YouTube stores high-definition video (1080p and above) and high-quality audio as separate streams. To download a 1080p video, yt-dlp must download the video stream and audio stream separately and merge them.
Fetching playlist... Playlist Title: Python Tutorials Total Videos: 15
| Error | Likely Cause | Solution | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | HTTP Error 403: Forbidden | YouTube blocking your IP | Add 'sleep_interval': 10 and 'sleep_requests': 1 to options | | Private video skipped | Video is unlisted/deleted | ignoreerrors: True handles this automatically | | ffmpeg not found | Tried audio conversion without ffmpeg | Install ffmpeg via brew install ffmpeg (macOS), apt install ffmpeg (Linux), or download for Windows | | Sign in to confirm you’re not a bot | Age-restricted content | Export cookies from browser and pass with --cookies cookies.txt | youtube playlist free downloader python script
import os import yt_dlp def advanced_playlist_downloader(playlist_url, download_type="video", save_path="downloads"): if not os.path.exists(save_path): os.makedirs(save_path) # Base configuration ydl_opts = 'outtmpl': os.path.join(save_path, '%(playlist_index)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s'), 'ignoreerrors': True, # Skip deleted or private videos without crashing # Customize options based on user preference if download_type == "audio": ydl_opts.update( 'format': 'bestaudio/best', 'postprocessors': [ 'key': 'FFmpegExtractAudio', 'preferredcodec': 'mp3', 'preferredquality': '192', ], ) else: ydl_opts.update( 'format': 'bestvideo+bestaudio/best', 'merge_output_format': 'mp4', ) with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl: ydl.download([playlist_url]) if __name__ == "__main__": playlist_url = input("Enter playlist URL: ").strip() choice = input("Download as (1) Video [MP4] or (2) Audio [MP3]? Input 1 or 2: ").strip() media_mode = "audio" if choice == "2" else "video" advanced_playlist_downloader(playlist_url, download_type=media_mode) Use code with caution. Best Practices and Troubleshooting 1. YouTube Throttling or HTTP Error 403
Ensure FFmpeg is added to your system's environmental variables (PATH) so your Python script can access it. Step-by-Step Code Construction YouTube stores high-definition video (1080p and above) and
# Summary print("\n" + "=" * 50) print("DOWNLOAD COMPLETE") print(f"Successful: success_count") print(f"Failed: fail_count") print(f"Location: os.path.abspath(download_path)") print("=" * 50)
🛠️ Python + yt-dlp .⚡ Speed: Handles hundreds of videos in one go.📂 Organization: Automatically creates a folder named after the playlist. Playlist Title: Python Tutorials Total Videos: 15 |
def main(): parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Download YouTube playlists with ease.") parser.add_argument("url", help="YouTube playlist URL") parser.add_argument("-o", "--output", default="./downloads", help="Output directory") parser.add_argument("-f", "--format", choices=["video", "audio"], default="video", help="Download format (video or audio)") parser.add_argument("-l", "--limit", type=int, help="Maximum number of videos to download") parser.add_argument("-c", "--cookies", help="Path to cookies.txt for age‑restricted videos") parser.add_argument("--subs", action="store_true", help="Download subtitles (if available)")
pip install pytube --upgrade
This guide will show you how to build your own downloader using a powerful tool called yt-dlp . Why Use Python to Download Playlists?