What yt-dlp is and why you open it from the terminal

yt-dlp is a command-line tool that downloads videos from YouTube and hundreds of other video sites. It does not have a clickable interface — you run it by typing commands into your terminal or command prompt. Opening yt-dlp means launching your terminal application and typing the command that tells yt-dlp what to download.

The reason you use the terminal instead of a graphical program is that yt-dlp gives you precise control over what gets downloaded, what format it saves in, and where it goes on your computer. Once you have yt-dlp installed, opening it takes about 30 seconds.

Key Takeaways

  • You open yt-dlp by launching your terminal (Terminal on Mac or Linux, Command Prompt or PowerShell on Windows) and typing a command that includes the video URL.
  • The basic command structure is yt-dlp followed by the URL of the video you want to download, with no extra steps required.
  • On Windows, you may need to use python -m yt_dlp instead of just yt-dlp if the direct command does not work.
  • The downloaded video saves to your current folder unless you specify a different location in the command.
  • If yt-dlp does not run when you type the command, it is usually not installed yet, and you will need to install it using pip first.

Opening the terminal on your operating system

On Mac, open Spotlight by pressing Command + Space, type "Terminal", and press Enter. A black window will open.

On Linux, right-click on your desktop and select "Open Terminal Here", or use your applications menu to find Terminal.

On Windows, press the Windows key, type "cmd" or "powershell", and press Enter. Command Prompt (the older black window) and PowerShell (the newer blue window) both work with yt-dlp. PowerShell is slightly more modern, but either one is fine.

Once your terminal is open, you are ready to type the command that runs yt-dlp.

Running yt-dlp with a video URL

Type this command and replace the URL with the actual link to the video you want to download:

yt-dlp https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

Press Enter. yt-dlp will start downloading the video to the folder you are currently in. You will see progress text showing the download speed and how much time remains.

If you see an error message that says "yt-dlp: command not found" or "'yt-dlp' is not recognized", yt-dlp is not installed on your system yet. You will need to install it using pip before you can run it. On most systems, the command is pip install yt-dlp.

Using the alternative command on Windows

If typing yt-dlp alone does not work on Windows, try this instead:

python -m yt_dlp https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

This tells Python to run the yt-dlp module directly. It works the same way as the regular yt-dlp command and produces identical results. Some Windows setups require this version because the direct command is not in the system path, even though yt-dlp is installed.

If neither command works, check that Python itself is installed by typing python --version. If that returns a version number, Python is there. If it does not, you will need to install Python first before yt-dlp will run.

Saving the video to a specific folder

By default, yt-dlp saves the video to whatever folder your terminal is currently in. To save it somewhere else, use the -o flag followed by the path where you want the file to go:

yt-dlp -o ~/Downloads/%(title)s.%(ext)s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

On Mac and Linux, ~/Downloads/ is your Downloads folder. On Windows, use C:\Users\YourUsername\Downloads\ instead. The %(title)s and %(ext)s parts tell yt-dlp to name the file using the video's title and keep the correct file extension.

Alternatively, you can navigate to the folder you want using the cd command before running yt-dlp. For example, cd ~/Downloads on Mac or cd C:\Users\YourUsername\Downloads on Windows will move you into that folder, and then any downloads will go there automatically.

Checking if yt-dlp is installed

Before you try to run yt-dlp, you can check whether it is already on your system by typing:

yt-dlp --version

If yt-dlp is installed, this will show you the version number. If you see an error instead, yt-dlp is not installed yet. Install it by typing pip install yt-dlp and pressing Enter. The installation takes a minute or two, and you will see text scrolling in your terminal as it downloads and sets up the program.

After installation completes, try the version command again to confirm it worked. Once you see a version number, you are ready to download videos.

Troubleshooting when yt-dlp will not open

If you type the command and nothing happens, or you see an error, check these things in order. First, make sure you typed the command correctly — there are no spaces in "yt-dlp" and the URL should be a complete link starting with "http". Second, try the alternative command format for your operating system (use python -m yt_dlp on Windows if yt-dlp alone does not work). Third, verify that yt-dlp is actually installed by running yt-dlp --version.

If the version command works but downloading does not, the problem is usually with the URL itself. Some sites block yt-dlp, and some videos are restricted by the uploader. Try a different video first to see if the issue is with yt-dlp or with that specific video. If you are still stuck, double-check that you copied the full URL from your browser's address bar and pasted it correctly into the terminal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to install yt-dlp every time I want to use it?

No. You install yt-dlp once using pip, and then it stays on your computer. Every time you open a new terminal window, yt-dlp is already there and ready to use. You only reinstall if you want to update it to a newer version.

Can I download multiple videos at once?

Yes. List the URLs one after another in the same command, separated by spaces: yt-dlp url1 url2 url3. yt-dlp will download them in order. You can also use a text file containing one URL per line and tell yt-dlp to read from it using the -a flag.

What if I want to download just the audio, not the video?

Use the -x flag to extract audio only: yt-dlp -x https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ. This saves the audio as an MP3 file. You can combine this with other flags like -o to control where it saves.

Why does the terminal show so much text while yt-dlp is running?

That text is yt-dlp telling you what it is doing — which format it chose, how fast it is downloading, and how much time is left. This is normal and means yt-dlp is working. You can ignore it and let the download finish.

Can I close the terminal while a video is downloading?

No. Closing the terminal window stops the download immediately. Wait for the download to finish (the text will stop scrolling and you will see a new command prompt), then you can close the window safely.