How to create youtube-dl.conf in OS X?

[RedSoxFan04]

I just installed youtube-dl on my Mac, and it’s a great program. I haven’t run into a single Youtube video that it couldn’t download. I also appreciate that it downloads the videos as MP4 files. However, it downloads the videos to my user folder instead of my movies folder. It also adds a series of numbers and letters the the video names. How do I fix this?

More importantly, I’ve read that the configuration file can be used to solve issues like this. However, I’m running into one big issue: there’s no youtube.conf file on my Mac. It seems like I have to make one myself. Do I just add the options I want, or is there more that needs to go into the configuration file?

[phihag]

Depending on your installation method, a configuration file may or may not be present. You can simply create a file ~/.config/youtube-dl.conf with a text editor of your choice. In that file, you can pass in any options. It looks like you want something like

-o "/home/RedSoxFan04/Movies/%(title)s.%(ext)s"

[RedSoxFan04]

Thanks! I just have one question. I saw the filepath you listed, but that’s an approxiamation. What’s the full filepath? Is it /HardDriveName/opt/local/var/macports/sources/rsync.macports.org/release/tarballs/ports/net/youtube-dl/files? http://rsync.macports.org/release/tarballs/ports/net/youtube-dl/files? When I searched for the youtube-dl folder, I found it in a MacPorts folder, which doesn’t seem right. I saw that you said to put it in ~/.config/youtube-dl.conf, but I can’t find the config folder.

On Feb 23, 2016, at 8:33 PM, Philipp Hagemeister notifications@github.com wrote:

Depending on your installation method, a configuration file may or may not be present. You can simply create a file ~/.config/youtube-dl.conf with a text editor of your choice. In that file, you can pass in any options. It looks like you want something like

-o "/home/RedSoxFan04/Movies/%(title)s.%(ext)s"
—
Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub #8649 (comment).

[phihag]

~ stands for /home/RedSoxFan04 (of course, if your Mac username is something else, substitute that). The configuration file is part of your home directory, in a completely different directory tree than youtube-dl itself (on Unix systems like Mac OS X, programs and data are separate, and not in the same directory).

[RedSoxFan04]

Oh, okay. There is one other issue. I created a configuration file with TextEdit, but it won’t let me use the .conf extension. The only way I was able to get TextEdit to save the file was by naming it youtube-dl.conf.rtf. Is that going to be a problem? Or will I need to use a different text editor?

On Feb 24, 2016, at 5:25 PM, Philipp Hagemeister notifications@github.com wrote:

~ stands for /home/RedSoxFan04 (of course, if your Mac username is something else, substitute that). The configuration file is part of your home directory, in a completely different directory tree than youtube-dl itself (on Unix systems like Mac OS X, programs and data are separate, and not in the same directory).

—
Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub #8649 (comment).

[phihag]

RTF is not a plain-text format. You will need to write plain text. Please refer to Apple's help page on the subject.

[RedSoxFan04]

Oh, okay. Thanks.

I noticed that in the option your provided, you had an “s” after “(title)” and also after “ext”. Is the “s” a delineator?

On Feb 23, 2016, at 8:33 PM, Philipp Hagemeister notifications@github.com wrote:

Depending on your installation method, a configuration file may or may not be present. You can simply create a file ~/.config/youtube-dl.conf with a text editor of your choice. In that file, you can pass in any options. It looks like you want something like

-o "/home/RedSoxFan04/Movies/%(title)s.%(ext)s"
—
Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub #8649 (comment).

[RedSoxFan04]

I used the option you gave me, and now when I run youtube-dl, it creates a new subdirectory in my user folder. How do I fix this?

On Feb 23, 2016, at 8:33 PM, Philipp Hagemeister notifications@github.com wrote:

Depending on your installation method, a configuration file may or may not be present. You can simply create a file ~/.config/youtube-dl.conf with a text editor of your choice. In that file, you can pass in any options. It looks like you want something like

-o "/home/RedSoxFan04/Movies/%(title)s.%(ext)s"
—
Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub #8649 (comment).

[RedSoxFan04]

When I used the -o "/home/RedSoxFan04/Movies/%(title)s.%(ext)s”, substituting RedSoxFan for my Mac username and also adding an extra folder to the path, it didn’t work. I got this response from Terminal: Traceback (most recent call last): File "/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/runpy.py", line 162, in _run_module_as_main "__main__", fname, loader, pkg_name) File "/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/runpy.py", line 72, in _run_code exec code in run_globals File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/__main__.py", line 19, in <module> File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/__init__.py", line 411, in main File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/__init__.py", line 57, in _real_main File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/options.py", line 797, in parseOpts File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/options.py", line 62, in _readUserConf File "/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl/youtube_dl/options.py", line 31, in _readOptions File "/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/shlex.py", line 279, in split return list(lex) File "/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/shlex.py", line 269, in next token = self.get_token() File "/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/shlex.py", line 96, in get_token raw = self.read_token() File "/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/shlex.py", line 172, in read_token raise ValueError, "No closing quotation" ValueError: No closing quotation

[phihag]

The s is a type specifier. For more information, refer to the Python documentation.

