VideoDownloader is a desktop application built around the yt-dlp Python library, offering a graphical interface for downloading videos and audio from thousands of supported platforms. Unlike the command-line-only yt-dlp, this tool wraps its functionality in a tkinter-based UI to simplify usage—elimintaing the need to memorize or type complex CLI flags.

Authentication for premium content (e.g., member-only videos) requires valid session credentials. Users can supply cookies via browser export or a cookie file, then enable the corresponding option in the GUI.

Environment Setup

Windows (Recommended)

• Python 3.8+
• FFmpeg binary (not the PyPI package), added to PATH (e.g., D:\ffmpeg\bin)

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/CQUPTLei/VideoDownloader.git

2. Create and activate a Conda environment:

conda create -n vdl python=3.12
conda activate vdl

3. Install dependencies:

pip install yt-dlp

Linux (Ubuntu 24.04 Example)

1. Clone the repo:

git clone https://github.com/CQUPTLei/VideoDownloader.git

2. Set up a virtual environment:

python3 -m venv downloader
source downloader/bin/activate

3. Install required packages:

pip install yt-dlp prettytable
sudo apt install python3-tk ffmpeg

4. Launch the app:

python main.py

Note: If loading cookies from a browser, verify the file path in the configuration—defaults may vary across systems.

Packaging as Standalone Executable

Use PyInstaller to bundle the application:

Windows:

pyinstaller -F --noconsole --icon=icon/1.ico --name=VideoDL main.py

Linux:

pyinstaller -F --noconsole --icon=icon/1.ico --name=VideoDL main.py

The resulting binary includes all dependencies and runs without requiring Python or yt-dlp to be installed system-wide.

Core Configuration Options

The underlying yt_dlp.YoutubeDL class accepts a dictionary of options. Below are key categories with representative parameters:

Authentication & Access Control

• username, password: Credentials for sites requiring login.
• cookiefile: Path to Netscape-format cookie file.
• cookiesfrombrowser: Tuple specifying browser name and profile (e.g., ('chrome', 'Default')).
• age_limit: Integer age threshold to filter age-restricted content.

Format & Output Behavior

• format: Format selection string (e.g., 'bestvideo[height<=1080]+bestaudio/best').
• outtmpl: Template for output filenames (e.g., '%(title)s.%(ext)s').
• paths: Dictionary mapping output types ('home', 'temp') to directories.
• restrictfilenames: Enforces safe filename characters (ASCII-only, no spaces).

Download Workflow

• simulate: Skip actual download; useful for testing.
• skip_download: Skip video file writing but retain metadata extraction.
• ignoreerrors: Continue on individual failures (True, 'only_download', or False).
• retries: Number of retry attempts per fragment or file access.
• concurrent_fragment_downloads: Max parallel fragment requests (default: 10).

Postprocessing

• postprocessors: List of dictionaries defining actions like merging streams or converting formats. Example:

[
    {
        'key': 'FFmpegVideoConvertor',
        'preferedformat': 'mp4'
    }
]

• ffmpeg_location: Explicit path to ffmpeg binary if not in PATH.

Metadata & Subtitles

• writesubtitles, writeautomaticsub: Enable subtitle downloads.
• subtitleslangs: Language list (e.g., ['en', 'zh-Hans']); prefix with - to exclude.
• writeinfojson: Save extracted metadata as JSON.

Network & Reliability

• proxy: HTTP/HTTPS proxy URL (e.g., 'http://127.0.0.1:8080').
• socket_timeout: Seconds before aborting unresponsive connections.
• sleep_interval: Minimum delay between downloads (supports jitter with max_sleep_interval).

Deprecated Parameters (Avoid in New Code)

• playliststart / playlistend → replaced by playlist_items=['1-5']
• allsubtitles → use subtitleslangs=['all']
• no_overwrites → use overwrites=False
• forceurl, forcetitle, etc. → consolidated under forceprint

For exhaustive documentation, refer directly to the yt-dlp source — particularly the YoutubeDL.__init__() docstring and DEFAULT_PARAMS.