YouTube Highest Quality Downloader

Download the highest quality silent video and pure audio from YouTube, then merge into a video with sound using ffmpeg.
从YouTube下载视频的最高清无声版本和纯音频，然后使用ffmpeg合并为有声视频。

Features / 功能

• - 🎬 Download highest quality silent video from YouTube (bestvideo) / 下载YouTube视频最高清无声版本
• 🎵 Download pure audio from YouTube (bestaudio) / 下载YouTube视频纯音频
• 🔧 Merge video and audio using ffmpeg / 使用ffmpeg合并视频和音频
• 🖥️ Runs independently, no dependencies on other skills / 独立运行，无需依赖其他技能

Usage / 使用方法

Quick Start

bash

Run the download script directly

python3 ~/clawd/skills/youtube-hq-downloader/download.py YouTubeURL [outputdirectory]

Full Workflow

bash

1. Enter the skill directory

cd ~/clawd/skills/youtube-hq-downloader

2. Create virtual environment (first run)

python3 -m venv .venv source .venv/bin/activate pip install yt-dlp

3. Run download and merge

python3 download.py https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxxxx

Or run step by step manually

./download.sh YouTube_URL

Manual Commands

bash

Activate environment

cd ~/clawd/skills/youtube-hq-downloader
source .venv/bin/activate

Download video (highest quality, silent)

yt-dlp -f bestvideo[ext=mp4] YouTubeURL -o %(title)svideo.%(ext)s

Download audio

yt-dlp -x --audio-format m4a YouTubeURL -o %(title)saudio.%(ext)s

Merge video and audio

ffmpeg -i .mp4 -i .m4a -c:v copy -c:a aac -shortest output.mp4 -y

Parameters / 参数说明

yt-dlp Video Download

• - -f bestvideo: Download highest quality video format (may be WebM or MP4)
• Output template: %(title)s_video.%(ext)s

yt-dlp Audio Download

• - -x: Extract audio
• --audio-format m4a: Output as M4A format

ffmpeg Merge

• - -i video.mp4 -i audio.m4a: Input files
• -c:v copy: Copy video stream, no re-encoding
• -c:a aac: Convert audio to AAC encoding
• -shortest: Use shorter duration
• -y: Overwrite output file

Dependencies / 依赖

• - ffmpeg: Video processing tool (macOS: brew install ffmpeg)
• Python 3.8+: Runtime environment
• yt-dlp: Will be auto-installed on first run

Auto Install / 自动安装

The script will automatically detect and use system-installed yt-dlp. If not found:

bash

Manual install yt-dlp

pip install yt-dlp

Or use uv

pip install uv && uv pip install yt-dlp

FAQ / 常见问题

Q: Downloaded video has no sound?

A: This is normal. Using bestvideo only downloads the video track. You need to download audio separately and merge.

Q: Video resolution is too low?

A: YouTube may have regional or quality restrictions on certain videos. Try other formats like best instead of bestvideo.

Q: ffmpeg error No such file?

A: Make sure ffmpeg is installed: brew install ffmpeg

Q: How to specify output directory?

A: Pass the second parameter as output directory when running the script, or modify the OUTPUT_DIR variable in the script.