# yt-dlp (open-source downloader and converter)

> yt-dlp is a free, open-source command-line downloader and converter for Windows, macOS and Linux. A feature-rich command-line audio/video downloader. It has 196,232 GitHub stars and is released under the Unlicense license, and people use it instead of 4K Video Downloader.

yt-dlp is a feature-rich command-line audio/video downloader with support for thousands of sites. The project is a fork of youtube-dl based on the now inactive youtube-dlc.

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp |
| Platforms | Linux, macOS, Windows |
| Interface | command line |
| GitHub stars | 196,232 |
| License | Unlicense (open source) |
| Replaces | 4K Video Downloader |
| Use it as | YouTube downloader |
| Language | Python |
| Website | https://discord.gg/H5MNcFW63r |
| Official | yes (published by the project behind the app) |
| Category | Downloaders & converters |
| Latest release | 2026.08.19 (Aug 19, 2026) |
| Last commit | Sep 27, 2026 |

## Install

Download a build for your system from the project's releases (https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases) or website, or build it from source by following the README.

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