snek-dl

An intuitive wrapper for youtube-dl, to be used as a Python module.

Installation

pip install snek-dl

Why snek-dl?

youtube-dl is a very good CLI tool. However, it can be very confusing to use it within Python, despite being written in Python. snek-dl aims to target that problem and make youtube-dl more intuitive to use in Python, right out of the box.

Okay, but seriously, why snek-dl?

1. Accurate URL retrieval

   • When youtube-dl uses ffmpeg to merge .webm and .m4a into a video-and-audio file format, the URL retrieved from Python method get_url() is wrong: it only retrieves the audio URL.
   • snek-dl returns both the video and audio's URLs, accurately.

2. Remedied inaccurate filename issue

   • Same issue as above: it's weirdly hard to get the output video file's name when youtube-dl uses ffmpeg to merge the video and audio streams into one file. So it becomes extremely annoying to do any post-processing on the downloaded videos.
   • snek-dl returns the metadata after downloading the video, which includes basic information such as the actual correct filepath.

3. Readable, pretty output

   • Any information you print() for the sake of just looking at the output is so much more readable than the standard youtube-dl outputs.
   • Pretty-printing dictionaries and lists is built-in for humans, but it also does not affect any machines reading the objects.

And more to come! The more I use youtube-dl as a Python module, more weirdness I run into. I will be adding some of the remedies for things that aren't smooth-sailing.

Usage

from snek_dl import Snek

# Initialize your snek engine
engine = Snek(
    url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    name_format="%(title)s-(%(format_id)s)-%(height)sp.%(ext)s", # ex) video_title-(22)-720p.mp4
    output_format="bestvideo[ext=mp4]" # picks the best video that has mp4 extension
)

# or you can put youtube-dl's option dictionary
from snek_dl import Snek
opts = {
    "outtmpl": "%(title)s-(%(format_id)s)-%(height)sp.%(ext)s",
    "format": "bestvideo[ext=mp4]"
}
engine = Snek(url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", options=opts)

# with the initialized snek engine, you can retrieve info like metadata
from snek_dl import Snek
engine = Snek(url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ")
# if you set download to false, it only retrieves metadata and does not trigger the download process.
# default is False
info = engine.info(download=False) # returns the metadata
# or if you only want one thing from the metadata:
info = engine.info_detail(detail="id") # returns the id

# there's a special method for retrieving and parsing available formats
# if you set full to true, it will return every detail. default is false
formats = engine.formats(full=False) # returns simplified formats

# if you finished tweaking the engine, and want to start downloading:
from snek_dl import Snek

opts = {
    "outtmpl": "%(title)s-(%(format_id)s)-%(height)sp.%(ext)s",
    "format": "bestvideo[ext=mp4]"
}
engine = Snek(url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", options=opts)
output = engine.download() # returns filename, id, url, format, and filesize after downloading