CLI is the new GUI

Don't be intimidated by the command line. While traditional apps have heavy interfaces that slow down your PC, yt-dlp uses zero background resources. It's faster, more stable, and allows you to:

Automation

Download entire channels or playlists with just one short command.

No Bloatware

No installers, no background services, no telemetry. Just one .exe file.

★★★★★ (4.9/5 based on 200k+ GitHub stars)

Download yt-dlp for Windows 11/10

The most powerful open-source command-line media downloader. High speed, no ads, 100% free.

Download yt-dlp.exe (Latest Build)

yt-dlp — Windows Terminal

PS C:\Users\Admin\Downloads> .\yt-dlp.exe -f "bestvideo+bestaudio" https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
[youtube] dQw4w9WgXcQ: Downloading webpage
[info] dQw4w9WgXcQ: Downloading 1 format(s): 303+251

      [download]  72.4% of 152.41MiB at 28.5MiB/s ETA 00:02
    
[ffmpeg] Merging formats into "Never_Gonna_Give_You_Up.mp4"
DONE: Download completed in 00:05.

Verified Safe • • Windows 64-bit Stable

Why yt-dlp is better than Online Converters

Feature	yt-dlp (GitHub)	Online Tools
Ads & Pop-ups	None	High Risk
4K / 8K / HDR Support	Full Support	Limited to 720p
Download Speed	Unlimited	Throttled
Batch Download (Playlists)	Yes	No

Software Specifications

Developer:	yt-dlp Project (GitHub Community)
Operating System:	Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 7 (64-bit/32-bit)
Architecture:	x86_64, x86, ARM64
Python Version:	3.8+ (Standalone .exe included)
Memory (RAM):	512 MB Minimum
License:	Unlicense (Open Source / Public Domain)
Requirements:	FFmpeg (Recommended for 4K merging)

Important: FFmpeg Requirement

YouTube serves 4K/8K video and audio as separate streams. To merge them into a single high-quality file, yt-dlp needs FFmpeg.

Download ffmpeg.exe from official sources.
Place it in the same folder as yt-dlp.exe.
yt-dlp will now automatically detect it and merge 4K files.

Advanced Usage Guide

yt-dlp is a command-line tool. Open PowerShell or CMD in your download folder and use these examples:

1. Standard Video Download (Best Quality):

.\yt-dlp.exe "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"

2. Extract Best Audio (MP3 320kbps):

.\yt-dlp.exe -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 0 "URL"

3. Download Entire Playlist:

.\yt-dlp.exe --yes-playlist "PLAYLIST_URL"

4. Download with Auto-Subtitles:

.\yt-dlp.exe --write-auto-sub --sub-format srt "URL"

Supported Platforms

YouTube TikTok Instagram Twitch Twitter (X) Facebook Vimeo SoundCloud Reddit Dailymotion

Frequently Asked Questions

Is yt-dlp safe to use?

Absolutely. It is an open-source project with thousands of contributors on GitHub. It contains no ads, no trackers, and no spyware.

How do I update to the latest version?

Simply run .\yt-dlp.exe -U in your terminal to update automatically.