YouTube CLI Downloader

A complete and interactive Python script to download YouTube videos.

Features

• ✅ High-quality YouTube video downloads
• ✅ MP3 audio extraction
• ✅ Resolution choice (360p, 480p, 720p, 1080p)
• ✅ Interactive CLI interface with menu
• ✅ Command-line arguments
• ✅ Download progress display
• ✅ Detailed video information before download
• ✅ Robust error handling

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.6+
• pip

Installing Dependencies

pip install yt-dlp

For audio extraction, FFmpeg is recommended (automatically installed by yt-dlp if needed).

Usage

Interactive Mode (Recommended)

python youtube_downloader.py --interactive
# or simply
python youtube_downloader.py

The interactive mode provides a menu with the following options:

1. Download video (best quality)
2. Download as MP3 audio
3. Download with resolution choice
4. List available formats
5. Change output directory
6. Exit

Command-line Usage

# Simple download
python youtube_downloader.py "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"

# MP3 audio download
python youtube_downloader.py -f audio "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"

# Specific resolution download
python youtube_downloader.py -f 720 "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"

# Specify output directory
python youtube_downloader.py -o "/path/to/directory" "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"

Options

• url: YouTube URL to download (optional in interactive mode)
• -f, --format: Download format
  • best: Best available quality (default)
  • audio: MP3 audio only
  • 360, 480, 720, 1080: Specific video resolution
• -o, --output: Custom output directory
• -i, --interactive: Launch interactive mode

Default Output Directory

By default, videos are downloaded to:

• Linux/Mac: ~/Downloads/YouTube/
• Windows: C:\Users\[USERNAME]\Downloads\YouTube\

Usage Examples

Example 1: Simple Download

python youtube_downloader.py "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"

Example 2: Audio Only

python youtube_downloader.py -f audio "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"

Example 3: Interactive Mode

python youtube_downloader.py -i

Advanced Features

List Available Formats

Use option 4 in interactive mode to see all available formats for a video.

Batch Downloads

The script can be called multiple times or integrated into a bash script for batch downloads.

Error Handling

The script automatically handles:

• Invalid URLs
• Unavailable videos
• Network issues
• Audio conversion errors
• Insufficient permissions

Security

• The script does not collect any personal data
• URLs are processed locally only
• No connection to third-party servers (except YouTube)

License

This project is provided as-is, without warranty.

Support

For issues or suggestions, first check:

1. That yt-dlp is up to date: pip install --upgrade yt-dlp
2. That Python 3.6+ is installed
3. That the YouTube URL is valid and accessible

Author

Script created by Cline - Autonomous Developer