Yt_Downloader

Ultimate YouTube Downloader (GUI)

Modern, fast, and easy-to-use desktop app to download YouTube videos, playlists, or audio with best quality using yt-dlp and a sleek customtkinter UI. Supports up to 8K/4320p, merges best video+audio, embeds metadata and thumbnails, and optionally downloads subtitles.

Features

Best quality video: smart format selection via yt-dlp (bestvideo+bestaudio, or limit by resolution)
High quality audio: extract to MP3 (FFmpeg) with metadata
Playlists: download entire playlists or single videos
Subtitles: English + auto-generated (optional)
Thumbnails: download and embed artwork/thumbnail (optional)
Progress UI: live percent, speed and ETA, per-URL overall progress
Output templating: saves as %(uploader)s - %(title)s.%(ext)s into your chosen folder
Dark, modern UI: customtkinter styling and scrollable layout

Requirements

Python 3.9+ recommended
yt-dlp
customtkinter
Pillow
FFmpeg installed and available in PATH

Install Python dependencies:

pip install yt-dlp customtkinter Pillow

Install FFmpeg:

Windows: Download a static build and add bin to PATH (e.g., ffmpeg.exe available in PATH). A popular source is https://www.gyan.dev/ffmpeg/builds/.
macOS: brew install ffmpeg
Linux (Debian/Ubuntu): sudo apt update && sudo apt install ffmpeg

Verify FFmpeg:

ffmpeg -version

Quick Start (Run from source)

Ensure Python deps and FFmpeg are installed (see Requirements).
From the project root, run:

python main.py

Paste one or more YouTube URLs (one per line). Playlists are supported.
Choose format: Video (MP4) or Audio (MP3).
Optionally set resolution, enable subtitles, and thumbnail embedding.
Choose an output directory.
Click “Start Epic Download”.

Downloads default to your ~/Downloads/YouTube folder unless you change it.

Controls and Options

URLs box: One YouTube URL per line. Playlists supported.
Download Format: Video (MP4) merges best video+audio; Audio (MP3) extracts audio.
Quality/Resolution: best or a specific cap like 1080p, 720p, etc.
Advanced Options:
- Download Playlists (if detected)
- Download Subtitles (English + Auto-generated)
- Download & Embed Thumbnails (for metadata)
Output Directory: Choose where files are saved. Filenames are sanitized and limited to safe characters.

Progress shows overall status across multiple URLs with percent, speed, and ETA. Post-processing (muxing, metadata, thumbnails, audio extract) is handled by FFmpeg via yt-dlp postprocessors.

Build a Standalone Executable (PyInstaller)

This repo includes a PyInstaller spec (main.spec). You can build a Windows .exe locally.

Basic build command:

pyinstaller --noconfirm --clean main.spec

Outputs:

dist/main.exe: the packaged GUI application
build/: intermediate build artifacts

Notes:

console=False is configured for a windowed app.
UPX compression is enabled if UPX is installed.
If you modify imports or add data files, you may need to tweak hiddenimports or datas in main.spec.

Folder Structure

Yt_Downloader/
├─ main.py              # Application entrypoint (GUI)
├─ main.spec            # PyInstaller build spec
├─ dist/                # Built artifacts (e.g., main.exe)
└─ build/               # PyInstaller build cache

Troubleshooting

FFmpeg not found: Ensure ffmpeg is in PATH. Reopen terminal after changes.
Permissions: Pick an output directory you can write to.
Download fails: Some videos may be region-locked, age-restricted, or require cookies. yt-dlp supports cookies; integrating cookie support would require extending main.py with cookiefile options.
Subtitles not downloading: Only English is requested (en). Auto-generated enabled when selected; not all videos have them.
Slow speeds/ETA inaccurate: Network-dependent; try again later or check firewall/VPN.

Logs shown in the UI include percent, speed, and ETA. Errors for individual URLs display as message boxes while the app continues with the next item.

How It Works (High-level)

UI built with customtkinter in YouTubeDownloader class inside main.py.
For each URL, options are converted into yt_dlp config:
- Video: format = bestvideo+bestaudio/best or capped by selected height
- Audio: FFmpegExtractAudio to MP3 (192 kbps)
- Metadata: FFmpegMetadata, and EmbedThumbnail if enabled
- Subtitles: English (en), normal + auto-generated if enabled
Progress hook updates a global progress bar across all URLs.
Long-running downloads run in a background thread to keep the UI responsive.

Privacy and Disclaimer

This tool downloads content from YouTube. Ensure you have the rights to download and use the content. Respect YouTube’s Terms of Service and local laws.

License

Add your preferred license here (e.g., MIT). If omitted, the project is proprietary by default.

Credits

Built with yt-dlp and FFmpeg
UI by customtkinter and Pillow