I thought you would want to create a subdirectory /home/RedSoxFan04/Movies. If you want a different directory, please just replace /home/RedSoxFan04/Movies/ with the directory you want.

Can you post the output you get when you run cat ~/.config/youtube-dl.conf in your terminal? The error very much looks like you forgot or added a quote character.

[RedSoxFan04]

1. I wanted to put downloaded videos into an existing subdirectory.
2. Here’ the output: ERROR: u'cat' is not a valid URL. Set --default-search "ytsearch" (or run youtube-dl "ytsearch:cat" ) to search YouTube

   On Feb 25, 2016, at 8:28 PM, Philipp Hagemeister notifications@github.com wrote:

   The s is a type specifier. For more information, refer to the Python documentation https://docs.python.org/dev/library/stdtypes.html#string-formatting.

   I thought you would want to create a subdirectory /home/RedSoxFan04/Movies. If you want a different directory, please just replace /home/RedSoxFan04/Movies/ with the directory you want.

   Can you post the output you get when you run cat ~/.config/youtube-dl.conf in your terminal? The error very much looks like you forgot or added a quote character.

   —
   Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub #8649 (comment).

[phihag]

1. Alright, then replace /home/RedSoxFan04/Movies with the existing subdirectory. For instance, if the existing subdirectory is /foo/bar, the config file should have the content -o "/foo/bar/%(title)s.%(ext)s".
2. That is the output of youtube-dl cat ~/.config/youtube-dl.conf. I need the output of cat ~/.config/youtube-dl.conf.

[RedSoxFan04]

It still gives me this: ERROR: u'cat' is not a valid URL. Set --default-search "ytsearch" (or run youtube-dl "ytsearch:cat" ) to search YouTube

On Feb 25, 2016, at 8:44 PM, Philipp Hagemeister notifications@github.com wrote:

cat ~/.config/youtube-dl.conf

[phihag]

@RedSoxFan04 Can you post a screenshot? Do you see the same behavior in a new terminal (To open a new terminal, type ⌘+space to open Spotlight, and then type Terminal to search for the terminal app, and then press Enter).

[RedSoxFan04]

Here’s the screenshot:

On Feb 25, 2016, at 8:44 PM, Philipp Hagemeister notifications@github.com wrote:

Alright, then replace /home/RedSoxFan04/Movies with the existing subdirectory. For instance, if the existing subdirectory is /foo/bar, the config file should have the content -o "/foo/bar/%(title)s.%(ext)s".

That is the output of youtube-dl cat ~/.config/youtube-dl.conf. I need the output of cat ~/.config/youtube-dl.conf.

—
Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub #8649 (comment).

[phihag]

Sorry, I can't see any screenshot in your message. You may need to use GitHub's web interface instead of sending emails.

[leongeyer]

Hope I am right in posting this, and not off topic. Seems to me like the question I had and seen answered in
https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/237388/setup-youtube-dl-destination-to-downloads

mkdir -p ~/.config/youtube-dl/
echo "-o ~/Downloads/%(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s" > ~/.config/youtube-dl/config

This way you get the videos into Downloads.

[leongeyer]

I think it don’t. But you maybe have to create the file first = have a look a the link to the original instructions, at Grahams answer and its referrals.

…

On Dec 31, 2019, at 10:02, Carlos Bronze ***@***.***> wrote: hi @leongeyer <https://github.com/leongeyer> zsh throws me an error when echoing: zsh: is a directory: /Users/bronze/.config/youtube-dl/config does it not need a file extension? — You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#8649?email_source=notifications&email_token=ABOX27ZYBI5UZL7B37CWER3Q3NNHXA5CNFSM4B4ET5CKYY3PNVWWK3TUL52HS4DFVREXG43VMVBW63LNMVXHJKTDN5WW2ZLOORPWSZGOEH4J75Q#issuecomment-569942006>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ABOX277XAPQCA3JVGIM4DFDQ3NNHXANCNFSM4B4ET5CA>.

[bronze]

@leongeyer yea I took a look and saw I had created a directory there before using the command line. stupid. I deleted the comment soon after realizing it. Working fine now!
thx for taking the time!

[leongeyer]

Ah, that’s the reason I didn’t find it :) Glad it worked out Best greetings from Peru, have a nice year A

…

On Jan 1, 2020, at 11:37, Carlos Bronze ***@***.***> wrote: @leongeyer <https://github.com/leongeyer> yea I took a look and saw I had created a directory there before using the command line. stupid. I deleted the comment soon after realizing it. Working fine now! thx for taking the time! — You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#8649?email_source=notifications&email_token=ABOX27ZN5U4QPSK2I3FZ3FLQ3TBFPA5CNFSM4B4ET5CKYY3PNVWWK3TUL52HS4DFVREXG43VMVBW63LNMVXHJKTDN5WW2ZLOORPWSZGOEH5IKEQ#issuecomment-570066194>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ABOX275C5JUG62WBMQJ4ZNTQ3TBFPANCNFSM4B4ET5CA>.