Who this is for: Content creators, researchers, and anyone who needs to download YouTube videos for offline viewing, editing, or archival purposes with control over quality and format.
What This Skill Does
Download YouTube videos with full control over quality and format settings using yt-dlp.
Core Capabilities
- Quality Settings — Download in best, 1080p, 720p, 480p, 360p, or worst quality
- Format Options — Output as MP4 (default), WebM, or MKV
- Audio Only — Extract and download audio as MP3
- Custom Output — Specify custom output directories
- Auto-Install — Automatically installs yt-dlp if not present
- Smart Filename — Generates filenames from video titles
Usage
Basic Download
Download this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
Grab this video in best quality
Quality Settings
Download this video in 1080p
Get this video in 720p to save space
Audio Only
Download just the audio from this video as MP3
Format Options
Download this video as WebM format
Example Output
User: "Download this video in 1080p"
Output:
MARKDOWN
Downloading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
Video info:
- Title: Example Video Title
- Duration: 3:32
- Quality: 1080p
- Format: MP4
Processing...
✓ Video downloaded
✓ Audio merged
✓ File saved: /mnt/user-data/outputs/example-video.mp4
File size: 45.2 MB
Options Reference
| Option | Flag | Values |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | -q | best, 1080p, 720p, 480p, 360p, worst |
| Format | -f | mp4, webm, mkv |
| Audio Only | -a | (downloads MP3) |
| Output Dir | -o | /custom/path |
Complete Examples
Download in 1080p as MP4
Download https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID in 1080p
Download Audio Only as MP3
Extract audio from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID as MP3
Download in 720p as WebM to Custom Directory
Download this video in 720p as WebM to /custom/path
Tips
- Downloads saved to
/mnt/user-data/outputs/by default - Higher quality = larger file size and longer download time
- Audio-only downloads are much smaller and faster
- Script handles yt-dlp installation automatically
- Filenames automatically generated from video titles
Common Use Cases
| Use Case | Recommended Settings |
|---|---|
| Offline Viewing | 720p or 1080p MP4 |
| Presentations | 1080p MP4 (best compatibility) |
| Video Editing | Best quality, original format |
| Podcast/Music | Audio-only MP3 |
| Archival | Best quality available |
| Mobile Viewing | 480p or 720p (smaller files) |
Related Use Cases
- Downloading tutorial videos for offline learning
- Saving conference talks for later reference
- Extracting audio from interviews or podcasts
- Archiving important content before removal
- Preparing videos for editing or repurposing