Yt Dlp
Download videos and extract audio from various platforms using yt-dlp. Use when user provides a video URL, asks to download a video, or when conversation contains video links from YouTube, Twitter/X, Vimeo, TikTok, Instagram, etc.
- Skill ID
- lwmxiaobei/yt-dlp-skill/yt-dlp
- Publisher
- lwmxiaobei
- Repository
- yt-dlp-skill
- Installs
- 0
- Files
- 7
- Synced
- Sep 23, 2026
Open any RiverX project, open the Skills panel in the chat, and search for this identifier. The files are fetched from the source repository at install time.
lwmxiaobei/yt-dlp-skill/yt-dlpInstalls these files- README.md
- SKILL.md
- references/examples.md
- scripts/download_video.py
- scripts/extract_audio.py
- scripts/extract_urls.py
- scripts/test_yt_dlp.py
What this skill tells the agent
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 thinkAction: 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-onlyQuality 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 320Formats: 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.pyVideo 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, wavError Handling
Common issues and solutions:
- yt-dlp not installed:
- Check with
yt-dlp --version - Install with
pip install yt-dlporbrew 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 downloaderffmpeg: Audio/video processing (required for format conversion)python3with standard library
All scripts are self-contained and use only built-in Python modules.
Use this skill in a project
Open any RiverX project, search the Skills panel for lwmxiaobei/yt-dlp-skill/yt-dlp, and install it in one click.
