Skill detail

openakita/skills@video-downloader

Downloads YouTube videos with customizable quality and format options, including audio-only MP3 downloads.

MatchPossibleReviewed for YouTube Videos
Sourceopenakita/​openakitaExternal source
Reported installs60Popularity signal only

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---
name: openakita/skills@video-downloader
description: Download YouTube videos with customizable quality and format options. Use this skill when the user asks to download, save, or grab YouTube videos. Supports various quality settings (best, 1080p, 720p, 480p, 360p), multiple formats (mp4, webm, mkv), and audio-only downloads as MP3.
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: openakita
  version: "1.1.0"
  openakita:
    python:
      dependencies:
        - yt-dlp>=2025.6.30
---

# YouTube Video Downloader

Download YouTube videos with full control over quality and format settings.

## Quick Start

The simplest way to download a video:

```powershell
uv run python scripts/download_video.py "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"
```

This downloads the video in best available quality as MP4 to `./downloads/`, or to
`OPENAKITA_OUTPUT_DIR` when that environment variable is set.

## Options

### Quality Settings

Use `-q` or `--quality` to specify video quality:

- `best` (default): Highest quality available
- `1080p`: Full HD
- `720p`: HD
- `480p`: Standard definition
- `360p`: Lower quality
- `worst`: Lowest quality available

Example:
```bash
uv run python scripts/download_video.py "URL" -q 720p
```

### Format Options

Use `-f` or `--format` to specify output format (video downloads only):

- `mp4` (default): Most compatible
- `webm`: Modern format
- `mkv`: Matroska container

Example:
```bash
uv run python scripts/download_video.py "URL" -f webm
```

### Audio Only

Use `-a` or `--audio-only` to download only audio as MP3:

```bash
uv run python scripts/download_video.py "URL" -a
```

### Custom Output Directory

Use `-o` or `--output` to specify a different output directory:

```bash
uv run python scripts/download_video.py "URL" -o /path/to/directory
```

## Complete Examples

1. Download video in 1080p as MP4:
```bash
uv run python scripts/download_video.py "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" -q 1080p
```

2. Download audio only as MP3:
```bash
uv run python scripts/download_video.py "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" -a
```

3. Download in 720p as WebM to custom directory:
```bash
uv run python scripts/download_video.py "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" -q 720p -f webm -o /custom/path
```

## How It Works

The skill uses `yt-dlp`, a robust YouTube downloader that:
- Reports a clear installation requirement if `yt-dlp` is unavailable
- Fetches video information before downloading
- Selects the best available streams matching your criteria
- Merges video and audio streams when needed
- Supports a wide range of YouTube video formats

## Important Notes

- Downloads are saved to `OPENAKITA_OUTPUT_DIR` or `./downloads/` by default
- Video filename is automatically generated from the video title
- Install the dependency with `uv tool install yt-dlp` when it is not managed by OpenAkita
- Only single videos are downloaded (playlists are skipped by default)
- Higher quality videos may take longer to download and use more disk space
Read the full source on GitHub (opens external page)
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