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
- 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
- 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
Download with specific quality
scripts/download_video.py
Custom format selector
scripts/download_video.py
Extract info only
scripts/download_video.py
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
Extract as M4A
/scripts/extract_audio.py
Custom quality
/scripts/extract_audio.py
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
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.