ai-agent

youtube-dl: Download YouTube Videos

Name: youtube-dl: Download YouTube Videos
Author: ytdl-org

Download YouTube videos with this command-line tool. Used by founders, backed by 141k+ GitHub stars.

From the repo · “Command-line program to download videos from YouTube.com and other video sites”

141,372 stars+60★ this week10,658 forksPythonGuide quality 9/10 · reviewed Aug 1Install verified Oct 5Updated 2/19/2026100% free · open source

What it does

youtube-dl is a command-line program that allows you to download videos from YouTube and other video sites for offline use or archiving.

When to use it

•You need to download a YouTube video for offline viewing or editing.
•You want to archive videos from YouTube or other sites for preservation or research.
•You need to extract audio from a YouTube video for use in a podcast or music project.

Ready-to-paste prompt

youtube-dl -f 136 -o '/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

Heads up: Some YouTube videos may have DRM protection or be restricted by region or age, which can prevent youtube-dl from downloading them, so be sure to check the video's availability and terms of use before attempting to download.

Saves to your device

Use with Claude

New

Skip the builder — one click puts this in Claude, Cursor, Antigravity and more.

✅ Light setup✓ Install verified 10/5/2026

Installs with a command or two; your AI agent can do it for you.

Try it instantly — no install

Claude Code

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/youtube-dl && curl -fsSL https://workflowstacks.com/api/skills/youtube-dl/claude-skill -o ~/.claude/skills/youtube-dl/SKILL.md

Open in another AI app

Opens the app with this repo with the prompt ready to go — no copy-paste needed.

Connect the whole catalog (MCP)

claude mcp add --transport http workflowstacks https://workflowstacks.com/api/mcp

Adds a WorkflowStacks connector to Claude Code: search and load any skill here by chatting.

What's inside — free to inspect

No purchase needed

Read the entire source before you build — unlike paid marketplaces that hide it behind a buy button.

top-level files

folders

64.0M

source size

Unlicense

license

Key files

README.md

File tree

.github/

bin/

devscripts/

docs/

test/

youtube_dl/

.gitignore

AUTHORS

ChangeLog

CONTRIBUTING.md

LICENSE

Makefile

MANIFEST.in

README.md

setup.cfg

setup.py

tox.ini

youtube-dl.plugin.zsh

Use with Claude

New

Skip the builder — one click puts this in Claude, Cursor, Antigravity and more.

✅ Light setup✓ Install verified 10/5/2026

Installs with a command or two; your AI agent can do it for you.

Try it instantly — no install

Claude Code

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/youtube-dl && curl -fsSL https://workflowstacks.com/api/skills/youtube-dl/claude-skill -o ~/.claude/skills/youtube-dl/SKILL.md

Open in another AI app

Opens the app with this repo with the prompt ready to go — no copy-paste needed.

Connect the whole catalog (MCP)

claude mcp add --transport http workflowstacks https://workflowstacks.com/api/mcp

Adds a WorkflowStacks connector to Claude Code: search and load any skill here by chatting.

Quick Actions

Details

Creator

ytdl-org

Language

Python