How to Download YouTube Videos Using Python
YouTube is one of the most popular platforms for watching and sharing videos online. However, sometimes you may want to download a video from YouTube for offline viewing, editing, or backup. How can you do that using Python?
youtube object.download()
In this article, you will learn how to use a Python library called Pytube to download YouTube videos easily and efficiently. You will also learn how to download playlists, channels, and caption tracks using Pytube. By the end of this article, you will be able to download any YouTube video you want with just a few lines of code.
Introduction
What is youtube object.download()?
youtube object.download() is a method that belongs to the YouTube class of the Pytube library. It allows you to download a YouTube video from a given URL. You can also specify the output path and filename for the downloaded video.
The youtube object.download() method works by creating a Stream object from the YouTube object, and then calling the download() method on the Stream object. A Stream object represents a single video or audio stream from a YouTube video. You can access the streams of a YouTube video using the streams attribute of the YouTube object.
Why use youtube object.download()?
There are many reasons why you may want to use youtube object.download() to download YouTube videos using Python. Some of them are:
It is simple and easy to use. You only need a few lines of code to download any YouTube video.
It is flexible and powerful. You can choose from different streams, formats, resolutions, and qualities for your downloaded video.
It is lightweight and dependency-free. You don't need any third-party libraries or tools to use Pytube.
It is well-documented and supported. You can find detailed documentation, examples, and tutorials on the official website of Pytube.
How to Install and Use Pytube
Installing Pytube
To install Pytube, you can use pip, which is a package manager for Python. Open your terminal or command prompt and type the following command:
pip install pytube
This will install the latest version of Pytube on your system. You can also specify a specific version of Pytube by adding == followed by the version number. For example:
pip install pytube==15.0.0
Importing Pytube
To use Pytube in your Python script, you need to import it first. You can import the whole library using:
import pytube
Or you can import specific classes or functions from Pytube using:
How to use pytube to download YouTube videos in Python
How to fix AttributeError: 'YouTube' object has no attribute 'download'
How to use youtube-dl to search keywords and only download URLs
How to download YouTube videos with different resolutions using pytube
How to install pytube on Windows, Linux, or Mac
How to use youtube-dl to download playlists, channels, or subtitles
How to download YouTube videos as MP3 or MP4 files using pytube
How to use youtube-dl to extract audio from YouTube videos
How to download YouTube videos with captions or annotations using pytube
How to use youtube-dl to download videos from other sites like Vimeo or Dailymotion
How to download YouTube videos with metadata or thumbnails using pytube
How to use youtube-dl to download live streams or archived streams
How to download YouTube videos with progress bars or callbacks using pytube
How to use youtube-dl to download videos in batches or parallel
How to download YouTube videos with filters or queries using pytube
How to use youtube-dl to convert videos to different formats or codecs
How to download YouTube videos with proxies or authentication using pytube
How to use youtube-dl to resume interrupted downloads or check integrity
How to download YouTube videos with custom filenames or directories using pytube
How to use youtube-dl to update itself or check version
How to download YouTube videos with subtitles in different languages using pytube
How to use youtube-dl to embed subtitles or metadata in the output file
How to download YouTube videos with age-restricted or geo-restricted content using pytube
How to use youtube-dl to rate limit or throttle the download speed
How to download YouTube videos with logging or debugging options using pytube
How to use youtube-dl to configure options in a configuration file or environment variables
How to download YouTube videos with exceptions or error handling using pytube
How to use youtube-dl to test the URL or simulate the download without actually downloading
How to download YouTube videos with playlists or chapters information using pytube
How to use youtube-dl to list available formats or extractors for a given URL
How to download YouTube videos with cookies or headers using pytube
How to use youtube-dl to post-process the downloaded files with ffmpeg or other tools
How to download YouTube videos with custom requests or hooks using pytube
How to use youtube-dl to extract information from the video page without downloading the video
How to download YouTube videos with multiple streams or adaptive streaming using pytube
How to use youtube-dl to specify output template or filename format
How to download YouTube videos with encryption signatures or cipher operations using pytube
How to use youtube-dl to extract comments or descriptions from the video page
How to download YouTube videos with user-defined functions or classes using pytube
How to use youtube-dl as a library or module in your own Python script
from pytube import YouTube
from pytube import Playlist
from pytube import Channel
Creating a YouTube Object
To download a YouTube video using Pytube, you need to create a YouTube object first. A YouTube object represents a single YouTube video and its metadata. You can create a YouTube object by passing the URL of the video as an argument to the YouTube class constructor. For example:
url = " url = "
video = YouTube(url)
This will create a YouTube object named video that contains the information and streams of the video with the given URL. You can access the attributes of the YouTube object using dot notation. For example:
print(video.title)
print(video.author)
print(video.length)
This will print the title, author, and length of the video in seconds.
Downloading a Single Video
To download a single video using Pytube, you need to use the youtube object.download() method. This method takes two optional parameters: output_path and filename. The output_path parameter specifies the directory where you want to save the downloaded video. The filename parameter specifies the name of the downloaded video file. If you don't provide these parameters, Pytube will use the default values.
The youtube object.download() method returns a Stream object that represents the downloaded video stream. You can access the attributes of the Stream object using dot notation. For example:
stream = video.download()
print(stream.filesize)
print(stream.resolution)
print(stream.mime_type)
This will print the filesize, resolution, and mime type of the downloaded video stream.
