module_guide.rst

Using the youtube_dl module

When using the youtube_dl module, you start by creating an instance of :class:`YoutubeDL` and adding all the available extractors:

>>> from youtube_dl import YoutubeDL
>>> ydl = YoutubeDL()
>>> ydl.add_default_info_extractors()

Extracting video information

You use the :meth:`YoutubeDL.extract_info` method for getting the video information, which returns a dictionary:

>>> info = ydl.extract_info('http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaW_jenozKc', download=False)
[youtube] Setting language
[youtube] BaW_jenozKc: Downloading webpage
[youtube] BaW_jenozKc: Downloading video info webpage
[youtube] BaW_jenozKc: Extracting video information
>>> info['title']
'youtube-dl test video "\'/\\ä↭𝕐'
>>> info['height'], info['width']
(720, 1280)

If you want to download or play the video you can get its url:

>>> info['url']
'https://...'

Extracting playlist information

The playlist information is extracted in a similar way, but the dictionary is a bit different:

>>> playlist = ydl.extract_info('http://www.ted.com/playlists/13/open_source_open_world', download=False)
[TED] open_source_open_world: Downloading playlist webpage
...
>>> playlist['title']
'Open-source, open world'

You can access the videos in the playlist with the entries field:

>>> for video in playlist['entries']:
...     print('Video #%d: %s' % (video['playlist_index'], video['title']))

Video #1: How Arduino is open-sourcing imagination
Video #2: The year open data went worldwide
Video #3: Massive-scale online collaboration
Video #4: The art of asking
Video #5: How cognitive surplus will change the world
Video #6: The birth of Wikipedia
Video #7: Coding a better government
Video #8: The era of open innovation
Video #9: The currency of the new economy is trust