How do I install the Youtube Dl skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add dalehurley/youtube-dl 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 Dl 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 Dl?

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 Dl free to use?

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

Who published Youtube Dl?

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

Youtube Dl by dalehurley — Agent Skill

Name: Youtube Dl
Author: dalehurley

Youtube Dl

Download video or extract audio from YouTube and other video sites. Use this skill when the user asks to download a YouTube video, extract audio from a video URL, save a video from the internet, convert a YouTube video to MP3, or download media from supported sites.

dalehurley Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

Skill: youtube-dl

When to Use

Use this skill when the user asks to:

Download a YouTube video
Extract audio from a YouTube video
Save a video from the internet
Convert a YouTube video to MP3/audio
Download video or audio from any supported site
Get the audio track from a video URL

Supported Sites

yt-dlp supports 1000+ sites including:

YouTube, YouTube Music
Vimeo, Dailymotion
Twitter/X, Reddit, TikTok
SoundCloud, Bandcamp
And many more (run yt-dlp --list-extractors for full list)

Input Parameters

Parameter	Required	Description	Example
`url`	Yes	Video/audio URL	https://youtube.com/watch?v=xxx
`format`	No	`video` (default) or `audio`	audio
`quality`	No	`best` (default), `720`, `480`, `360`	best
`output`	No	Output directory or file path	~/Downloads/

Procedure

Get the URL from the user's request
Determine if they want video or audio

Run the bundled script:

# Download video (best quality)
python3 skills/youtube-dl/scripts/download.py "https://youtube.com/watch?v=xxx"

# Extract audio only (MP3)
python3 skills/youtube-dl/scripts/download.py "https://youtube.com/watch?v=xxx" --format audio

# Specific quality
python3 skills/youtube-dl/scripts/download.py "https://youtube.com/watch?v=xxx" --quality 720

# Custom output directory
python3 skills/youtube-dl/scripts/download.py "https://youtube.com/watch?v=xxx" --output ~/Downloads/

The script auto-installs yt-dlp if needed
Report the downloaded file path and details to the user

Bundled Scripts

Script	Type	Description
`scripts/download.py`	Python	Download video/audio using yt-dlp

Script Usage

# Download best quality video
python3 scripts/download.py "https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"

# Audio only (extracts to best available audio format)
python3 scripts/download.py "https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" --format audio

# Specific video quality
python3 scripts/download.py "https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" --quality 720

# Custom output location
python3 scripts/download.py "https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" --output ~/Music/

# Show video info without downloading
python3 scripts/download.py "https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" --info

Example

download this youtube video: https://youtube.com/watch?v=xxx
extract the audio from this video
save this video as mp3
download the video in 720p
get the audio from this youtube link

---name: youtube-dldescription: Download video or extract audio from YouTube and other video sites. Use this skill when the user asks to download a YouTube video, extract audio from a video URL, save a video from the internet, convert a YouTube video to MP3, or download media from supported sites.---# Skill: youtube-dl## When to UseUse this skill when the user asks to:- Download a YouTube video- Extract audio from a YouTube video- Save a video from the internet- Convert a YouTube video to MP3/audio- Download video or audio from any supported site- Get the audio track from a video URL## Supported Sitesyt-dlp supports 1000+ sites including:- YouTube, YouTube Music- Vimeo, Dailymotion- Twitter/X, Reddit, TikTok- SoundCloud, Bandcamp- And many more (run `yt-dlp --list-extractors` for full list)## Input Parameters| Parameter | Required | Description | Example || --------- | -------- | ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------- || `url` | Yes | Video/audio URL | https://youtube.com/watch?v=xxx || `format` | No | `video` (default) or `audio` | audio || `quality` | No | `best` (default), `720`, `480`, `360` | best || `output` | No | Output directory or file path | ~/Downloads/ |## Procedure1. Get the URL from the user's request2. Determine if they want video or audio3. Run the bundled script: ```bash # Download video (best quality) python3 skills/youtube-dl/scripts/download.py "https://youtube.com/watch?v=xxx" # Extract audio only (MP3) python3 skills/youtube-dl/scripts/download.py "https://youtube.com/watch?v=xxx" --format audio # Specific quality python3 skills/youtube-dl/scripts/download.py "https://youtube.com/watch?v=xxx" --quality 720 # Custom output directory python3 skills/youtube-dl/scripts/download.py "https://youtube.com/watch?v=xxx" --output ~/Downloads/ ```4. The script auto-installs `yt-dlp` if needed5. Report the downloaded file path and details to the user## Bundled Scripts| Script | Type | Description || --------------------- | ------ | --------------------------------- || `scripts/download.py` | Python | Download video/audio using yt-dlp |### Script Usage```bash# Download best quality videopython3 scripts/download.py "https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"# Audio only (extracts to best available audio format)python3 scripts/download.py "https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" --format audio# Specific video qualitypython3 scripts/download.py "https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" --quality 720# Custom output locationpython3 scripts/download.py "https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" --output ~/Music/# Show video info without downloadingpython3 scripts/download.py "https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" --info```## Example```download this youtube video: https://youtube.com/watch?v=xxxextract the audio from this videosave this video as mp3download the video in 720pget the audio from this youtube link```

Frequently asked questions