yt-dlp

SKILL.md

yt-dlp Video Downloader Skill

This skill provides tools for downloading videos and extracting audio from various platforms using yt-dlp.

Features

Download videos from multiple platforms (YouTube, Twitter/X, Vimeo, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, etc.)

Extract audio from videos

Auto-detect video URLs in conversations

Support for different quality settings and formats

Usage Patterns

1. Command-based Download

When user explicitly asks to download a video:

User: Download this video https://youtube.com/watch?v=...

Action: Extract URL and call download script

2. Auto-detection in Conversations

When conversation contains video URLs:

User: Check out this video https://twitter.com/... and let me know what you think

Action: Detect video URL, ask user if they want to download it

3. Audio Extraction

When user wants to extract audio only:

User: Extract the audio from https://youtu.be/...

Action: Use audio extraction script

Available Scripts

Note: Scripts are located in the scripts/ directory

download_video.py

Main video downloader with quality and format options.

Usage:

# Download video
scripts/download_video.py <url> -o <output_dir>

# Download with specific quality
scripts/download_video.py <url> --quality 720p
scripts/download_video.py <url> --quality audio  # For audio only

# Custom format selector
scripts/download_video.py <url> --format "bestvideo[height<=1080]+bestaudio/best"

# Extract info only
scripts/download_video.py <url> --info-only

Quality options: best, 1080p, 720p, 480p, audio

extract_audio.py

Extract audio from videos in various formats.

Usage:

# Extract as MP3 (default)
/scripts/extract_audio.py <url> -o <output_dir>

# Extract as M4A
/scripts/extract_audio.py <url> --format m4a

# Custom quality
/scripts/extract_audio.py <url> --quality 320

Formats: mp3, m4a, opus, flac, wav

extract_urls.py

Extract video URLs from text or files.

Usage:

# Extract from text argument
/scripts/extract_urls.py "Check https://youtube.com/watch?v=..."

# Extract from file
/scripts/extract_urls.py <file_path>

# Read from stdin
cat file.txt | /scripts/extract_urls.py

Video Platform Support

The skill recognizes URLs from:

YouTube (youtube.com, youtu.be)

Twitter/X (twitter.com, x.com)

Vimeo (vimeo.com)

TikTok (tiktok.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

Facebook (facebook.com, fb.watch)

Twitch (twitch.tv, clips.twitch.tv)

Dailymotion (dailymotion.com)

Reddit (reddit.com)

Streamable (streamable.com)

And many more supported by yt-dlp

Workflow

When User Provides Video URL

Extract URL from user's input using extract_urls.py

Confirm with user what action to take:

Download video

Extract audio

Show video info

Execute appropriate script based on user's choice

Notify user of success/failure and file location

When Auto-detecting URLs

Scan conversation text with extract_urls.py (can process stdin)

If video URLs found, ask user: "I found video URLs in this conversation. Would you like me to download them?"

If yes, proceed with download workflow

If no, continue with conversation

Handling Multiple URLs

For single URL: Direct download

For multiple URLs: Ask user if they want to download all or select specific ones

Provide option to download as playlist if URLs are from the same source

Quality and Format Selection

When user doesn't specify preferences:

Default to best available quality

For audio: Default to MP3 at 192kbps

When options needed:

# Ask user for quality preference if not specified
# Options: best (default), 1080p, 720p, 480p, audio

# Ask for format if extracting audio
# Options: mp3 (default), m4a, opus, flac, wav

Error Handling

Common issues and solutions:

yt-dlp not installed:

Check with yt-dlp --version

Install with pip install yt-dlp or brew install yt-dlp

ffmpeg not installed (required for format conversion):

Install with brew install ffmpeg (macOS)

Or apt install ffmpeg (Linux)

Video not available:

Check if URL is accessible

Some videos may require authentication

Age-restricted content may need cookies

Network errors:

Retry download

Check internet connection

Dependencies

yt-dlp: Main video downloader

ffmpeg: Audio/video processing (required for format conversion)

python3 with standard library

All scripts are self-contained and use only built-in Python modules.