Save youtube-dl.exe to your Windows user directory (e.g. In fact, there’s nothing to install, as the youtube-dl.exe file is ready to use as a command line program.

You will also need the Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package (x86) from the Microsoft site, if you don’t have it already. An alternate download page can be found at. Installing youtube-dlĭownload the latest youtube-dl.exe from the official site. In particular, videos that fall under a Creative Commons (CC) license are eligible for downloading, though perhaps not for redistribution in all cases. Not all YouTube videos are uploaded simply to make money lots of them are intended for educational or humanitarian purposes, and these video creators encourage the downloading and archiving of their content. But there are many cases where downloading YouTube videos is completely legal – for example, if the original video creator gives you permission to do so.

If you’re downloading the latest music hits so you can sell them to your friends, then obviously no, that’s illegal. What’s awesome about youtube-dl is that you can choose the quality of your downloads (from low-res to full HD) and you can also resume unfinished downloads at any time. It lets you download videos in different formats from YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Facebook, Instagram,, BuzzFeed, Cracked, and tons more. Youtube-dl is a free, open-source program which is lightweight (~8 MB) yet very powerful. Sponsored mention: If you need a good YouTube downloader app with a normal Windows interface, skip this tutorial and try Replay Media Catcher. The process is easy and doesn’t require technical knowledge. To operate youtube-dl, you will make use of the command line (with cmd.exe), but don’t be alarmed. This method is for Windows 7 / 8 / 10, although youtube-dl also works on Linux and Mac.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to use youtube-dl to download videos from YouTube - and many other video sites - onto your PC.

Replay media catcher youtube