YouTube Downloader

Windows-friendly PowerShell downloader for YouTube and direct media links, built around yt-dlp and ffmpeg.

What It Does

• Downloads from YouTube and other yt-dlp-supported sites
• Supports direct media links such as mp4 or m3u8
• Downloads:
  • audio only
  • video only
  • video + audio
• Lets you choose the final output extension
• Saves files into the local Downloads folder next to the script
• Offers an interactive menu when arguments are not provided

Files

• youtube_1080p60_downloader.bat
  • Simple launcher for double-click usage on Windows
• youtube_1080p60_downloader.ps1
  • Main PowerShell script
• Downloads/
  • Generated output folder for downloaded media

Requirements

Required:

• yt-dlp
• ffmpeg

Recommended:

• Node.js
  • The script requests a Node-based JS runtime for YouTube and supported sites when needed

Install Notes

Install dependencies

Examples:

python -m pip install --user -U yt-dlp
winget install -e --id Gyan.FFmpeg
winget install -e --id OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS

Verify installation

yt-dlp --version
ffmpeg -version
node -v

If yt-dlp is not directly in PATH, the script also tries:

python -m yt_dlp --version

ffmpeg detection behavior:

• first checks ffmpeg in PATH
• then searches common WinGet install paths for Gyan.FFmpeg

Usage

Easiest Windows usage

Double-click:

youtube_1080p60_downloader.bat

The script will ask for:

• source type
• URL or URLs
• mode
• extension
• optional headers for direct links

Run from PowerShell

Interactive without splash:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\youtube_1080p60_downloader.ps1 -NoSplash

CLI Examples

YouTube or supported site, merged video + audio:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\youtube_1080p60_downloader.ps1 `
  -Source yt `
  -Urls "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID" `
  -Mode both `
  -Extension mp4

Audio only:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\youtube_1080p60_downloader.ps1 `
  -Source yt `
  -Urls "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID" `
  -Mode audio `
  -Extension mp3

Video only:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\youtube_1080p60_downloader.ps1 `
  -Source yt `
  -Urls "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID" `
  -Mode video `
  -Extension mp4

Multiple URLs in one run:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\youtube_1080p60_downloader.ps1 `
  -Source yt `
  -Urls "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAA","https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBB" `
  -Mode both `
  -Extension mkv

Direct media link with optional headers:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\youtube_1080p60_downloader.ps1 `
  -Source direct `
  -Urls "https://example.com/video.m3u8" `
  -Mode both `
  -Extension mp4 `
  -Referer "https://example.com/" `
  -UserAgent "Mozilla/5.0"

Output

Downloaded files are saved in:

.\Downloads\

Filename template:

%(title).200B [%(id)s].%(ext)s

Current Behavior

• YouTube mode prefers high-quality video, including 1080p60 when available
• Audio mode extracts audio and converts it to the selected audio format
• Video mode downloads video-only output
• Both mode merges video and audio into the selected container
• Direct-link mode supports optional Referer and User-Agent headers

Troubleshooting

• Missing dependency: yt-dlp
  • Install yt-dlp or make sure python -m yt_dlp works
• Missing dependency: ffmpeg
  • Install ffmpeg and make sure it is in PATH or installed through WinGet in a detectable location
• direct links fail
  • try adding the correct Referer and User-Agent
• YouTube extraction behaves inconsistently
  • update yt-dlp and make sure Node.js is installed

Known Limitations

• Depends on external tools: yt-dlp, ffmpeg, and sometimes Node.js
• Site-specific behavior may change as YouTube and other platforms update their delivery methods
• Some direct media links require the correct headers to work
• This project currently has no automated test suite

Legal Note

Use this tool only for content you have the right to download. Platform terms, copyright rules, and local laws still apply.

GitHub Notes

Files in Downloads/ are generated output and should not be committed.