yt-dlp Command Builder

Quick setup

Windows setup for a current yt-dlp installation: yt-dlp.exe + FFmpeg/FFprobe + Deno. Official yt-dlp executables include the yt-dlp-ejs component; Deno is the recommended JavaScript runtime for full YouTube support.

Download yt-dlp.exe Get FFmpeg Install Deno

Show full Windows setup steps

Create C:\yt-dlp.
Put yt-dlp.exe, ffmpeg.exe and ffprobe.exe there.
Install Deno and make sure deno is available in PATH. Deno is enabled by default by current yt-dlp.
Add C:\yt-dlp to Windows PATH, then open a new PowerShell/CMD window.
Verify with yt-dlp --version, ffmpeg -version and deno --version.
Test with yt-dlp "VIDEO_URL".
Update later with yt-dlp -U.

You do not normally need to enter an FFmpeg path in this generator when FFmpeg is beside yt-dlp or on PATH.

Shell

Command format

Changes the quoting rules and the program name (yt-dlp.exe on Windows, yt-dlp on Linux/macOS).

Source

Source type

Video, playlist, channel or supported URL

Treat a playlist URL as one video instead of downloading the playlist

Filename (optional)

Name the file

Leave blank to use the video's own title automatically. The correct extension (.mp4, .mp3, etc.) is added for you. If you're downloading more than one link, every file will share this same name — leave it blank in that case.

Remove characters that are illegal in file names from the name I typed

Filename safety

Restrict to safe characters (ASCII only, no spaces or &)

Force Windows-compatible names (replaces : ? * " etc.)

Never overwrite existing files

Don't set the file's date to the video's upload date

Shorten file names to at most (characters, optional)

Useful for very long titles that hit the path-length limit on Windows.

Download

What to download

Maximum resolution

Preferred video codec

Preferred audio codec

Audio quality / minimum bitrate

Output container

A preference that no available stream meets is automatically relaxed — the command falls back step by step instead of failing with "no formats found".

Trim / clip a time range

Only download part of the video (e.g. minute 1 to minute 30)

Subtitles

Download subtitles

Metadata & extras

Embed thumbnail

Also save thumbnail as its own file

Embed metadata

Embed chapters

Use download archive (skip already downloaded videos)

Advanced extras

Remove SponsorBlock segments

Update yt-dlp before downloading

Generated command

Recommended: put yt-dlp.exe, ffmpeg.exe and ffprobe.exe on PATH. Deno should also be available on PATH for full YouTube support.

Login & network

Use cookies from browser (only when needed)

Proxy (optional)

Advanced network controls

Retries

Concurrent fragments

Rate limit e.g. 5M

Advanced / troubleshooting

FFmpeg location normally leave blank

List available formats instead of downloading

Verbose output

Simulate only — don't download