Video Downloader

Download videos from thousands of sites using yt-dlp — the most powerful and actively maintained video downloading tool. This skill covers installation, configuration, format selection, playlist management, and optimization techniques.

Core Principles

1. Choose the Right Tool

yt-dlp is the successor to youtube-dl and is actively maintained with support for over 1,000 sites. It handles YouTube, Bilibili, Twitter/X, Instagram, TikTok, Vimeo, Twitch, and countless others through extractors.

2. Understand Format Selection

Video and audio are often delivered as separate streams (DASH). yt-dlp can merge them automatically with ffmpeg, or you can download them individually. Understanding formats means you get exactly the quality you need without wasting bandwidth.

3. Respect Rate Limits and Servers

Don't hammer servers with concurrent downloads. Use rate limiting, randomized delays, and reasonable thread counts to avoid IP blocks and maintain access.

4. Handle Authentication Properly

Some content requires authentication. Use cookies from your browser session rather than passing passwords directly. This is more reliable and avoids credential exposure in command history.