original m4a instead, and how to get tags and cover art embedded either way.
Download and Embed Subtitles with yt-dlp

Real subtitles, auto-generated captions and embedded tracks are three different things with three different flags. How to get the one you want, convert it to SRT, and burn it in when the player will not read it.
yt-dlp SponsorBlock: Cut Sponsors Out Automatically

yt-dlp has SponsorBlock built in — it can mark sponsor segments as chapters or cut them out of the file entirely. The difference between --sponsorblock-mark and --remove, and which categories are worth removing.