How do I install the Youtube Downloader skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add aiescu/youtube-downloader in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Youtube Downloader safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Youtube Downloader?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Youtube Downloader free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Youtube Downloader?

aiescu (@aiescu) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Youtube Downloader by aiescu — Agent Skill

Name: Youtube Downloader
Author: aiescu

Youtube Downloader

Download YouTube videos with customizable quality and format options. Use this skill when the user asks to download, save, or grab YouTube videos. Supports various quality settings (best, 1080p, 720p, 480p, 360p), multiple formats (mp4, webm, mkv), and audio-only downloads as MP3.

aiescu Updated Sep 21, 2026

File contents

YouTube Video Downloader

Download YouTube videos with full control over quality and format settings.

Quick Start

The simplest way to download a video:

python scripts/download_video.py "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"

This downloads the video in best available quality as MP4 to /mnt/user-data/outputs/.

Options

Quality Settings

Use -q or --quality to specify video quality:

best (default): Highest quality available
1080p: Full HD
720p: HD
480p: Standard definition
360p: Lower quality
worst: Lowest quality available

Example:

python scripts/download_video.py "URL" -q 720p

Format Options

Use -f or --format to specify output format (video downloads only):

mp4 (default): Most compatible
webm: Modern format
mkv: Matroska container

Example:

python scripts/download_video.py "URL" -f webm

Audio Only

Use -a or --audio-only to download only audio as MP3:

python scripts/download_video.py "URL" -a

Custom Output Directory

Use -o or --output to specify a different output directory:

python scripts/download_video.py "URL" -o /path/to/directory

Complete Examples

Download video in 1080p as MP4:

python scripts/download_video.py "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" -q 1080p

Download audio only as MP3:

python scripts/download_video.py "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" -a

Download in 720p as WebM to custom directory:

python scripts/download_video.py "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" -q 720p -f webm -o /custom/path

How It Works

The skill uses yt-dlp, a robust YouTube downloader that:

Automatically installs itself if not present
Fetches video information before downloading
Selects the best available streams matching your criteria
Merges video and audio streams when needed
Supports a wide range of YouTube video formats

Important Notes

Downloads are saved to /mnt/user-data/outputs/ by default
Video filename is automatically generated from the video title
The script handles installation of yt-dlp automatically
Only single videos are downloaded (playlists are skipped by default)
Higher quality videos may take longer to download and use more disk space

Distribution and attribution

Distributed by Aiescu. Original author: ComposioHQ and contributors. Source: ComposioHQ/awesome-claude-skills. See UPSTREAM.md for provenance and packaging changes, and LICENSE for the retained license terms.

---name: youtube-downloaderdescription: Download YouTube videos with customizable quality and format options. Use this skill when the user asks to download, save, or grab YouTube videos. Supports various quality settings (best, 1080p, 720p, 480p, 360p), multiple formats (mp4, webm, mkv), and audio-only downloads as MP3.---# YouTube Video DownloaderDownload YouTube videos with full control over quality and format settings.## Quick StartThe simplest way to download a video:```bashpython scripts/download_video.py "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"```This downloads the video in best available quality as MP4 to `/mnt/user-data/outputs/`.## Options### Quality SettingsUse `-q` or `--quality` to specify video quality:- `best` (default): Highest quality available- `1080p`: Full HD- `720p`: HD- `480p`: Standard definition- `360p`: Lower quality- `worst`: Lowest quality availableExample:```bashpython scripts/download_video.py "URL" -q 720p```### Format OptionsUse `-f` or `--format` to specify output format (video downloads only):- `mp4` (default): Most compatible- `webm`: Modern format- `mkv`: Matroska containerExample:```bashpython scripts/download_video.py "URL" -f webm```### Audio OnlyUse `-a` or `--audio-only` to download only audio as MP3:```bashpython scripts/download_video.py "URL" -a```### Custom Output DirectoryUse `-o` or `--output` to specify a different output directory:```bashpython scripts/download_video.py "URL" -o /path/to/directory```## Complete Examples1. Download video in 1080p as MP4:```bashpython scripts/download_video.py "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" -q 1080p```2. Download audio only as MP3:```bashpython scripts/download_video.py "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" -a```3. Download in 720p as WebM to custom directory:```bashpython scripts/download_video.py "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" -q 720p -f webm -o /custom/path```## How It WorksThe skill uses `yt-dlp`, a robust YouTube downloader that:- Automatically installs itself if not present- Fetches video information before downloading- Selects the best available streams matching your criteria- Merges video and audio streams when needed- Supports a wide range of YouTube video formats## Important Notes- Downloads are saved to `/mnt/user-data/outputs/` by default- Video filename is automatically generated from the video title- The script handles installation of yt-dlp automatically- Only single videos are downloaded (playlists are skipped by default)- Higher quality videos may take longer to download and use more disk space## Distribution and attributionDistributed by Aiescu. Original author: ComposioHQ and contributors. Source: [ComposioHQ/awesome-claude-skills](https://github.com/ComposioHQ/awesome-claude-skills/tree/be2a406907dbc61b73e6827ded415c96139d13a2/video-downloader).See [UPSTREAM.md](UPSTREAM.md) for provenance and packaging changes, and [LICENSE](LICENSE) for the retained license terms.

Frequently asked questions