This script allows you to download videos from YouTube or YouTube Shorts using yt_dlp.
- Download video or audio only
- Specify download format
- Set quality limit
- Custom directory for saving downloads
- Python 3.x
yt_dlplibraryFFmpeg(required for audio extraction)
-
Install
yt_dlp:pip install yt-dlp
-
Install
FFmpeg:- On Windows, download from ffmpeg.org and add to PATH.
- On macOS, install using Homebrew:
brew install ffmpeg
- On Linux, install using your package manager, e.g.:
sudo apt-get install ffmpeg
Save the script below to a file, e.g., download_video.py.
import yt_dlp
import os
def download_video(url, format='best', directory='downloads', audio_only=False, quality_limit=None):
"""
Downloads a video from YouTube or YouTube Shorts.
:param url: URL of the video
:param format: Download format ('best', 'worst', or a specific format)
:param directory: Directory where the video will be saved
:param audio_only: If True, downloads only the audio
:param quality_limit: Quality limit (e.g. '720p')
"""
if not os.path.exists(directory):
os.makedirs(directory)
ydl_opts = {
'format': 'bestaudio/best' if audio_only else format,
'outtmpl': os.path.join(directory, '%(title)s.%(ext)s'),
'progress_hooks': [show_progress],
}
if audio_only:
ydl_opts['postprocessors'] = [{
'key': 'FFmpegExtractAudio',
'preferredcodec': 'mp3',
'preferredquality': '192',
}]
if quality_limit:
ydl_opts['format'] += f'[height<={quality_limit[:-1]}]'
try:
with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
ydl.download([url])
print(f"\nDownload completed. File saved in {directory}")
except Exception as e:
print(f"Error downloading the video: {str(e)}")
def show_progress(d):
if d['status'] == 'finished':
print('\nDownload completed. Processing...')
elif d['status'] == 'downloading':
p = d['_percent_str']
print(f'\rDownloading: {p}', end='')
# Usage example
video_url = "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/AQQV3K-BvLg"
download_video(video_url, format='best', directory='my_videos', audio_only=False, quality_limit='720p')- Save the script to a file, e.g.,
download_video.py. - Run the script:
python download_video.py
- The script will download the specified video and save it in the specified directory.
url: URL of the YouTube video or YouTube Short.format: Download format (default:'best').directory: Directory where the video will be saved (default:'downloads').audio_only: IfTrue, downloads only the audio (default:False).quality_limit: Quality limit, e.g.,'720p'(default:None).
video_url = "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/AQQV3K-BvLg"
download_video(video_url, format='best', directory='my_videos', audio_only=False, quality_limit='720p')This example downloads the video in the best available format, saves it in the my_videos directory, and limits the quality to 720p.
