A Windows desktop GUI built on top of yt-dlp and FFmpeg. This application does not implement any downloading logic itself — it provides a visual interface for yt-dlp, which does all the heavy lifting.
- YouTube-themed dark UI
- Paste a URL and fetch video info (title, channel, duration, thumbnail)
- Download as MP4 video with quality selection (Best, 1080p, 720p, 480p, 360p)
- Download as MP3 audio-only extraction
- Download entire channels/playlists
- Custom filename and save location
- Real-time progress bar and log output
- Auto-updates yt-dlp on startup
- Supports
cookies.txtfor age-restricted videos - Standalone portable executable — once compiled, the single .exe bundles yt-dlp, FFmpeg, and everything needed. No installation or external dependencies required to run it.
Pre-built standalone executables are available on the Releases page. Just download and run — no setup needed.
- Windows 10/11 (x64)
- .NET 8.0 SDK
The tool binaries (yt-dlp, FFmpeg) are too large for git, so they are downloaded during the build setup. Once compiled, they are embedded into the final executable — the resulting .exe is completely standalone.
Run setup_tools.bat to automatically download yt-dlp and FFmpeg into the YouTubeDownloader/Tools/ folder:
setup_tools.batOr manually place these files in YouTubeDownloader/Tools/:
yt-dlp.exe— from yt-dlp releasesffmpeg.exe,ffprobe.exe, and FFmpeg DLLs — from FFmpeg builds
build.batThe output will be a single standalone executable at dist/YouTubeDownloader.exe. You can copy this .exe anywhere and it will work on its own.
On first run, the app extracts the embedded tools to %LocalAppData%\YouTubeDownloader\tools. Videos are saved to a videos folder next to the executable (or wherever you choose in the UI).
For age-restricted or private videos, place a cookies.txt file next to the executable. You can export cookies from your browser using extensions like Get cookies.txt LOCALLY.
This project is a GUI wrapper and would not exist without these tools:
- yt-dlp — The command-line downloader that powers all video/audio downloading and metadata fetching. Licensed under The Unlicense.
- FFmpeg — Used by yt-dlp for video/audio merging and conversion. Licensed under LGPL/GPL. Builds from yt-dlp/FFmpeg-Builds.