YouTube Media Downloader

Download high-quality audio and video files from YouTube for offline use, music conversion, and content archiving.

Overview

This skill provides comprehensive YouTube downloading capabilities with quality control, batch processing, and format options. Perfect for music extraction, video archiving, educational content, and playlist processing.

Quick Start

Single Video/Audio

# Download as MP3 (default)
scripts/download_media.sh "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"

# Download as MP4 video
scripts/download_media.sh -v "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"

# Custom filename and directory
scripts/download_media.sh -o ~/Downloads "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID" "my_song"

Playlist/Batch Download

# Entire playlist as MP3
scripts/batch_download.sh "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAYLIST_ID"

# Playlist items 5-10 as 720p video
scripts/batch_download.sh -v -q 720p -s 5 -e 10 "PLAYLIST_URL"

# From file list of URLs
scripts/batch_download.sh -f urls.txt

Core Capabilities

Audio Extraction

• Format: High-quality MP3
• Quality: Best available audio automatically selected
• Use cases: Music, podcasts, lectures, interviews
• Command: Default behavior (no flags needed)

Video Download

• Format: MP4 (maximum compatibility)
• Quality options: best, 720p, 480p, 360p, worst
• Use cases: Offline viewing, archiving, educational content
• Command: Use -v/--video flag

Batch Processing

• Playlists: Full playlist support with range selection
• URL files: Process text files with multiple URLs
• Organization: Auto-numbered for playlists
• Control: Start/end positions, max downloads

Quality Selection Guide

Audio (MP3)

• Best quality: Automatic selection from source
• File size: ~3-10MB per song
• Compatibility: Universal MP3 support

Video Quality Options

• best: Highest available (1080p+, large files)
• 720p: HD quality, balanced size (~50-200MB)
• 480p: SD quality, mobile-friendly (~20-80MB)
• 360p: Low quality, minimal size (~10-30MB)

Advanced Usage

Organization Options

# Specific output directory
-o ~/Downloads/Music

# Date-based folders
-o ~/Downloads/$(date +%Y-%m-%d)

Playlist Range Control

# Specific range (items 10-20)
-s 10 -e 20

# From specific item to end
-s 25

# Limit total downloads
-m 50

File Input Processing

Create urls.txt with one URL per line:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=video1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=video2

Then: batch_download.sh -f urls.txt

Script Reference

download_media.sh

Purpose: Single video/audio downloads

Key flags:

• -a/--audio: MP3 extraction (default)
• -v/--video: MP4 video download
• -q/--quality: Quality selection
• -o/--output: Output directory

batch_download.sh

Purpose: Playlist and bulk downloads

Key flags:

• -s/--start, -e/--end: Range selection
• -m/--max-downloads: Limit downloads
• -f/--file: Process URL file
• All single download flags supported

Best Practices & Patterns

For detailed usage patterns, quality guidelines, and troubleshooting, see download-patterns.md.

Technical Notes

• Auto-installation: Scripts install yt-dlp and ffmpeg automatically if needed
• Portable setup: Downloads portable binaries, no system admin required
• Resume support: Interrupted downloads can be resumed
• Error handling: Batch processing continues despite individual failures
• Format preference: Always attempts MP4 for video, MP3 for audio
• Naming: Auto-generated from video titles unless specified

Legal & Ethical Use

• Personal use: Download content for your own offline viewing
• Respect copyrights: Don't redistribute copyrighted material
• Terms compliance: Follow YouTube's terms of service
• Fair use: Consider fair use guidelines for educational content