Auto-YTDLP

A concurrent video downloader built on yt-dlp with an interactive terminal interface. Queue up URLs, configure quality and format settings, and let it handle the rest.

Features

• Concurrent downloads - Process multiple videos in parallel with configurable worker count
• Interactive TUI - Real-time progress bars, download speeds, ETAs, and log output
• Headless mode - Run without a UI for scripting, cron jobs, and automation
• Queue management - Reorder, filter, add, and remove URLs interactively
• Settings panel - Configure format, quality, subtitles, metadata, and more from within the TUI
• Settings presets - One-click profiles for common workflows (Best Quality, Audio Archive, Fast Download, Bandwidth Saver)
• SponsorBlock - Automatically remove sponsor segments from YouTube videos
• Rate limiting - Cap download speed per worker to manage bandwidth
• Browser cookies - Access age-restricted or authenticated content via browser cookie extraction
• Network retry - Automatically retry failed downloads with configurable delay
• yt-dlp updates - Check for and install yt-dlp updates from within the app
• Download archive - Skip previously downloaded videos across sessions
• Clipboard integration - Paste URLs directly from your clipboard into the queue
• Desktop notifications - Get notified when all downloads complete
• Graceful shutdown - Wait for active downloads to finish before exiting

Requirements

• yt-dlp
• ffmpeg

Both must be installed and available in your PATH. The application validates this at startup.

Installation

Pre-built Binaries

Download the latest binary for your platform from the Releases page:

• Linux: auto-ytdlp-<version>-linux
• macOS: auto-ytdlp-<version>-macos
• Windows: auto-ytdlp-<version>-windows.exe

On macOS/Linux, make it executable and optionally move it to your PATH:

chmod +x auto-ytdlp-<version>-<platform>
sudo mv auto-ytdlp-<version>-<platform> /usr/local/bin/auto-ytdlp

[!NOTE] On macOS, if you get an "app not opened" quarantine warning, run:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /path/to/auto-ytdlp-<version>-macos

Cargo

cargo install auto-ytdlp-rs

From Source

git clone https://github.com/panchi64/auto-ytdlp.git
cd auto-ytdlp
cargo build --release
# Binary is at target/release/auto-ytdlp

Usage

TUI Mode (default)

auto-ytdlp

This opens the interactive terminal interface. Add URLs to links.txt (one per line) in the working directory, then press S to start downloading.

Automated Mode

auto-ytdlp --auto

Processes the queue without a UI and exits when complete. Useful for scripts and cron jobs.

CLI Options

-a, --auto                         Run in automated mode without TUI
-c, --concurrent <CONCURRENT>      Max concurrent downloads [default: 4]
-d, --download-dir <DOWNLOAD_DIR>  Download directory [default: ./yt_dlp_downloads]
-f, --archive-file <ARCHIVE_FILE>  Archive file path [default: ./download_archive.txt]
-h, --help                         Print help
-V, --version                      Print version

Example:

auto-ytdlp --auto --concurrent 8 --download-dir ~/Videos

TUI Controls

Main Controls

Queue Edit Mode (E)

Filter Mode (/)

Settings

Settings persist across sessions at ~/.config/auto-ytdlp/settings.json (Linux/macOS) or %APPDATA%\auto-ytdlp\settings.json (Windows). Open the settings panel in the TUI with F2.

Available Settings

Presets

Apply a full configuration profile from the settings panel:

• Best Quality - Highest quality with subtitles, thumbnails, and metadata
• Audio Archive - Audio-only MP3 with metadata (for music libraries)
• Fast Download - Best quality with 8 concurrent workers, no extras
• Bandwidth Saver - 480p, 2 workers, 2M rate limit, network retry with 5s delay

File Management

Troubleshooting

1. "yt-dlp/ffmpeg not found" - Ensure both are installed and in your PATH
2. Downloads fail immediately - Check the logs panel for error details; verify URLs are valid and accessible
3. Permission errors - Ensure you have write access to the download directory
4. Clipboard not working - On Wayland (Linux), ensure wl-copy/wl-paste are available
5. Authenticated content failing - Set a browser for cookie extraction in settings (F2)

FAQ

Why does this exist?

I wrote this script originally in Python so that I didn't have to manually archive a massive list of YouTube university course videos (at the request of my professor). I built it around the yt-dlp repository because it extends the capabilities of manual downloads by incorporating a lot of QoL features. This script builds on top of that by adding multiple download multithreading and an intuitive TUI.

However I rewrote it in Rust, as a little practice for myself, since I've been trying to write more Rust recently.

It's not just for archiving course videos however! This script can handle all sorts of video-downloading tasks. Maybe you're a researcher collecting data, a content creator gathering inspiration, or just someone who likes to keep offline copies of their favorite online content. Whatever your reason, I hope my little repo helps.

And hey, if you think of some cool feature to add, the code's right there for you to tinker with!

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

This project is licensed under the GNU GPLv3.

Disclaimer

This tool is for educational purposes only. Please make sure you have the right to download any content before using this script. I'm not responsible for any misuse of this software.