Master You-Get: Download Videos, Audio, and More with Python

Introduction

You-Get is a powerful command‑line tool and Python library for downloading videos from many websites, including YouTube, Bilibili, Facebook, and more.

Installation

Install via pip: pip install you-get Check the installed version:

Basic Usage

1. Basic commands

Common options include:

-V, --version         Print version and exit
-h, --help            Print help and exit
-i, --info            Show extracted information
-u, --url             Show extracted URL
--json                Output information in JSON format
-n, --no-merge        Do not merge video parts
--no-caption          Do not download subtitles
-f, --force           Overwrite existing files
--skip-existing-file-size-check  Skip size check for existing files
-F STREAM_ID, --format STREAM_ID  Set video format
-O FILE, --output-filename FILE   Set output filename
-o DIR, --output-dir DIR           Set output directory
-p PLAYER, --player PLAYER         Play video with specified player
-c COOKIES_FILE, --cookies COOKIES_FILE  Load cookies
-t SECONDS, --timeout SECONDS      Set socket timeout
-d, --debug                         Show debug information
-I FILE, --input-file FILE          Download only the URLs listed in FILE
-P PASSWORD, --password PASSWORD  Set video password
-l, --playlist                      Download entire playlist
-a, --auto-rename                   Auto‑rename duplicate files
-k, --insecure                      Ignore SSL errors
-x HOST:PORT, --http-proxy HOST:PORT  Use HTTP proxy
-y HOST:PORT, --extractor-proxy HOST:PORT  Use proxy for extractor only
--no-proxy                          Never use a proxy
-s HOST:PORT, --socks-proxy HOST:PORT  Use SOCKS proxy

2. View video information

Example with a Bilibili video shows title, format, size, resolution, and direct URLs. JSON output can be obtained with you-get --json URL.

3. Download specific format

Download a 720p MP4 video:

you-get -f dash-flv720 https://www.bilibili.com/video/...

4. Specify output directory and filename

Use -o DIR and -O FILE to control where the file is saved and its name.

5. Play video directly

Run you-get -p vlc URL to stream the video with a local player.

6. Download VIP videos

VIP videos can be downloaded by providing the URL together with the appropriate cookies.

7. Download subtitles (danmaku)

Subtitles are saved as an XML file alongside the video and can be played with compatible players such as BililLocal.

8. Download images and audio

You‑Get also supports downloading images and audio files by providing their URLs.

9. Batch download playlists

Use --playlist to download all videos in a playlist at once.

10. Proxy download

When IP blocking occurs, use proxy options such as -x host:port or --http-proxy.

You-Get -x host:port URL

11. Use cookies for authenticated videos

Save cookies to a text file and pass it to You‑Get:

You-Get cookie.txt URL

Conclusion

You‑Get is a versatile tool that simplifies downloading videos, audio, images, and subtitles from a wide range of websites.