By default, Pytube will download the highest quality progressive stream available for the video. A progressive stream is a stream that contains both video and audio data in a single file. However, you can also choose a different stream using the streams attribute of the YouTube object. The streams attribute returns a StreamQuery object that allows you to filter and order the streams by various criteria. For example:
streams = video.streams
print(streams.first())
print(streams.last())
print(streams.get_by_itag(22))
This will print the first, last, and 22nd stream in the StreamQuery object. You can also use methods like filter(), order_by(), and desc() to refine your StreamQuery object. For example:
streams = video.streams.filter(progressive=True).order_by('resolution').desc()
print(streams.first())
This will print the highest resolution progressive stream available for the video.
Downloading a Playlist
To download a playlist of videos using Pytube, you need to create a Playlist object first. A Playlist object represents a YouTube playlist and its metadata. You can create a Playlist object by passing the URL of the playlist as an argument to the Playlist class constructor. For example: url = "
playlist = Playlist(url)
This will create a Playlist object named playlist that contains the information and videos of the playlist with the given URL. You can access the attributes of the Playlist object using dot notation. For example:
print(playlist.title)
print(playlist.owner)
print(playlist.length)
This will print the title, owner, and length of the playlist in number of videos.
To download a playlist of videos using Pytube, you need to use a for loop to iterate over the videos attribute of the Playlist object. The videos attribute returns a list of YouTube objects that represent the videos in the playlist. You can then use the youtube object.download() method to download each video as before. For example:
for video in playlist.videos:
video.download(output_path="C:/Users/Downloads/Playlist")
This will download all the videos in the playlist and save them in the specified output path. You can also use a list comprehension to download the videos in one line. For example:
[video.download(output_path="C:/Users/Downloads/Playlist") for video in playlist.videos]
Downloading a Channel
To download a channel of videos using Pytube, you need to create a Channel object first. A Channel object represents a YouTube channel and its metadata. You can create a Channel object by passing the URL of the channel as an argument to the Channel class constructor. For example:
url = "
channel = Channel(url)
This will create a Channel object named channel that contains the information and videos of the channel with the given URL. You can access the attributes of the Channel object using dot notation. For example:
print(channel.channel_name)
print(channel.channel_id)
print(channel.length)
This will print the name, id, and length of the channel in number of videos.
To download a channel of videos using Pytube, you need to use a for loop to iterate over the video_urls attribute of the Channel object. The video_urls attribute returns a list of URLs that represent the videos in the channel. You can then use the YouTube class constructor to create a YouTube object from each URL, and use the youtube object.download() method to download each video as before. For example:
for url in channel.video_urls:
video = YouTube(url)
video.download(output_path="C:/Users/Downloads/Channel")
This will download all the videos in the channel and save them in the specified output path. You can also use a list comprehension to download the videos in one line. For example:
[YouTube(url).download(output_path="C:/Users/Downloads/Channel") for url in channel.video_urls]
Conclusion
Summary of the Main Points
In this article, you learned how to download YouTube videos using Python and Pytube. You learned how to use the youtube object.download() method to download a single video, and how to use the Playlist and Channel classes to download multiple videos from a playlist or a channel. You also learned how to choose different streams, formats, resolutions, and qualities for your downloaded videos.
Call to Action
If you want to learn more about Pytube and its features, you can visit its official website at There you can find detailed documentation, examples, tutorials, and source code for Pytube. You can also contribute to Pytube by reporting issues, suggesting features, or submitting pull requests on its GitHub repository at
FAQs
Q1: What is the difference between progressive and DASH streams?
A: Progressive streams are streams that contain both video and audio data in a single file. DASH streams are streams that contain only video or audio data in separate files. DASH stands for Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP, which is a technique for adaptive bitrate streaming.
Q2: How can I filter streams by resolution, file extension, or audio-only?
A: You can use the filter() method on the StreamQuery object to filter streams by various criteria. For example, you can use filter(resolution="720p") to get only the streams with 720p resolution, filter(file_extension="mp4") to get only the streams with mp4 file extension, or filter(only_audio=True) to get only the audio streams.
Q3: How can I get the caption tracks of a video?
A: You can use the captions attribute of the YouTube object to get the caption tracks of a video. The captions attribute returns a CaptionQuery object that allows you to access the captions by language code. For example, you can use captions["en"] to get the English caption track, or captions.all() to get a list of all available caption tracks. You can also use the download() method on the Caption object to download the caption track as a .srt file.
Q4: How can I use the command-line interface of Pytube?
A: Pytube also provides a command-line interface that allows you to download YouTube videos from your terminal or command prompt. You can use the pytube command followed by the URL of the video, playlist, or channel that you want to download. For example:
pytube
This will download the video with the default settings. You can also use various options and flags to customize your download. For example, you can use -r or --resolution to specify the resolution, -f or --filter to specify the stream type, -o or --output to specify the output path, and -h or --help to get more information. You can find more details about the command-line interface on the Pytube website.
Q5: How can I handle exceptions in Pytube?
A: Pytube may raise various exceptions when downloading YouTube videos, such as VideoUnavailable, PlaylistEmpty, RegexMatchError, and others. You can handle these exceptions using try and except blocks in your Python script. For example:
try:
video = YouTube(url)
video.download()
except VideoUnavailable as e:
print(e)
This will try to download the video from the given URL, and print an error message if the video is unavailable. 44f88ac181
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