yt-dlp for Windows — Free 4K/8K YouTube Downloader
Fast, privacy-friendly CLI to save videos, playlists, and audio from popular platforms. No ads. No bloat. 100% free and open source.
Why choose yt-dlp on Windows
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No ads or pop-ups
Avoid malware, fake buttons, and throttled speeds.
Avoid malware, fake buttons, and throttled speeds.
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True 4K/8K + HDR
Full quality with bestvideo+bestaudio merging via FFmpeg.
Full quality with bestvideo+bestaudio merging via FFmpeg.
🌀
Playlists & channels
Batch downloads with robust resume and error handling.
Batch downloads with robust resume and error handling.
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Open source
Community-audited. No telemetry. No bloat.
Community-audited. No telemetry. No bloat.
Do more with yt-dlp
How it works (2-minute setup)
- Download yt-dlp.exe from the official GitHub release.
- Place it in a folder like
C:\Users\YOU\DownloadsorC:\Tools\yt-dlp. - (Recommended) Put ffmpeg.exe next to it for 4K/8K merges and audio conversion.
- Open PowerShell in that folder and run yt-dlp -U to stay up to date.
Respect copyright and each website's Terms of Service. Download content only when you have the rights.
Popular commands (copy & paste)
Best quality video (auto-merge)
yt-dlp "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"
Download entire playlist
yt-dlp --yes-playlist "PLAYLIST_URL"
Convert to MP3 (best quality)
yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 0 "VIDEO_OR_PLAYLIST_URL"
Download with subtitles
yt-dlp --write-auto-sub --sub-format srt --sub-langs "en,*" "URL"
Limit to 1080p
yt-dlp -f "bestvideo[height<=1080]+bestaudio/best" "URL"
Trusted & safe
- We link directly to the official GitHub release of yt-dlp.
- No installers, no background services, no telemetry.
- Open source and community-audited.
Quick FAQ
Is yt-dlp safe and legal?
yt-dlp is open source and widely audited. Always comply with copyright and each website's Terms of Service.
How do I update yt-dlp?
Open PowerShell in your folder and run yt-dlp -U.
Do I need FFmpeg?
Yes for 4K/8K merges and audio conversions. Place ffmpeg.exe next to yt-dlp.exe.